PROBATE CODE OF 1939
Act 288 of 1939
710.39 Inquiry into fitness of putative father; determining best interests of child; termination of rights of putative father; determination that rights of putative father not be terminated; use of mother or guardian release or consent relinquishing rights to child; order granting custody to putative father and legitimating child; fee; report.
Sec. 39.
(1) If the putative father does not come within the provisions of subsection (2), and if the putative father appears at the hearing and requests custody of the child, the court shall inquire into his fitness and his ability to properly care for the child and shall determine whether the best interests of the child will be served by granting custody to him. If the court finds that it would not be in the best interests of the child to grant custody to the putative father, the court shall terminate his rights to the child.
(2) If the putative father has established a custodial relationship with the child or has provided substantial and regular support or care in accordance with the putative father's ability to provide support or care for the mother during pregnancy or for either mother or child after the child's birth during the 90 days before notice of the hearing was served upon him, the rights of the putative father shall not be terminated except by proceedings in accordance with section 51(6) of this chapter or section 2 of chapter XIIA.
(3) If the court determines that the parental rights of the putative father will not be terminated under subsection (1), the court shall do all of the following:
(a) Terminate the temporary placement made under section 23d of this chapter.
(b) Return custody of the child to the mother or the guardian unless the mother's parental rights have been terminated under this chapter or other law and are not restored under section 62 of this chapter.
(c) Deny the order of adoption and dismiss the pending adoption proceeding.
(4) The fact that the mother or guardian executed or proposed to execute a release or consent relinquishing the mother's parental rights or the guardian's rights to the child and sought termination of the putative father's parental rights under section 36, 37, or 39 of this chapter shall not be used against the mother or guardian in any proceeding under the child custody act of 1970, 1970 PA 91, MCL 722.21 to 722.31, after the court has completed the provisions in subsection (3).
(5) If the mother's parental rights are terminated under this chapter or other law and are not restored under section 62 of this chapter and if the court awards custody of a child born out of wedlock to the putative father, the court shall enter an order granting custody to the putative father and legitimating the child for all purposes. Upon entry of an order granting custody and legitimating the child, the clerk of the court shall collect a fee of $35.00 from the putative father. The clerk shall retain $9.00 of the fee and remit the $26.00 balance, along with a written report of the order granting custody and legitimating the child, to the director of the department of community health. The report shall be on a form prescribed by or in a manner approved by the director of the department of community health. Regardless of whether the fee required by this section is collected, the clerk shall transmit and the department of community health shall receive the report of the order granting custody and legitimating the child.
History: Add. 1974, Act 296, Eff. Jan. 1, 1975 ;-- Am. 1980, Act 288, Eff. Oct. 17, 1980 ;-- Am. 1982, Act 72, Imd. Eff. Apr. 14, 1982 ;-- Am. 1994, Act 202, Eff. Jan. 1, 1995 ;-- Am. 1994, Act 373, Eff. Jan. 1, 1995 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 409, Eff. Jan. 1, 1998 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 94, Eff. Sept. 1, 1998 ;-- Am. 2014, Act 119, Eff. Oct. 12, 2014
PopularName Notes:
Probate Code
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
61
cases (
10 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case:
In re MGR, 916 N.W.2d 662 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).
In re MGR, 916 N.W.2d 662 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).
· cites it 57× “3 On March 24, 2017, the trial court commenced a hearing under MCL 710.39 (§ 39) of the Adoption Code, 4 during which appellee appeared by telephone.”
In Re Mkk, 781 N.W.2d 132 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009).
· cites it 11× “19b, not MCL 710.39. At a September 3, 2008, hearing, petitioners argued that respondent’s motion to consolidate was moot because both cases had been assigned to Judge Shelton.”
In Re Rff, 617 N.W.2d 745 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).
· cites it 14× “MCL 710.39; MSA 27.3178(555.39) provides, in pertinent part: (1) If the putative father does not come within the provisions of subsection (2), and if the putative father appears at the hearing and requests custody of the child, the court shall inquire into his fitness and his…”
In re COH, 848 N.W.2d 107 (Mich. 2014).
· cites it 6× “e adoptee” or “best interests of the child” means the sum total of the following factors to be considered, evaluated, and determined by the court to be applied to give the adoptee permanence at the earliest possible date: (i) The love, affection, and other emotional ties…”
In re MGR, 928 N.W.2d 184 (Mich. 2019).
· cites it 28× “The Court of Appeals, in orders entered on May 31, 2017 and July 25, 2017, directed the trial court to commence and conclude the Section 39 hearing, see MCL 710.39. Respondent-father did not seek further appellate review of either order.”
In Re Clausen, 502 N.W.2d 649 (Mich. 1993).
· cites it 4× “[ [33] ] [MCL 710.39; MSA 27.3178(555.39).] There will be many cases in which the putative *678 father meets the conditions that bring him within subsection 2, but in which someone else could make a persuasive showing that the best interests of the child require denying the…”
In Re Schnell, 543 N.W.2d 11 (Mich. Ct. App. 1995).
· cites it 5× “[ 2 ] [MCL 710.39; MSA 27.3178(555.39). Emphasis supplied.”
In Re Bkd, 631 N.W.2d 353 (Mich. Ct. App. 2001).
· cites it 3× “Respondent appeals as of right from an order terminating his parental rights to his minor child pursuant to MCL 710.39. We affirm. Respondent and petitioner had an intimate relationship during the summer of 1998.”
In re Dawson, 591 N.W.2d 433 (Mich. Ct. App. 1998).
· cites it 5× “Petitioner appeals as of right from an order of the Ottawa Circuit Court, Family Court Division, denying her petition to terminate respondent’s parental rights pursuant to § 39 of the Adoption Code, MCL 710.39; MSA 27.3178(555.39). We affirm.”
In Re Ballard, 556 N.W.2d 196 (Mich. Ct. App. 1996).
· cites it 8× “§ 710.39; M.S.A. § 27.3178(555.39) despite evidence that he sent Stacey $200 in October 1994.”
In re AJR, 852 N.W.2d 760 (Mich. 2014).
· cites it 2× “51(6) provides for the termination of parental rights in the context of stepparent adoption: (6) If the parents of a child are divorced, or if the parents are unmarried but the father has acknowledged paternity or is a putative father who meets the conditions in [MCL 710.39],…”
In Re Zimmerman, 746 N.W.2d 306 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).
· cites it 7× “MCL 710.39 provides, in pertinent part, as follows: (1) If the putative father does not come within the provisions of subsection (2), and if the putative father appears at the hearing and requests custody of the child, the court shall inquire into his fitness and his ability to…”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 710.39(1) — 30 cases
In re MGR, 916 N.W.2d 662 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).
“3 On March 24, 2017, the trial court commenced a hearing under MCL 710.39 (§ 39) of the Adoption Code, 4 during which appellee appeared by telephone.”
In Re Mkk, 781 N.W.2d 132 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009).
“19b, not MCL 710.39. At a September 3, 2008, hearing, petitioners argued that respondent’s motion to consolidate was moot because both cases had been assigned to Judge Shelton.”
In Re Rff, 617 N.W.2d 745 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).
“MCL 710.39; MSA 27.3178(555.39) provides, in pertinent part: (1) If the putative father does not come within the provisions of subsection (2), and if the putative father appears at the hearing and requests custody of the child, the court shall inquire into his fitness and his…”
In Re Clausen, 502 N.W.2d 649 (Mich. 1993).
“[ [33] ] [MCL 710.39; MSA 27.3178(555.39).] There will be many cases in which the putative *678 father meets the conditions that bring him within subsection 2, but in which someone else could make a persuasive showing that the best interests of the child require denying the…”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 710.39(2) — 32 cases
In re MGR, 916 N.W.2d 662 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).
“3 On March 24, 2017, the trial court commenced a hearing under MCL 710.39 (§ 39) of the Adoption Code, 4 during which appellee appeared by telephone.”
In Re Mkk, 781 N.W.2d 132 (Mich. Ct. App. 2009).
“19b, not MCL 710.39. At a September 3, 2008, hearing, petitioners argued that respondent’s motion to consolidate was moot because both cases had been assigned to Judge Shelton.”
In Re Rff, 617 N.W.2d 745 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).
“MCL 710.39; MSA 27.3178(555.39) provides, in pertinent part: (1) If the putative father does not come within the provisions of subsection (2), and if the putative father appears at the hearing and requests custody of the child, the court shall inquire into his fitness and his…”
In re MGR, 928 N.W.2d 184 (Mich. 2019).
“The Court of Appeals, in orders entered on May 31, 2017 and July 25, 2017, directed the trial court to commence and conclude the Section 39 hearing, see MCL 710.39. Respondent-father did not seek further appellate review of either order.”
In Re Schnell, 543 N.W.2d 11 (Mich. Ct. App. 1995).
“[ 2 ] [MCL 710.39; MSA 27.3178(555.39). Emphasis supplied.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 710.39(3) — 3 cases
In Re Zimmerman, 746 N.W.2d 306 (Mich. Ct. App. 2008).
“MCL 710.39 provides, in pertinent part, as follows: (1) If the putative father does not come within the provisions of subsection (2), and if the putative father appears at the hearing and requests custody of the child, the court shall inquire into his fitness and his ability to…”
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