TITLE 7

SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS

CHAPTER 11

PROCEEDINGS TO ESTABLISH PATERNITY

7-1106.  Acknowledgment of paternity. (1) A voluntary acknowledgment of paternity for an Idaho birth shall be admissible as evidence of paternity and shall constitute a legal finding of paternity upon the filing of a signed and notarized acknowledgment with the vital statistics unit of the department of health and welfare. If the mother was married at the time of either conception or birth, or between conception and birth, and the husband is not the father of the child, the husband may file an executed and notarized affidavit of nonpaternity if it is accompanied by a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity signed and notarized by the mother and the alleged father. Any party executing an acknowledgment of paternity or affidavit of nonpaternity may file a notarized rescission of such with the vital statistics unit within the earlier of:

(a)  Sixty (60) days after the acknowledgment is filed; or

(b)  The date of an administrative or judicial proceeding relating to the child, including a proceeding to establish a support order, in which the signatory is a party.

Such rescission shall be effective upon filing with the vital statistics unit. The vital statistics unit shall notify the other party or parties of the rescission by certified mail.

(2)  After the period for rescission, an executed acknowledgment of paternity may be challenged only in court on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof upon the party challenging the acknowledgment. The legal responsibilities, including the obligation to pay child support, of any party to the acknowledgment shall not be stayed except for good cause shown.

(3)  The court may enter an order for the support of a child upon execution of a voluntary acknowledgment without further proceedings to establish paternity.

(4)  The director shall prescribe forms for acknowledgment of paternity, affidavits of nonpaternity, and rescission thereof, and the board of health and welfare may promulgate such rules as are necessary to prescribe forms and establish fees to recover costs of maintaining such system.

History:

[7-1106, added 1969, ch. 93, sec. 5, p. 318; am. 1988, ch. 132, sec. 2, p. 235; am. 1994, ch. 237, sec. 1, p. 746; am. 1995, ch. 234, sec. 1, p. 791; am. 1996, ch. 49, sec. 1, p. 144; am. 1998, ch. 106, sec. 1, p. 363.]