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The days are long past when unmarried parents had fewer legal rights or obligations to their children. But it is often more difficult for unmarried parents to secure them. A father must formally prove his paternity to petition for custody unless the mother cooperates. A mother begins with sole custody, but if the father does not help her, she can have an uphill battle for the child’s future.
What do parents in Kansas and Missouri need to do for their children and themselves?
Paternity: Securing Rights to Custody and Support
Legal recognition of paternity is the key to a father’s custody rights and support obligations. Even when the father and mother fully intend to raise the child together, the rights and obligations of the father-child relationship are not safe without formal acknowledgment.
In both states, an unmarried mother will begin her child’s life with sole custody unless the father has made a formal claim (or, rarely, when the state has intervened). If their relationship is rocky, she may well be uncertain whether to pursue a legal declaration of paternity. When the father has been abusive or dangerous, it is not an easy question, and the mother will need advice from counsel about how to proceed carefully. There are options for pursuing child support without personal contact.
The right to the relationship ultimately belongs to the child. A child will need formal proof of paternity not only to seek child support but to assert any future rights to inherit and receive benefits, as well as possible rights and social standing within the father’s extended family.
Kansas
State law assumes a man’s paternity if a child is born during a marriage or when:
- The child was born within 300 days of the end of the marriage
- The parents attempted to marry before or after the birth, but the marriage was legally invalid
- The man’s name appears with his consent on the child’s birth certificate
- He “notoriously” (that is, openly) acknowledges paternity
- He acknowledges it in writing
- He is obligated by a court order or “written voluntary promise” of support
- Genetic testing indicates a probability of paternity of 97% or higher
- Another state or jurisdiction recognizes him as the father
See K.S.A. § 23-2208. To appear on the birth certificate, a father can complete a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity form at the hospital where the child is born. He can also acknowledge it and request an amended birth certificate at a later date, but he will need either the mother’s cooperation or a court order.
A father can bring an action in district court to establish his paternity. See § 23-2209. The mother, the child, or anyone on their behalf may also bring a paternity action, and the state may also do so to pursue child support. The court can order genetic testing for the child if necessary. However, if the child’s paternity is being challenged, the court may order a hearing on the best interests of the child.
Missouri
Laws for presuming paternity in Missouri are very similar. However, in Missouri, blood tests must show a probability of paternity of 98% or higher. See RSMo § 210.822 for further details.
During a pregnancy, an unmarried father can file a Notice of Intent to Claim Paternity with the Bureau of Vital Records. Afterward, he should file an Affidavit Acknowledging Paternity within 15 days of the birth. Filing by that time gives him the right to notice and participation in any adoption proceedings for the child.
A father or another person on the child’s behalf can also request a Declaration of Paternity from the Circuit Court at any time before the child’s 18th birthday. If necessary, a court can give an order requiring DNA testing to confirm the child’s paternity.
Establishing Custody and Support
Ultimately, the rights to child support and relationships do not belong to parents but to children. That is why marital status does not affect rights or obligations to custody or child support.
If unmarried parents can make a reasonable parenting plan together, the court will approve their custody agreement and enforce it if necessary. An unmarried father seeking custody without an agreement needs to establish a record of personal stability, interest, and care for the child as soon as possible.
Courts make custody determinations not according to the parent’s gender but in the best interest of the child. In Missouri, the law presumes—unless shown otherwise—that equal parenting time is in the child’s best interest. See RSMo § 452.375(4).
Kansas and Missouri have the same law about jurisdiction—that is, whether the state court can make rules about a child’s custody. The state must be the child’s home state, either on the date of the custody filing or within six months of that time. See K.S.A. § 23-37.201 or RSMo § 452.740.
Both parents have an obligation to financially support the child, even though child support is mainly paid by parents without primary physical custody. Late child support payments cannot affect visitation or custody rights—these are separate issues.
Don’t Go It Alone
Above all else, families need support. Let our legal team help your family secure what it needs to thrive. Contact us at 913-514-0909 to schedule a meeting with us in Kansas or Missouri—we have offices in Shawnee, Leawood, Olathe, Overland Park, and Lee’s Summit.
