AnalysisBy signing an acknowledgment of paternity affidavit, unmarried parents agree that a man is the biological father of a child and choose to make him the legal father of the child.
Completing the paternity affidavit form is the quickest and easiest way for unmarried parents to establish legal fatherhood and have the father’s name placed on the birth certificate. Establishing paternity gives parents and child certain rights and opportunities. A father gains legal rights to the child. The child then has access to benefits such as Social Security, health insurance, life insurance, military benefits, and inheritances.
House Bill 33 simply allows an acknowledgment of paternity affidavit to be witnessed by two witnesses instead of being notarized, which is the only means of execution allowed under current law. The NNA recommends that parents filing an acknowledgment of paternity affidavit still choose to have their signatures notarized, as notarization adds a layer of trust and integrity to any document, including one so important as an acknowledgment of paternity affidavit.
This provision takes effect on the 91st day after filing with the Secretary of State. At the time this new law update was issued, House Bill 33 had not yet been filed with the Secretary, so the effective date reported above is the date of signing.
Readers should be aware that House Bill 33 is a lengthy omnibus bill that contains the budget for fiscal years 2024-2025. We recommend searching for the sections noted under “Affects” above to see the changes that are the subject of this new law update. The enrolled version of the bill is linked below. The Governor line-item vetoed several provisions of the bill, but the sections of the bill reported in this new law update made it into the enacted version.
Read House Bill 33.