How Unmarried Dads are at a Disadvantage: The Acknowledgment of Parentage Act What about cases where the parents are not married?
If a father has not signed an acknowledgment of parentage, he has no legal right to custody until hes been adjudicated as the father. Therefore, if Mom wants to do so, she can move anywhere across the country even disrupting the father-child relationship. If a father has signed an acknowledgment of parentage, he is not much better off. Under the Acknowledgment of Parentage Act, a man is established as a legal father and can seek custody or parenting time without having to file a paternity case. [See sections 3 and 4 of the Act, MCL 722.1003 and MCL 722.1004] The mother, however, is presumed to have custody in the absence of a court order or a writing by the parties agreeing to joint custody. [See section 6 of the Act, MCL 722.1006] Therefore, if there is no written agreement and if there is no court order, Mom can move with the child anywhere she wishes to move. Once she does that, her new residence is a legal residence of the child at the time any custody action might be filed. Where
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