Establishing Paternity

How to Establish Paternity

There are three ways to establish paternity in Minnesota:

1. Paternity Actions (Minn. Stat. Ch 257)
2. Married at Birth (Minn. Stat. Ch. 518)
3. Recognition of Parentage completed and filed with the Office of Vital Records (Minn. Stat 257.75)

One of these three must be met prior to a father’s name being placed on the birth certificate

Is the father’s name on the Birth Certificate enough to establish paternity?

In Minnesota, having a father’s name on the birth certificate it is NOT (on its own) conclusive evidence of paternity. You need to know how/why the father’s name was placed on the birth certificate (one of the three examples above: Paternity Action, Married, or ROP)

Examples of why a name on the birth certificate does not/should not equal paternity:

• Mother and father are not married. They are both at the hospital when the child is born. They claim to hospital staff that they are married and the hospital staff does not verify the marriage. Father is added to the birth certificate, but paternity has not actually been established.
• Mother and father are legally married, but mom bring her boyfriend to the hospital with her when the child is born. Mom does not report the marriage and the boyfriend signs the ROP at the hospital and is then added to the birth certificate.

Every child support action should allege how paternity is established, not just that the father is listed on the child’s birth certificate