• This term represents a complicated category, and state laws vary in their requirements. See PRESUMPTION OF PATERNITY. [Cases: Children Out-of-Wedlock 43. C.J.S. Children Out-of-Wedlock § 100.]
presumed father
The man presumed to be the father of a child for any of several reasons: (1) because he was married to the child’s natural mother when the child was conceived or born (even though the marriage may have been invalid), (2) because the man married the mother after the child’s birth and agreed either to have his name on the birth certificate or to support the child, or (3) because the man welcomed the child into his home and held out the child as his own.
