Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity

Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity is a way to name the legal father without having to go to court if the parents are not married. Ordinarily, when the parents of a child are not married, Family Court issues an order naming the legal father of the child. When determining a Voluntary Acknowledgement of paternity, each parent must make his or her own decision. If both parents agree to sign the acknowledgement form, paternity is established very easily. Acknowledging paternity is important for the child because the child may be able to get some benefits as a legal dependent of the father. Some of these benefits may be social security, veteran's benefits, disability, health care coverage and inheritance, in addition to the positive psychological benefits.

When an acknowledgement is properly signed, it conclusively establishes the man's paternity of the child, unless either parent rescinds the acknowledgement within 60 days of signing. After the 60 day period, it is extremely rare to change this legal determination.

The form can only be signed after the child is born and it can be signed at the hospital or anytime until the child turns 18, or 19 if the child is still in high school. There is no fee for signing the acknowledgement form and it will allow the father's name to be placed on the birth certificate.

Only the biological father should sign the Acknowledgement of Paternity form. If you are not sure, do not sign the Acknowledgement. Instead, you should have a paternity test, sometimes called genetic testing. Please contact the nearest child support office for information about testing. If the mother was married to a man other than the biological father at the time of the child's birth, the man she was married to is the legal father and the biological father can not sign an acknowledgement form. In this case, only the Family Court can declare the biological father the legal father.