__NOTOC__ A putative father, with some variation in specific language, generally means a man whose legal relationship to a child has not been established but who is alleged to be or claims that he may be the

biological father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fath ...

of a child who is born to a woman to whom he is not married at the time of the child's birth.

United States

There is no standard definition for the word "father" in statutes across the United States. Five States (as of 2010, Arizona, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia) as well as the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, provide no legal definition for the term at all. Many states, however, have definitions for various categories of unwed fathers, with the term "putative father" being defined by statute in 13 States (as of 2017, these being Alabama Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming).

References

Family law {{law-term-stub

United States

See also

References