JANUARY 2026 | 33 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. father or exclude the presumed/ acknowledged father.36 The only exception to this rule is the timely execution of a denial of paternity and acknowledgment of paternity to rebut a marital presumption within two years of the child’s birth.37 Genetic testing is also required in a scenario where the legal father, biological father and mother agree to substitute the biological father for the legal father.38 If the court finds the conduct of the mother or presumed father estops them from denying parentage or that genetic testing would be contrary to the child’s best interests, the court should deny a motion seeking an order for genetic testing39 and enter an order denying the parentage challenge, which includes language that confirms and adjudicates the existing legal father.40 If the court finds that genetic testing would not be contrary to the child’s best interests based on the nine factors outlined in §608(B) and the conduct of the parties has not estopped either party from now denying parentage, the court may enter an order for genetic testing. An order for genetic testing does not rebut a presumption or vacate an acknowledgment. The legal parent’s status is not disestablished until after genetic testing is performed, the results show the legal parent is not the biological father, and the court enters an order for disestablishment. FINAL ORDER After the court receives the results of the genetic testing, a final order must be entered consistent with the results of the genetic testing.41 Final orders regarding parentage must contain the statutorily required language.42 Orders should state with specificity that the Office of Vital Records must add or remove a father from a birth certificate. In three challenges,43 if the genetic test results confirm that the legal parent is not the biological parent, the court enters an order of nonparentage that rebuts the parent-child relationship. Leaving a child without a father is only prohibited in proceedings under 10 O.S. §607(C). If the genetic test results show that the legal parent is the biological father, then the court should enter an order confirming parentage. Under §607(C), if the genetic test results show that the alleged father is the biological father, the court should enter an order of parentage and child support, which rebuts the marital presumption and adjudicates the biological father to be the legal father.44 However, if the genetic test results show the alleged father is not the biological father, the court would have to enter an order that confirms the legal father-child relationship that exists by operation of law with the husband. If the court had tested the husband first and then tested the alleged father and found that neither man was the biological father, the court would have to wrestle with two conflicting instructions in the UPA.45 When this happens in a proceeding under §607(C), the court may not dismiss the proceeding.46 APPLICATION IN REAL LIFE Just the Facts Now that you understand the framework and the order of operations for parentage challenge procedures, how does this information guide your actions early in a case when a client desires a particular parentage outcome, and the child already has a legal father? The first step, as in any case, is to get the facts. When we start solving problems with missing facts, we risk solving the wrong problem, and our pathway to success will likely include some frustrations, inefficiencies and barriers along the way. A case is rarely as straightforward as it appears. Your client may tell you that John Smith is the biological father without a shadow of a doubt, but because of ignorance of the law, shame, fear, trauma or all the other human reasons that might exist, your client omits the really important bits of information that make all the difference in the case. Knowing and asking the essential questions, followed by making a timeline of the relevant parentage facts, is the best way to uncover these important facts and organize fact patterns that are often messy and overlapping. Over the next few paragraphs, we will explore the essential questions. If you are representing a party in a divorce or paternity action involving minor children, it is important to ask if Child Support Services (CSS) has an open case involving the children in the case.47 If there is an open case, CSS will be a necessary party and can be a resource for you to help fill in the factual gaps and navigate parentage issues.48 Sometimes, it’s giving a call to CSS out of the gate that helps you realize an administrative or district court order already exists for this family when those results have not populated from your district court case search. Also, it’s helpful to obtain a copy of each child’s birth certificate.49 The existence of a father’s name on a child’s birth certificate can be a clue that the child may already have a legal father.
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