Importance of Having Acknowledgement of Paternity in Oklahoma
Why do fathers need a copy of the Acknowledgement of Paternity in Oklahoma? I’m Attorney James Wirth and that is the issue that we’re dealing with, the Acknowledgement of Paternity. A lot of people say, got to get a copy of the birth certificate, it’s important to have a copy of the birth certificate of your child, but for fathers, when they are not married to the mother, it’s important not necessarily that they have a copy of the birth certificate, they need the Acknowledgement of Paternity.
Now the Acknowledgement of Paternity is the document that is signed, typically it’s signed at the hospital, doesn’t have to be, and could be signed anytime thereafter by the biological father and the mother, and that’s the document that goes to DHS Vital Statistics to put the father’s name on the birth certificate. But you want to have that document itself as well, and why do you want to have that?
Equal Rights for Fathers
There are essentially two different reasons, and it has to do with a new statute that went into effect not that long ago, providing equal rights for fathers. So previously for a child that was born out of wedlock, the law said that mom’s got de facto sole custody, now it’s not quite as clear. Now what it says is that if a father has an Acknowledgement of Paternity that has him listed as the father, he should have effectively equal rights just as if both parents were married and the child was born into that marriage.
So that new statute’s been around a couple of years, Title 63, Section 1-311, and it notes that when the parents are not married, the father gets on the birth certificate two different ways. One is by going to court, either an administrative court with the Department of Human Services or your local county district court for paternity determination. Either one of those ways can get him on the birth certificate by going through a judicial process.
Importance of Having a Copy
But there’s one way you can get on the birth certificate without having to go through all of those things, and that is through an Acknowledgement of Paternity. This is what it says. How do we get on the birth certificate? The mother and the father have agreed as to the biological paternity of the child and signed an Acknowledgement of Paternity pursuant to another code here, or a substantially similar affidavit from another state and filed it with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics.
Now this is the new part. Just a couple of years ago it said, this, meaning the signing of an Acknowledgement of Paternity, shall give the mother and father equal rights and obligations to the child. That’s what’s different. Previously, mom would have de facto sole custody. This says if there’s an Acknowledgement of Paternity, equal rights. A child whose parentage has been determined as set forth shall be treated as a child of parents who were married at the time of birth.
Get a Low-Cost Initial Strategy Session
For dads in Oklahoma, you want to have a copy of that Acknowledgement of Paternity if you were not married to the mother. Any questions about this scenario or you’re going through that, you’re going to want to talk to an attorney privately and confidentially for legal advice, not just information from a video on the internet. To get an appointment scheduled with an attorney at my office, go online to MakeLawEasy.com or call 918-879-1681 to schedule a low-cost initial strategy session.
