Rule 3.217.Actions Under the Paternity Act

Paternity actions run on the ordinary civil rules. MCR 3.217 supplies the few places where they do not, and each one lands early in the case.

Governing law

Subrule (A) points procedure in an action under the Paternity Act, MCL 722.711 et seq., to the rules that apply to other civil actions, except as the rule and the act provide otherwise. A practitioner reads MCR 3.217 as a short list of departures rather than a self contained code, and looks to the general rules for everything the list does not touch.

Blood or tissue typing tests

Subrule (B) puts a hard edge on timing. A petition for blood or tissue typing tests under MCL 722.716 must be filed at or before the pretrial conference, or, if no pretrial conference is held, within the time the court specifies. Letting that moment pass waives the right to the tests. The waiver is not absolute: the court may permit a later petition in the interest of justice.

Advice about the right to counsel

Subrule (C) builds the warning in two layers. The first is on paper. The summons issued under MCL 722.714 must include a form advising the alleged father of the right to an attorney and of the procedure for requesting appointment of one. The form is served with the summons and the complaint, and the proof of service must say so.

The second layer is in the courtroom. If the alleged father appears following issuance of the summons, the court must advise him personally that he is entitled to the assistance of an attorney and that the court will appoint one at public expense, on his request, if he is financially unable to retain counsel of his own choosing. Should he decide to proceed without a lawyer, the record must affirmatively show both that he received the advice required by subrule (C)(2) and that he waived the right to counsel. Subrule (C)(4) closes the loop for the man who never comes to court: the record requirement in subrule (C)(3) does not apply to him.

Visitation

Subrule (D) leaves visitation to a petition. On the petition of either party the court may write reasonable visitation for the noncustodial parent into the order of filiation, measured by what the court finds justified and in the best interests of the child. Absent a petition from either party, the rule reserves the right of reasonable visitation rather than granting or denying it, which leaves the question open for a later request instead of foreclosing it.