CERTIFICATE OF PARENTAGE IN NJ

When Should You Consider DNA Testing Before Signing?

A Certificate of Parentage voluntarily establishes the legal father-child relationship. Once signed by both parents and properly witnessed or notarized, the Certificate of Parentage has the same legal effect as a court judgment establishing paternity.

Uncertainty regarding the child's biological father is the appropriate time to consider legal DNA testing before signing the Certificate of Parentage. A legal DNA paternity test helps establish the biological father-child relationship before the alleged father voluntarily accepts the legal rights and responsibilities that accompany signing the Certificate of Parentage.

Receiving the DNA test results before signing the Certificate of Parentage allows both parents to make an informed decision before voluntarily establishing legal paternity.

What Happens After You Sign a Certificate of Parentage?

Signing a Certificate of Parentage makes the presumed father legally responsible for the child.

Once legal paternity has been established, the Certificate of Parentage may be used as the basis for several legal matters, including:

• Establishing child support

• Seeking custody or visitation orders

• Adding the father's name to the child's birth certificate

• Establishing the child's legal relationship with both parents

Because signing this document waives the right to a genetic test and creates permanent legal rights and financial responsibilities, parents may wish to consult a family law attorney or seek a DNA test prior to signing if any uncertainty exists.

How Can Parents Obtain a Certificate of Parentage?

Parents may obtain and complete a Certificate of Parentage in several ways.

• At the hospital immediately following the child's birth

• At the local registrar's office

• At a local welfare office in New Jersey

• At a Child Services Office

The alleged biological father does not have to be present at the hospital to sign the Certificate of Parentage. If necessary, the form may be completed later through the registrar's office or welfare office.

Why Is a Certificate of Parentage Important?

Signing a Certificate of Parentage establishes the legal father-child relationship and provides important legal and financial benefits for the child.

These may include:

• Establishing child support

• Access to employer-sponsored health insurance when available

• Social Security benefits

• Veteran's benefits

• Inheritance rights

• Access to family medical history

• Establishing the child's legal identity

What If I Change My Mind After Signing?

Within 60 Days

A Certificate of Parentage may be rescinded within sixty days under the following circumstances.

• Both parents agree to rescind the Certificate of Parentage by filing the appropriate rescission form with the Bureau of Vital Records.

• One parent files an action with the court requesting rescission.

If the Certificate of Parentage is successfully rescinded within the sixty-day period, the father's information may be removed from the child's birth certificate. Either parent may later ask the court to establish paternity.

After 60 Days

After sixty days, a Certificate of Parentage may generally be challenged only through the court on the basis of:

• Fraud

• Duress

• Material mistake of fact

The party seeking to overturn the Certificate of Parentage must present evidence supporting one of these legal grounds.