Section 210.822

Title XII PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

Chapter 210

Effective - 28 Aug 1998   

  210.822.  Presumption of paternity — rebuttal of presumption, standard of proof. — 1.  A man shall be presumed to be the natural father of a child if:

  (1)  He and the child's natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, or within three hundred days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or dissolution, or after a decree of separation is entered by a court; or

  (2)  Before the child's birth, he and the child's natural mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with the law, although the attempted marriage is or may be declared invalid, and:

  (a)  If the attempted marriage may be declared invalid only by a court, the child is born during the attempted marriage or within three hundred days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity or dissolution; or

  (b)  If the marriage is invalid without a court order, the child is born within three hundred days after the termination of cohabitation; or

  (3)  After the child's birth, he and the child's natural mother have married or attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the marriage is or may be declared invalid, and:

  (a)  He has acknowledged his paternity of the child in writing filed with the bureau; or

  (b)  With his consent, he is named as the child's father on the child's birth certificate; or

  (c)  He is obligated to support the child pursuant to a written voluntary promise or by court order; or

  (4)  An expert concludes that the blood tests show that the alleged parent is not excluded and that the probability of paternity is ninety-eight percent or higher, using a prior probability of 0.5.

  2.  A presumption pursuant to this section may be rebutted in an appropriate action only by clear and convincing evidence, except that a presumption under subsection 1 of this section that arises from a blood test or the filing of an acknowledgment of paternity in a state or territory in which the blood test or the filing creates a conclusive presumption by law also has conclusive effect in Missouri.  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 the paternity of the child by another man.

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(L. 1987 S.B. 328 § 4, A.L. 1994 H.B. 1491 & 1134 merged with S.B. 508, A.L. 1997 S.B. 361, A.L. 1998 S.B. 910)