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In Michigan, if a mother is married when she conceives and/or gives birth, the mother's spouse is the other legal parent of the child. If someone other than the spouse is the child's biological parent, that person does not have any legal rights of parentage. If you are the mother's spouse or ex-spouse in this situation, you can ask the court to revoke (cancel) your legal parentage.
Read this article if all of the following are true:
- Your spouse or ex-spouse gave birth to a child;
- You were married when the mother conceived and/or gave birth to the child;
- You are not the child's biological father.
This article tells you how to ask the court to revoke (cancel) your parentage if you are the legal father in this situation. If you are the mother, read I Am a Mother, and I Need to Revoke Parentage of My Spouse or Ex-Spouse. If you are the biological father (also called the alleged father), read I Want to Become the Legal Father of a Child Born During a Marriage.
Important! This article does not apply to you if:
- The child was conceived by assisted reproduction (for example, donor insemination), or
- You were not married to the mother when she either conceived or gave birth to the child.
If you were not married to the child’s mother when the child was conceived or born, you can still ask the court to revoke your parentage. However, the court process and the forms you need will be different from the ones in this article. To ask to revoke parentage established by Affidavit of Parentage, you will need to file a Complaint/Motion and Affidavit to Revoke Acknowledgment of Parentage. To ask to revoke an order establishing paternity (called an order of filiation), file a Motion to Set Aside Order of Filiation.
Motion/Complaint to Determine Child Born Out of Wedlock
If you need to ask the court to revoke (undo) your legal parentage, you must file a motion or complaint with the court. You must file a motion if you have an existing family court case (such as a divorce), or a complaint if you do not have an existing case. Either you, the child’s mother, or an alleged father can file the motion or complaint. In some situations, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) can also file it. You can use the Do-It-Yourself Revoke Parentage Established by Marriage tool to prepare the forms you need.
Depending on who asks the court to revoke parentage, there are different things that have to be proven in court. Michigan law makes it easiest for the legal father to ask for their own parentage to be revoked. It is the most difficult for the alleged father to ask for the legal father's parentage to be revoked.
Filing Requirements
If you are the legal father and you want to ask the judge to determine that the child was born outside of marriage, you can file your motion before the child turns three years old in any of the following cases:
- A divorce or separate maintenance case between you and the child’s mother
- A child support case involving the child
- Any other case involving child support, parenting time, or custody of the child
- An ongoing abuse and neglect case involving the child
If none of these cases exist, you can file a complaint to start a new case. You can prepare either a motion or complaint using the Do-It-Yourself Revoke Parentage Established by Marriage tool.
If the child is older than three, you can file a motion in a divorce or separate maintenance case between you and the child’s mother.
Requesting a Time Extension
If the child is older than three and you want to file your papers without getting a divorce or separate maintenance (for example, by filing a new parentage case), you can ask for a time extension. To do this, file a Motion and Affidavit for Extension of Time to File Action for Revocation of Parentage. The Do-It-Yourself Revoke Parentage Established by Marriage tool can help you prepare this Motion and Affidavit along with the other forms you need.
To qualify for a time extension, you have to show that you failed to file before the child turned three because of one of the following reasons:
- Mistake of fact
(Example: You thought you were the child’s father until after the child turned three years old.)
- Newly discovered evidence that by due diligence could not have been found earlier
(Example: After the child turned three years old, you found a letter addressed to your spouse or ex-spouse that says another man is the child’s biological father.)
- Fraud
(Example: Your spouse or ex-spouse falsely led you to believe you were the father until after the child was three years old. For fraud to occur, your spouse must have known that you were not the father and intended for you to believe that you were.)
- Misrepresentation
(Example: Your spouse or ex-spouse falsely led you to believe you were the father until after the child was three years old. Unlike with fraud, misrepresentation can occur even if they believed you were the father and did not intend to deceive you.)
- Duress
(Example: Your spouse or ex-spouse threatened to physically harm you if you filed court papers to revoke your parentage.)
- Misconduct
(Someone’s misconduct – not covered by the other categories – prevented you from filing before the child turned three years old.)
If the judge grants you a time extension, you must later prove by clear and convincing evidence that revoking your parentage will not be against the best interests of the child. See the section “Best Interests of the Child” below.
Revoking Parentage
Genetic Testing
The judge may order you, the mother, and the alleged father to have genetic testing done to be sure who the child’s father is. Do what the judge’s written order says. The order will most likely include who must pay for the cost of genetic testing, when testing must be finished, and when the results must be filed with the court.
The judge may also include instructions about where to go for testing. If not, you can search online for genetic testing or DNA testing in Michigan. Search a company’s website (for example, on the “About” page) to make sure it is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB).
The judge’s clerk or secretary or the Friend of the Court may also be able to tell you where you can go for genetic testing.
You do not have to know who the child’s biological father is for the judge to revoke your parentage. The judge may ask the child’s mother who the biological father is to determine if a new legal father can be named, but you are not required to know.
Best Interests of the Child
The judge may also consider the best interests of the child in deciding whether to revoke your parentage.
Even if you meet the filing requirements and genetic testing shows that you are not the child’s father, the judge can refuse to revoke your parentage if it would go against the best interests of the child. You may need to show that it is in the best interests of the child for the judge to revoke your parentage. The judge may consider the following factors:
- Whether you should be allowed to deny parentage because of your conduct
(Example: If you delayed asking the court to revoke your parentage without a good reason, or filed before but asked for the case to be dismissed, revoking your parentage may be against the best interests of the child.)
- How long you have known you might not be the child’s father
(Example: If you filed to revoke your parentage immediately after finding out you may not be the child’s father, revoking your parentage may be in the best interests of the child.)
- The facts surrounding your discovery that you might not be the child’s father
(Example: If you moved out of the home you shared with your spouse and the child after finding out you are not the child’s father, and you have not stayed in contact with the child, it may be in the child’s best interests to revoke your parentage.)
- What kind of relationship the child has with you
(Example: If you have a close relationship with the child, revoking your parentage may be against the best interests of the child.)
- What kind of relationship the child has with the biological father
(Example: If the child has a close relationship with the biological father, revoking your parentage may be in the best interests of the child.)
- The child’s age
(Example: Revoking parentage may be in the child’s best interests if the child is very young and not very attached to you.)
- Whether the child would be harmed if your parentage is revoked
(Example: If the child is strongly attached to you, it may be against the child’s best interests to revoke your parentage.)
- Anything else related to why your parentage should or should not be revoked
Order Revoking Parentage
If the judge grants your motion or complaint, the judge will sign an order revoking your parentage. You will no longer have any parental rights. If you have a child support obligation, the judge can set it aside starting with the date you filed your Motion/Complaint to Determine Child Born out of Wedlock.
If you owe back child support (arrears) from before you filed your Motion/Complaint to Determine Child Born out of Wedlock, you will still owe this debt even if the judge revokes your parentage. The mother of the child may be able to waive (forgive) some or all of this debt, depending on whether you owe support to her or to the state. You can also file a motion asking the court for relief from the prior support order, but this website cannot help you prepare this motion. You may want to consider contacting a lawyer for help.
If the judge denies your Motion/Complaint to Determine Child Born out of Wedlock, you will continue to be the child’s legal father. You will continue to have all the rights of a legal parent (the ability to ask for custody and/or parenting time) and the obligations (child support).
Birth Certificate
Your name will not be removed automatically from the birth certificate if parentage is revoked. You must mail a completed Application to Correct or Change a Michigan Birth Record to Michigan Vital Records Changes. You will also need to include the court order revoking parentage and a check or money order. Read the application form for more information.
Finding a Lawyer
You might decide you want a lawyer to help you. If you have a low income, you may qualify for free legal services. Whether you have a low income or not, you can use the Guide to Legal Help to find lawyers in your area. If you are not able to get free legal services but can’t afford high legal fees, consider hiring a lawyer for part of your case instead of the whole thing. This is called limited scope representation. To learn more, read Limited Scope Representation (LSR): A More Affordable Way to Hire a Lawyer. To find a limited scope lawyer, follow this link to the State Bar of Michigan lawyer directory. This link lists lawyers who offer limited scope representation. You can narrow the results to lawyers in your area by typing in your county, city, or zip code at the top of the page. You can also narrow the results by topic by entering the kind of lawyer you need (divorce, estate, etc.) at the top of the page.