Section 28.16 Presumptions

• Library: Family Law Deskbook and 2014 Supp

A. (§28.16) Presumptions

Section 210.822, RSMo 2000, sets forth four situations in which a presumption of paternity is established. When one of these situations exists, it is only necessary to prove the existence of the facts upon which the presumption would then apply. These presumptions of paternity are rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence. Section 210.822.2.

The first situation in which a presumption of paternity arises is when the man and “the child’s natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, or within three hundred days after the marriage is terminated . . . .” Section 210.822.1(1). This is the traditional presumption, that the husband is the father of his wife’s child. This presumption is often said to be the strongest presumption known to the law. G__ M__ H__ v. J__ L__ H__, 700 S.W.2d 506 (Mo. App. S.D. 1985); J.M.L. v. C.L., 536 S.W.2d 944 (Mo. App. E.D. 1976). But under the MoUPA (Missouri...