What is paternity acknowledgment?
Paternity Acknowledgment is the name given to the voluntary process of the unwed father being recognized as the alleged biological father (not birth father – fathers do not give birth!) of a child or children for child support purposes ONLY. A little known fact of these Paternity Acknowledgments is that custody is granted to the mother. Most often nurses or midwives are required by the state to ask the alleged father to sign the Paternity Acknowledgment Form. Please note that paternity acknowledgment DOES NOT establish legal, court recognized paternity, and may establish custody without due process (administratively designated custody). Be aware that there are many different “feel good” names given to this voluntary process. Some of these names are: Declaration of Paternity, Recognition of Parentage (ROP), Paternity Establishment, Paternity Opportunity Program (POP), and A Simple Acknowledgment of Paternity (ASAP Program). Even though the names may be different, the outcome is still th
