Marital Presumption

The presumption is that a child born to a married mother is the child of her spouse. In McLaughlin v. Jones, 401 P.3d 492 (Ariz. 2017), this presumption was extended to women who are married to the birth mother at the time of birth. The marital presumption is not absolute; in fact, it is one of four presumptions of paternity under Arizona law. See A.R.S. 25-814(A) The spouse’s paternity still needs to be established either by signing an Acknowledgment of Paternity with the mother and submitting that acknowledgment to the state or by Court order. If paternity is ever challenged by someone with a competing claim, the Court must resolve it based on “policy and logic” and must prioritize established social bonds over even biological relationships. See A.R.S. 25-814(C). That means where a spouse has an established relationship with the child, their paternity claim may prevail over even the biological parent. See e.g. Doherty v. Leon, 294 Ariz. 515 (App. 2020).