A presumed father is someone that the courts treat as the legal father.

A man is a presumed father if he and the mother were not married (or were married, but not living together) and one of the following is true:

• he and the mother signed a POP/Voluntary Declaration of Paternity form
• he married the mother soon before the baby was born
• he and the mother believed they were legally married before the baby was born
• he married the mother (or tried to) after the baby was born, and his name is on the baby’s birth certificate
• he married the mother (or tried to) after the baby was born, and has been ordered to pay child support
• he has lived with the child, and has said he is the father

A presumed father can

• ask for a blood test to prove he is the father if, for example, the mother is married to someone else, and
• keep his child from being adopted.

Exception: A presumed father does not have these rights if the child is the product of rape and he was convicted of that crime.

In order to get custody and other rights as a father, the presumed father has to prove he is a legal father.