A putative father,with some variations in specific language, generally means a man whose legal relationship to a child has not been established but who is alleged to be or claims that he may be the biological father of a child who is born to a woman to whom he is not married at the time of the child's birth.

United States

There is no standard definition for the word "father" in statutes across the United States. Five States (as of 2010, Arizona, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, and Virginia) as well as the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, provide no legal definition for the term at all. Many states, however, have definitions for various categories of unwed fathers, with the term "putative father" being defined by statute in 12 States (as of 2010, these being Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming).

See also

A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father has a parental social and legal relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations, although this varies between jurisdictions. An adoptive father is a male who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A biological father is the male genetic contributor to the creation of the baby, through sexual intercourse or sperm donation. A biological father may have legal obligations to a child not raised by him, such as an obligation of monetary support. A putative father is a man whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A stepfather is a male who is the husband of a child's mother and they may form a family unit, but who generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child.

The adjective "paternal" refers to a father and comparatively to "maternal" for a mother. The verb "to father" means to procreate or to sire a child from which also derives the noun "fathering". Biological fathers determine the sex of their child through a sperm cell which either contains an X chromosome (female), or Y chromosome (male). Related terms of endearment are dad (dada, daddy), papa/pappa, papasita, (pa, pap) and pop. A male role-model that children can look up to is sometimes referred to as a father-figure.

Death Note is a 37-episode anime series based on the manga series of the same title written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. Death Note aired in Japan on the Nippon Television (NTV) network every Tuesday, from October 3, 2006, to June 26, 2007. The plot of the series primarily revolves around high school student Light Yagami, who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook titled Death Note. This book causes the death of anyone whose name is written in it and is passed on to Light by the God of Death (or Shinigami) Ryuk after he becomes bored within the Shinigami world.

A three-hour "Director's Cut" compilation TV special, titled "Death Note: Relight: Visions of a God", aired on NTV a few months after the anime concluded. Although advertised to be the "complete conclusion", the popularity of the series inspired the release of a second TV special, titled "Death Note: Relight 2: L's Successors" nearly a year later. These specials recap the first and second arcs of the anime respectively, with new scenes added to fill in any plot holes resulted from omitted footage.

The Fullmetal Alchemist manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th Century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques. Although they basically start the same, the first anime, midway through its run, begins to differ greatly from the original manga; characters that are killed early on in the manga survive to the end of the first anime and vice versa. The second anime's (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood) events, however, faithfully follow those from the manga.

The story follows the adventures of two alchemist brothers named Edward and Alphonse Elric. While trying to revive their mother, the brothers lost parts of their bodies, with Alphonse's soul being contained in a suit of armor, and Edward replacing his right arm and left leg with two sets of automail, a type of advanced prosthetic limb. Advised by Roy Mustang, an alchemist from the State Military, Edward becomes a State Alchemist, and starts traveling with Alphonse through the country of Amestris in order to find a way to recover their bodies. In their search, they hear of the Philosopher's Stone, a powerful alchemy artifact that the brothers can use to recover their bodies. However, after becoming a State Alchemist, Edward discovers that several members of the military are also attempting to get the stone, most notably humanoid creatures known as homunculi, who start chasing the Elric brothers.