Can we sign something that says we are the parents?
Yes.
If you are not married and you both agree who the father is, the two of you can sign a form called Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage.
You must sign this form in front of a Notary Public.
The Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage is a very important form. If you are not married, the mother has custody. After you file the form, the father has legal rights and responsibilities concerning the child.
Fathers have the right to ask the court for visitation, custody, and child support.
Fathers and mothers must help support their children.
Where do we file this form?
You can fill out, sign, and file this form at:
- the hospital where the child was born (before the birth certificate is registered);
- the State Registry of Vital Records and Statistics
- the clerk's office for the city or town where the child was born; and
- a Probate and Family Court
How do we fill out this form?
Read the whole form, front and back.
The back of the form has important information about your rights and responsibilities.
Be sure you understand everything the form says.
If you do not understand anything on the form, do not sign it.
If you are the mother, fill out the mother's section.
If you are the father, fill out the father's section.
The mother's section
In the mother's section you check one of two boxes: swears either that
- Check the first box if you were not married when the child was born or at any time during the 300 days before the child was born. The form assumes you were not pregnant for than 300 days.
- Check the second box if you were married to someone other than the child's father when the child was born or when you became pregnant. In this case the father's name will not be added to the birth certificate unless
- you also file an Affidavit of Nonpaternity or Affidavit of Non-Parentage signed by the husband (or former husband), or
- you go to court and the court decides that the husband is not actually the child's father.
In the lower left corner of the mother's section you put the name of the language you read the form in. That's just above the line that says "Form read in."
Remember, you sign the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage in front of a notary public.
The father's section
Fill in all the information in the father's section.
In the lower left corner of the father's section you put the name of the language you read the form in. That's just above the line that says "Form read in."
Remember, you sign the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage in front of a notary public.
What if I find out I made a mistake in signing the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage?
You have 60 days to change your mind about the form. That's because 60 days after the parents sign the Acknowledgment of Paternity it has the effect of a court judgment saying that you are the parents of the child.
If, after signing the form, either of you believes that the man named on the form is not the father, one of you must file a case in the Probate and Family Court. You have 60 days from the day you signed the form to ask the court to cancel ("recind") the Acknowledgment.
What if one of you needs to cancel the Voluntary Acknowledgment after 60 days?
There are only a few specific situations where you can try to cancel the Voluntary Acknowledgment after 60 days.
You can try to cancel the establishment of paternity only within one year and only if you prove that there was fraud, duress (illegal pressure), or a material (serious and relevant) mistake of fact.
For more information about the voluntarily acknowledging parentage, see Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 209C, section 11.
Produced by Jeff Wolf, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Created November, 2011