TN 29 (10-05)

GN 00306.540 Missouri Intestacy Laws

1. A. 

   Child or father acquires status of child or parent if:

   1. 1. 

      parents intermarry and father recognizes child; or

   2. 2. 

      (I) prior to 01/01/81, paternity is established by clear and convincing proof; or

   3. 3. 

      (I) effective 01/01/91, parents participate in a marriage ceremony before or after the child's birth, even though the attempted marriage is void; or

   4. 4. 

      (I) effective 01/01/81, paternity is established by an adjudication before the father's death by a preponderance of the evidence, or is established thereafter by clear and convincing proof, except paternity established under 4. will not confer the status of parent unless the father has openly treated the child as his and has not refused to support the child.

2. B. 

   Effective 07/15/87, a man is presumed to be the natural father of a child if:

   1. 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 300 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. 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 could be declared invalid, and:

      1. a. 

         if the attempted marriage could be declared invalid only by a court, the child is born during the attempted marriage, or within 300 days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or dissolution; or

      2. b. 

         if the marriage is invalid without a court order, the child is born within 300 days after the termination of cohabitation; or

   3. 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 the law, although the marriage is or could be declared invalid, and:

      1. a. 

         he has acknowledged his paternity of the child in writing filed with the bureau; or

      2. b. 

         with his consent, he is named as the child's father on the child's birth certificate; or

      3. c. 

         he is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by court order; or

   4. 4. 

      he acknowledges his paternity of the child in an affidavit, which is also signed by the natural mother and filed with the bureau or such similar agency in the State where the child was born and paternity acknowledgment by affidavit is permitted by law. If another man is presumed under this section to be the child's father, acknowledgment may be accomplished only with the written consent of the presumed father or after the presumption has been rebutted; or

   5. 5. 

      the experts conclude that the blood tests show that the alleged parent is not excluded and that the probability of paternity is 98% or higher, using a prior probability of 0.5.

A presumption under B. may be rebutted in an appropriate action only by clear and convincing evidence, except that a presumption that arises from the filing of an acknowledgment of paternity in a State or territory in which 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.

1. C. 

   For purposes of A. and B. above, evidence relating to paternity may include:

   1. 1. 

      evidence of sexual intercourse between the mother and the alleged father during the possible time of conception of the child;

   2. 2. 

      an expert's opinion concerning the probability of the alleged father's paternity of the child based upon the duration of the mother's pregnancy;

   3. 3. 

      blood test results, weighed in accordance with the evidence of the statistical probability of the alleged father's paternity of the child;

   4. 4. 

      medical or anthropological evidence relating to the alleged father's paternity of the child based on tests performed by experts; and

      all other evidence related to the issue of the paternity of the child.