When a child is born in Minnesota to an unmarried mother, the mother automatically has sole legal and sole physical custody of that child under Minn. Stat. § 257.541. When this happens, many parents sign a Recognition of Parentage, or ROP, form so that the baby’s birth certificate will have both parents listed. This is a form that is frequently signed at the hospital and is then submitted to the Minnesota Office of Vital Statistics. The ROP can be signed at any time, however, no matter how old the child is. Signing the ROP is easy to do, but doing so can cause significant...