Alabama § 26-17-204 Presumption of Paternity

Alabama Statutes

§ 26-17-204 — Presumption of Paternity

Alabama § 26-17-204

Title 26Infants and Incompetents

Ch. 17Alabama Uniform Parentage Act

Art. 2Parent-Child Relationship

This text of Alabama § 26-17-204 (Presumption of Paternity) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Ala. Code § 26-17-204 (2026).

Text

(a)A man is presumed to be the father of a child if:

(1)he and the mother of the child are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage;

(2)he and the mother of the child were married to each other and the child is born within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce;

(3)before the birth of the child, he and the mother of the child married each other in apparent compliance with law, even if the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born during the invalid marriage or within 300 days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce;

(4)after the child’s birth, he and the child’s mother have married, or attempted to marry, each other by a marriage

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(a) A man is presumed to be the father of a child if:
(1) he and the mother of the child are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage;
(2) he and the mother of the child were married to each other and the child is born within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce;
(3) before the birth of the child, he and the mother of the child married each other in apparent compliance with law, even if the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born during the invalid marriage or within 300 days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce;
(4) after the child’s birth, he and the child’s mother have married, or 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:
(A) he has acknowledged his paternity of the child in writing, such writing being filed with the appropriate court or the Alabama Office of Vital Statistics; or
(B) with his consent, he is named as the child’s father on the child’s birth certificate; or
(C) he is otherwise obligated to support the child either under a written voluntary promise or by court order;
(5) while the child is under the age of majority, he receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child as his natural child or otherwise openly holds out the child as his natural child and establishes a significant parental relationship with the child by providing emotional and financial support for the child; or
(6) he legitimated the child in accordance with Chapter 11 of Title 26.
(b) A presumption of paternity established under this section may be rebutted only by an adjudication under Article 6. In the event two or more conflicting presumptions arise, that which is founded upon the weightier considerations of public policy and logic, as evidenced by the facts, shall control. The presumption of paternity is rebutted by a court decree establishing paternity of the child by another man.