2023 Minnesota Statutes
Chapters 245 - 267 — Public Welfare And Related Activities
Chapter 257 — Children; Custody, Legitimacy
Section 257.55 — Presumption Of Paternity.
Subdivision 1. Presumption. A man is presumed to be the biological father of a child if:
(a) he and the child's biological mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, or within 280 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution, or divorce, or after a decree of legal separation is entered by a court. The presumption in this paragraph does not apply if the man has joined in a recognition of parentage recognizing another man as the biological father under section 257.75, subdivision 1a;
(b) before the child's birth, he and the child's biological mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared void, voidable, or otherwise invalid, and:
(1) if the attempted marriage could be declared invalid only by a court, the child is born during the attempted marriage, or within 280 days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution or divorce; or
(2) if the attempted marriage is invalid without a court order, the child is born within 280 days after the termination of cohabitation;
(c) after the child's birth, he and the child's biological mother have married, or attempted to marry, each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared void, voidable, or otherwise invalid, and:
(1) he has acknowledged his paternity of the child in writing filed with the state registrar of vital records;
(2) with his consent, he is named as the child's father on the child's birth record; or
(3) he is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by court order;
(d) while the child is under the age of majority, he receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child as his biological child;
(e) he and the child's biological mother acknowledge his paternity of the child in a writing signed by both of them under section 257.34 and filed with the state registrar of vital records. If another man is presumed under this paragraph to be the child's father, acknowledgment may be effected only with the written consent of the presumed father or after the presumption has been rebutted;
(f) he and the child's biological mother have executed a recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 and another man is presumed to be the father under this subdivision;
(g) he and the child's biological mother have executed a recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 and another man and the child's mother have executed a recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75; or
(h) he and the child's biological mother executed a recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 when either or both of the signatories were less than 18 years of age.
Subd. 2. Rebuttal. A presumption under this section may be rebutted in an appropriate action only by clear and convincing evidence. If two or more presumptions arise which conflict with each other, the presumption which on the facts is founded on the weightier considerations of policy and logic controls. The presumption is rebutted by a court decree establishing paternity of the child by another man.
History:1980 c 589 s 5; 1983 c 308 s 4; 1987 c 403 art 3 s 96; 1989 c 282 art 2 s 161; 1Sp1993 c 1 art 6 s 35; 1995 c 207 art 10 s 7; 1995 c 216 s 1; 1995 c 257 art 4 s 4; 1Sp2001 c 9 art 15 s 32; 2006 c 280 s 2; 2015 c 21 art 1 s 109
