The husband of a woman who gives birth to a child has parental rights over the child equivalent to those of the mother even though he is not the biological father.

An individual, recognized by law as the male parent

The man the law recognizes as the father of a child; may or may not be the biological father of the child.

The man who is recognized by law as the father of a child.

a father of a child being placed for adoption whom the court recognizes to have equal rights as the birth mother. A father is considered a legal father if he was married to the mother at the time of conception or at any time during the pregnancy. It is possible that a legal father may not be the biological father.

A man who is determined by law to be the male parent.

a man who is recognized by law as the male parent

A father can be considered a legal father to a child if he has been identified as the father of a child and has established paternity or signed an affidavit of paternity, or is married to the birth mother at the time of conception or birth, or (some courts consider a status of legal) if he lives with the birth mother and has provided significant support during the time of pregnancy. It is possible that a legal father to a child is not the birth father.

A man who is legally declared to be the father. This person may or may not have supplied the paternal DNA.