A paternity law is preventing a man from gaining custody of his biological daughter. The 1956 Michigan law, which states that a man claiming to be a child's father can't seek paternity if the child's mother was married to another man between the time of conception and birth, has extended its reach into both Ohio and Kentucky.

The child in this case was conceived by a man who was seeing a woman still married to someone else. Shortly after their daughter was born in 2006, the couple moved in together with her two other daughters from her marriage. The baby's father, who assumed they would be married once her first marriage ended, was shocked when the woman returned to her husband.

Because of the law, he had no legal recourse when it came to custody of his daughter. But that may change if a state bill currently under review is passed. A state senator inspired by the man's story co-sponsored the bill, which would allow biological fathers to claim parental rights within a year of the child's birth if the mother is married at any time between conception and birth and her husband denies paternity, or if a relationship is established between the biological father and the child.

A 2008 DNA test confirms the man is the father of the girl. But the current law states that he can't seek action even if both the mother and a DNA test confirm he's the father. He also can't seek paternity if the mother's marriage ends in divorce, unless the judgment includes a determination that the husband isn't the child's father.

In this case, that law has crossed state lines. After the mother of the girl returned to her husband, he was arrested in July 2009 on charges of selling a controlled substance in Ohio while his daughters were with him. The couple and their two children, along with the woman's youngest daughter, were living in Kentucky at the time. The same documents state that the mother knew about his drug activity. She was charged in connection to the crime, and temporary custody of all three children went to the husband's parents.

The father of the young girl sought paternity of his daughter in Ohio, but the court there referred the case to Kentucky, which denied his motion based on the Michigan law. He's since dropped his efforts to gain custody, his hands tied by the paternity law. His hopes now rest heavily on the passage of the new bill.

Source: LivingstonDaily.com, "Hartland man fights against state for daughter," Christopher Behnan, Jan. 23, 2011