Paternity cases in Missouri may arise for a variety of reasons. In some instances, an unmarried mother may seek to establish paternity for the purposes of seeking a child support order and to provide a legal basis for other financial purposes. A man may seek to establish that he is the father of a child in order establish parental rights for the purposes of child custody or visitation.

These types of issues have become more common in recent decades throughout the country. Generally, issues of paternity and child custody are a relatively private matter that is not usually newsworthy for the public media.

However, paternity and child support issues can make headlines when some sort of celebrity is involved. That idea seems to be a repeating issue for former NBA great Michael Jordan, as outlined in a story carried by the St. Louis American. A woman claims that Jordan is the father of her child—the child was born in August 2010. The woman reportedly posted an update on her Facebook page recently questioning why Jordan has not provided support for the young girl.

Jordan denies that he is the child’s father and says the woman’s claim is all about money. The woman has filed a paternity action in family court in her home state. Jordan has responded to say that the child’s paternity has already been legally established, and that he is not the father.

This is the second paternity suit that the former NBA player (and now majority owner of an NBA team) has faced this year. A woman filed a paternity suit against Jordan earlier this year—a claim that was subsequently dismissed by the court.

Source: The St. Louis American, “Fresh paternity suit for Michael Jordan,” Oct. 3, 2013