Custodia

There are multiple ways that legal fatherhood (paternity) can be established in Mississippi:

• If parents were married to each other when the child was conceived or born, paternity is automatically established for the husband;
• If parents were not married to each other when the child was conceived or born, then they need to do something to establish paternity. This can be done:
  
  • involuntarily - one of the parents asks the local family court to establish paternity, usually through DNA testing;¹ or
  • voluntarily - both parents agree to who the father of the child is. This can be done through a sworn acknowledgement of paternity at:
    • the hospital or birthing center; or
    • the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Mississippi State Department of Health.²

¹ Miss. Code § 93-9-21
² Miss. Code § 93-9-28(1), (4)