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.