Alaska Court System Self-Help

How do you add your name as the father on a birth certificate?

How can you remove your name as father from a birth certificate?

Can you revoke an acknowledgement of paternity?

What if you named the wrong person on the birth certificate?

Do you need to file a court case about paternity if the birth certificate is correct?

Where can you get a copy of the birth certificate?

What is genetic testing?

How do you get a DNA test?

How much does a DNA test cost?

Who pays for a DNA test?

If OCS did a DNA test showing who is the father, does CSED or the court recognize that?

Can you do a DNA test on an unborn child?

What if the parents won't cooperate in getting a DNA test?

How do you ask for a DNA test?

What does it mean to establish or disestablish paternity?

Why establish paternity?

Do you need to establish paternity if the parents are getting along and the father is financially supporting the child?

How is paternity established?

How is the mother's husband considered the father even if everyone knows he isn't?

Who can file a court case to establish paternity?

Who can file a court case to disestablish paternity?

How do you prove who the father is or isn't?

Can you still file for divorce if you haven't dealt with paternity already?

Can the biological father have a say about paternity in a divorce case between the mother and her husband?

Can you file for dissolution and address paternity issues in the dissolution paperwork?

Can you get out of paying child support if paternity is disestablished?

Is the father required to pay child support after paternity is established?

Do you have to pay child support if you didn't know you had a child?

If the mother gets public assistance, will there also be a paternity case?

Can you establish or disestablish paternity on a child that hasn't been born yet?

How do you establish paternity when the father died?

If there is proof that someone is not the biological parent, can the court still find him a "psychological parent"?

What forms are available for paternity?

When paternity is established, can the father visit the child?

When paternity is established, can the father ask for custody of the child?

Where do I find out more information about different stages of a case or specific topics?

You may be able to fill out the Affidavit of Paternity, VS-06-5376 form depending on the situation and provide to Health Analytics & Vital Records .

If there is nobody listed as the father, the father can be added at any time by the mother and father filling out the Affidavit of Paternity, VS-06-5376 form. Both must sign the Affidavit of Paternity in front of a notary public or a witness. The completed form should be mailed or delivered to Health Analytics & Vital Records. Contact Health Analytics & Vital Records for a copy of the form. It is not available on the internet.

If the mother was married and the husband is listed on the birth certificate but another man is the father, all three people can sign the Affidavit of Paternity in front of a notary public or a witness. The completed form should be mailed or delivered to Health Analytics & Vital Records who can add the correct father.

Sometimes, the Affidavit of Paternity form isn't acceptable if the parties have already signed an earlier Affidavit of Paternity that contains different information about the paternity. In that situation, you may need to file a court case that results in an order to change the birth certificate.

You can have your name removed as father from a birth certificate if:

• your wife had a child with another man during your marriage and you, your wife and the child's father all sign an Affidavit of Paternity, VS-06-5376 form and provide it to Health Analytics & Vital Records .
• you revoke your acknowledgment of paternity within 60 days of signing the acknowledgment form. You can fill out a revocation form that you can get from Health Analytics & Vital Records paternity clerk and provide it to Health Analytics & Vital Records.
• CSED disestablished paternity and issued an order to Health Analytics & Vital Records to remove a man from the birth certificate as the father. CSED can disestablish paternity if someone applies for CSED services (if there isn't an open CSED case) and then DNA testing proves he is not the father. See CSED's FAQs about paternity .
• a court issues an order for Health Analytics & Vital Records to remove the name in a paternity disestablishment case.

You can revoke an acknowledgement of paternity at Health Analytics & Vital Records within 60 days of signing the acknowledgment form by filling out a revocation form that you can get from Health Analytics & Vital Records paternity clerk.

If more than 60 days have passed, you cannot revoke an acknowledgment of paternity by filing a form at Health Analytics & Vital Records. Instead, you need a court order to disestablish paternity by providing clear and convincing evidence that you are not the father.

It depends on the situation whether you can simply fill out an Affidavit of Paternity, form VS-06-5376 with Health Analytics & Vital Records , or whether you need to file a case in court. Sometimes, the Affidavit of Paternity form isn't acceptable if the parties have already signed an earlier Affidavit of Paternity that contains different information about the paternity. In that situation, you may need to file a court case that results in an order to change the birth certificate.

No. If Health Analytics & Vital Records issues a birth certificate that names the correct father, the child is considered "legitimated" and the heir of that father. This means that if the child should be eligible for any medical or financial benefits connected to the father such as health insurance, or benefits based on military service or being Alaska Native or American Indian. Also, if the father dies, the child will be able to inherit and collect financial or medical benefits that the child may be eligible for such as Social Security Children's Insurance Benefits or military benefits.

For a child born in Alaska, contact Health Analytics & Vital Records for instructions. They have offices in Anchorage and Juneau .

Genetic testing, more commonly called "DNA testing," shows whether someone is the parent of a child. A DNA sample is collected using a swab, similar to a Q-Tip inside the cheek to pick up cells. Samples are collected from the mother, the child and the person who may be the father. The testing is painless and the whole process takes about 15 minutes. Once all the samples have been collected, the result is ready within about 3 weeks.

You can arrange the DNA testing through the Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) if you qualify. CSED may tell you that it needs a court order to arrange for the testing, depending on how the father was named in the first place.

Contact information for the Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) .

If there is an open case with CSED, it may arrange appointments to have DNA samples collected for testing. If there is no open case, CSED may provide the parties with information about arranging the genetic testing themselves at a laboratory used by CSED.

Do-it-yourself DNA tests are not acceptable as evidence in court. The court requires a qualified person to collect the samples and a qualified lab to conduct the testing and report the result.

It costs about $56 for each person to have a DNA test by CSED . Private labs charge substantially more.

It depends on whether the DNA testing is happening through a court case or not.

If the testing is court ordered, you can ask the court for the payment arrangement that you think is appropriate and the judge will decide.

If the testing is not connected to a court case, it depends on whether you are arranging for the testing through CSED or a private lab.

If CSED orders the test, the State will pay the costs for the mother, the child and the man named as the father. If the father is identified by the tests, he will be asked to reimburse the State for the costs. If the man is not the father, he will not have to pay for the tests. If either the mother or the father challenges the original test results, he or she may pay for a second test.

If you use a private lab that is not connected with CSED, you will pay for the testing. You may be able to share the cost with the mother but that is up to you both to figure out.

CSED has access to OCS DNA test records. OCS and CSED use the same lab, so CSED will get a copy and establish paternity based on those tests.

If you have a court case, however, OCS, CSED and the court do not automatically communicate about DNA test results and paternity. If you can get a certified copy of the DNA results from the agency that had the test done, you can submit it as evidence in a paternity case in court. It is your responsibility to tell OCS, CSED or the court if you've had DNA testing already and to take steps to get a certified copy of the results to file in court if you have a case.

No. Courts will not order DNA testing for fetuses in the uterus. You have to wait until the child is born to do a genetic test to determine who the father is.

You can ask the court to order DNA testing in a divorce, custody or paternity case. You can ask that:

• the person believed to be the father have a DNA test
• the mother have a DNA test
• the parent who has the child to cooperate to have the child get a DNA test

It depends on whom you are asking – the court or CSED.

If you have a court case (divorce, custody or paternity), you can file:

• DR-530 Motion and Affidavit for Genetic (DNA) Testing

If you don't have a court case, you can ask CSED to establish or disestablish paternity. Either the mother or the father may complete an application for CSED services (if there isn't already an open CSED case) and a paternity affidavit. If the father isn't willing to sign a voluntary affidavit, CSED may order DNA testing to prove fatherhood. If the father lives outside Alaska, CSED can ask the other state to help establish paternity. See CSED's FAQs about paternity and contact CSED for the appropriate forms. Sometimes CSED may decide it cannot do a DNA test based on the specific situation and tells the person he or she needs to file a paternity case in court.

Establishing paternity means legally determining the father of a child. Once established, the father's name can be placed on the child's birth certificate and he has legal responsibility for the child. Disestablishing paternity is legally un-naming a man as the child's father.

Establishing paternity can make a big difference in a child's health, financial outlook and sense of identity in knowing who both parents are.

• Health: A child needs to know if he or she has inherited any health problems. This question can be answered only if the medical history of both parents is available. Also, it's often possible to obtain medical insurance for the child through the father's employer, union or military service or the Indian Health Service if the father is Alaska Native or American Indian.
• Financial Benefits: A child has the right to financial benefits from both parents. These could include inheritance rights, Social Security, disability or veteran's benefits, Native corporation dividends, and other types of assistance. Unless paternity has been legally established, a child may not be able to claim these benefits.
• Identity: It is important to a child's sense of self and security to know who their father is. Not knowing who their father is can make growing up even harder for many children.
• Support: Both parents are required by law to support their child.

It is a good idea to establish paternity. Even if the father agrees to help support the child now, he may change his mind or become disabled or die. Some benefits are available to the child only if paternity has been established.

There are four different ways paternity can be established:

• If a child is born while the mother is married, the husband is automatically considered to be the legal father (even if he is not the biological father).
• The parents can acknowledge paternity by signing the Health Analytics & Vital Records Affidavit of Paternity, VS-06-5376 form that results in the father being listed on the child's birth certificate. This is often done at the hospital when the child is born. If the parents do not establish paternity at that time, they can sign the form later. Contact Health Analytics & Vital Records for a copy of the form. It is not available on the internet. The completed VS-06-5376 form should be provided to Health Analytics & Vital Records , not the court.
• CSED can establish paternity and issue an order to Health Analytics & Vital Records to add a man to the birth certificate as the father. CSED can establish paternity if someone applies for CSED services and then the mother and current father sign a paternity affidavit saying he is the father or they do DNA testing that proves he is the father. See CSED's FAQs about paternity and contact CSED for the appropriate forms.
• A court order establishes paternity after either parent filed a complaint to establish paternity. The court must find there is clear and convincing evidence about who the father is.

Alaska law requires that the husband's name be entered on the birth certificate as the child's father if the mother was married at conception, during the pregnancy or at the time of the child's birth. However, the correct father can be listed on the birth certificate if:

• the mother, the mother's husband and the man who is the father sign the Affidavit of Paternity, VS-06-5376 form, stating that the husband is not the father and the other man is the father and provide it to Health Analytics & Vital Records , or
• a court case disestablishes the husband as the child's father and establishes the correct father.

The child's father or mother can file a Complaint to Establish Paternity in court. There are different versions of the complaint to establish paternity, depending on who is filing the case and whether the people involved agree about the paternity:

If the parents do not agree or do not communicate to discuss whether they agree:

• Complaint by Mother to Establish Paternity, DR-500
• Complaint by Biological Father to Establish Paternity, DR-501

If the parents agree:

• Uncontested Complaint to Establish Paternity, DR-520

You can also request to establish paternity when filing a custody complaint. This custody complaint is used when the parents do not agree or do not communicate to discuss whether they agree:

• Custody Packet (for unmarried parents), SHC-PAC3A

If the parents agree about paternity and the custody arrangement:

• Uncontested Complaint for Custody of Minor Children Packet, SHC-PAC10

The child's mother, her husband or the biological father can file a Complaint to Disestablish Paternity in court. There are different versions of the complaint to disestablish paternity, depending on who is filing the case:

• Complaint by Mother to Disestablish Paternity, DR-505
• Complaint by Current Legal Father to Disestablish Paternity, DR-506

You can also request to disestablish paternity when filing a divorce complaint. This divorce complaint is used when the spouses do not agree on all issues or do not communicate to discuss whether they agree:

• Divorce Complaint With Children Packet, SHC-PAC1A

If the spouses agree about paternity and all issues in the divorce, they can file:

• Uncontested Complaint for Divorce With Children Packet, SHC-PAC9A

In a court case, you need to prove paternity by clear and convincing evidence. There are different ways to do this depending on the facts of the situation. Every case is different so you need to figure out what will work in your case. Some options are:

• all of the people involved in the case sign affidavits: Three-Way Affidavit to Disestablish and Establish Paternity, DR-521. This can be:
  • the mother, the husband and the man who is the father stating the husband is NOT the father and that the man is the biological father
  • the mother and the husband saying the husband is NOT the father to disestablish the husband
  • the mother and the man saying he IS the father to establish him
  • the mother only if others are not cooperating and she can provide convincing facts about the paternity
• get genetic (DNA) testing of the child, the mother and the man believed to be the father and the husband if the mother is married. The test results must be provided to the court. This can be done voluntarily if all of the people are cooperating or by court order. To ask for a court order, you can file:
  • Motion & Affidavit for Genetic (DNA) Testing, DR-530

You can file for divorce but it is likely that the judge will require that the paternity issue be resolved before the divorce case is finalized. If you don't raise the paternity issue and the husband is not the biological father, the court would treat the husband as the father when deciding child custody and child support issues. You can deal with divorce and paternity in the same case by filing:

• Divorce Complaint With Children Packet, SHC-PAC1A

Only the mother and her husband are parties in a divorce case which means the judge will only hear from them. If the biological father wants to establish himself as the father in the mother's divorce case, he, the mother and her husband can file together:

• Joint Request for Biological Father to Join Case to Establish Paternity, DR-523

If the court grants the motion, the father will participate only for the paternity establishment issue.

Yes. You can use the dissolution forms to deal with a paternity issue. If the wife and husband agree on all issues (ending the marriage, how to divide property and debt, custody and visitation issues, and paternity), you can file:

• Dissolution Packet #1, DR-1 (For married people with minor children)

There is a different set of paperwork you can file when the wife and husband agree on all issues:

• Uncontested Complaint for Divorce With Children Packet, SHC-PAC9A

It is strongly suggested that you use Uncontested Complaint for Divorce form if you are filing in Fairbanks and at least one spouse is a military member because the court prefers SHC-PAC9A instead of the Dissolution Packet #1, DR-1.

Usually you can only get a court order to stop the child support obligation from the time paternity is disestablished or from the time the complaint to disestablish is filed. A court order disestablishing paternity will usually not wipe out arrears that have built up from before the case to disestablish paternity was filed. However, every case is different depending on the specific facts.

Yes. A father has a legal obligation to pay child support for his child after paternity is established if he does not have physical custody of the child. The court can order child support that starts on the date the child was born, even if the paternity was established much later.

If you have been established as the father of a child, you are responsible to pay child support if you don't have physical custody of the child. The court can order child support that starts on the date the child was born, even if the paternity was established much later.

If an unmarried mother applies for public assistance, she will be required to identify who is the child's father. If paternity has not been established, the law requires the mother to cooperate with the public assistance and child support agencies to help establish paternity. The Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) will do genetic testing to determine who the biological father is and try to collect child support while the mother is getting public assistance. If CSED establishes paternity, it will issue an order to Health Analytics & Vital Records to add the father to the birth certificate. In that situation, there is no need to file a court case.

That depends on which court you are filing in. Some courts will allow paternity actions on unborn children when all of the people involved agree about who the father is. Other courts require that the child be born before filing a paternity action or addressing paternity in a divorce case.

If you want to get divorced before the paternity issue of an unborn child can be decided, you can file a motion asking to bifurcate the divorce and decide paternity after the child is born. If the judge grants your motion, the judge can divorce the parties and address the paternity issue after the child is born. There is no guarantee the judge will bifurcate the issues just because you ask. The decision depends on whether delaying the final decree of divorce until after the paternity is decided would prejudice the parties.

• Motion to Bifurcate Divorce and Decide Paternity after Birth, DR-526

Call the Family Law Self-Help Center Helpline for more information about paternity and a child that hasn't been born yet.

This is complicated because the father cannot participate in the case and getting evidence to prove paternity can be difficult. It is possible to establish a father who has died and may be very important when the child is entitled to Social Security or veteran's benefits or inheritance. If you have evidence to prove the paternity by clear and convincing evidence, you need to name the defendant as the personal representative of the deceased father's estate. You should contact an attorney in this situation.

Courts have the power to determine that someone is a "psychological parent" based on a mutual parent-child bond, even if he is not the biological father. A psychological parent is a person who on a day-to-day basis, fulfills the child's psychological needs for an adult through interaction and companionship. This adult is an essential focus of the child's life, taking care of the child's physical, emotional and psychological needs.

Establishing someone as a "psychological parent" can be very complicated. You should talk to an attorney if this applies in your case.

For all paternity forms, visit https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/family/forms.htm#paternity

Paternity establishment and visitation rights are two separate issues. Once paternity is established, the father may seek visitation rights through the court if the mother is not willing to allow him to visit.

If paternity hasn't been established and you need the court to establish paternity, you can deal with paternity and visitation in the same case. There are options for forms to start the case.

You can file a custody case, stating what visitation arrangement you want, and ask to establish paternity in that case:

• Custody Packet (for unmarried parents), SHC-PAC3A

You can file a paternity case and ask for a custody and visitation order in that case:

• Complaint by Mother to Establish Paternity, DR-500
• Complaint by Biological Father to Establish Paternity, DR-501

If the parents agree:

• Uncontested Complaint to Establish Paternity, DR-520

If paternity has been established already (either by a court or Health Analytics & Vital Records has corrected the birth certificate), you can file a custody case, stating what visitation arrangement you want:

• Custody Packet (for unmarried parents), SHC-PAC3A

Paternity establishment and custody are two separate issues. After the paternity is established, the father may ask the court to order a specific custody arrangement.

If paternity hasn't been established and you need the court to establish paternity, you can deal with paternity and custody in the same case. There are two options for forms to start the case.

You can file a custody case and ask to establish paternity in that case:

• Custody Packet (for unmarried parents), SHC-PAC3A

You can file a paternity case and ask for a custody order in that case:

• Complaint by Mother to Establish Paternity, DR-500
• Complaint by Biological Father to Establish Paternity, DR-501
• Uncontested Complaint to Establish Paternity, DR-520

If paternity has been established already (either by a court or Health Analytics & Vital Records has corrected the birth certificate), you can file a custody case, stating what custody arrangement you want:

• Custody Packet (for unmarried parents), SHC-PAC3A

This website has forms and information for all of the stages of the case. You can also find information about specific topics such as divorce, custody, child support, property and debt division and dividing retirement benefits.