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Wis. Stat. § 48.025

Declaration of paternal interest in matters affecting children

Showing this section's text as in effect on January 1, 2003 (in force January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2005). View current text →

(1) Any person claiming to be the father of a nonmarital child who is not adopted or whose parents do not subsequently intermarry under s. 767.60 may, in accordance with procedures under this section, file with the department a declaration of his interest in matters affecting such child.

(2) The declaration provided in sub. (1) may be filed at any time except after a termination of the father's rights under subch. VIII . The declaration shall be in writing, signed by the person filing the declaration and shall contain the person's name and address, the name and last-known address of the mother, the month and year of the birth or expected birth of the child and a statement that he has reason to believe that he may be the father of the child.

(3) A copy of a declaration filed with the department under sub. (1) shall be sent to the mother at her last-known address. Nonreceipt of such copy shall not affect the validity of the declaration. The mother may send a written response to the declaration to the department, and the written response shall be filed with the declaration. Failure to send a written response shall not constitute an admission of the statements contained in the declaration.

(4) Filing a declaration under this section shall not extend parental rights to the person filing such declaration.

Official source: Wisconsin State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Wisconsin statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.