Paternity Agreement

ALASKA AFFIDAVIT OF PATERNITY PREPARATION PACKET

Do not sign or file this packet as an Affidavit of Paternity. Alaska uses the official Affidavit of Paternity, form VS-06-5376. Health Analytics and Vital Records supplies the form; the Alaska Court System states that it is not available online.

Keep parentage separate from parenting terms. The filed acknowledgment has statutory legal effect, but this worksheet does not create a custody schedule, set parenting time, calculate support, or provide private contract remedies.

1. Eligibility and Existing-Parentage Screen

The Alaska Court System explains that an Affidavit of Paternity may be unavailable when an earlier affidavit contains different paternity information; a court order may then be required. If the mother is married and her husband is listed on the birth certificate, court guidance describes a possible three-person VS-06-5376 route signed by the mother, husband, and biological father. Obtain the current form and written Vital Records instructions before relying on that route.

Selected route:

☐ Mother and father use the ordinary VS-06-5376 route

☐ Mother, husband, and biological father use a Vital Records-confirmed three-person route

☐ Child Support Services administrative route

☐ Superior Court paternity route

☐ Attorney review required before a route can be selected

2. Parent and Child Information Worksheet

AS 18.50.165 requires the official form to collect both parents' addresses and Social Security numbers. Transfer Social Security numbers and other protected identifiers directly to the official form; do not retain them in this worksheet when unnecessary or unsafe.

3. Obtain and Review the Current Official Form

Request the current VS-06-5376 and instructions from Alaska Health Analytics and Vital Records, Special Services:

[email protected]

Include a mailing address in the request. The Department of Health identifies the voluntary Affidavit of Paternity as the easiest administrative way to add a parent to a birth certificate and directs applicants to Special Services for the necessary forms and instructions.

Do not download a third-party substitute or recreate VS-06-5376 from this packet.

4. Rights, Voluntariness, and Testing Decision

AS 18.50.165 requires the official form to explain the legal consequences, rights, responsibilities, alternatives, any minority-related rights, the responsibility created by signing, and the limited withdrawal period. Before signing, each proposed signer should confirm:

☐ I received and read the complete current form and instructions.

☐ I understand that signing is voluntary and that a court or agency route may be available instead.

☐ I understand that the acknowledging father assumes a parental duty of support.

☐ I understand the acknowledgment's legal effect and the limited ways to withdraw or later contest it.

☐ I am signing without fraud, duress, pressure, threat, or material mistake.

☐ I am certain the selected parentage route and all facts on the form are correct.

☐ I had an opportunity to consult independent Alaska counsel.

Testing status: ☐ Completed and reviewed ☐ Not requested because paternity is certain ☐ Requested — do not sign yet

Testing provider, report date, and result: [________________________________]

AS 25.20.050(d)'s 95-percent genetic-test presumption applies to evidence used in determining parentage. It is not a private-contract threshold and does not replace the official acknowledgment, agency, or court process.

5. Execute VS-06-5376 Correctly

AS 18.50.165 requires signature lines for both parents and a signature line for either a witness or a notary public. The Alaska Court System instructs both parents to sign VS-06-5376 in front of a witness or notary. Follow every instruction on the current form.

☐ Every required person reviewed the complete form before signing.

☐ Names, dates, and birth information match the vital record and identification.

☐ Mother signed as the official form directs.

☐ Proposed father signed as the official form directs.

☐ Husband or other required signer completed the Vital Records-approved section, if applicable.

☐ A qualified witness or notary completed the required signature block.

Do not use this packet's signature page, counterparts, a private waiver, or an unsupported electronic signature as a substitute for the official form.

6. Submit the Original to Health Analytics and Vital Records

Under AS 25.20.050(b), the acknowledgment is forwarded to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, noted on the corresponding original birth certificate, and kept with that record. AS 25.20.055 requires hospitals and certain birth attendants to provide forms and assistance and, at the parents' request, mail a completed acknowledgment to the state registrar.

For a later submission, follow the current Special Services instructions. The Department of Health states that affidavits of paternity bearing original signatures cannot be faxed or emailed and that Special Services requires original or certified documents to amend a vital record.

The cited statutes do not impose the old template's generic ten-calendar-day filing deadline. Preserve delivery and acceptance evidence and follow the current agency instructions.

7. Legal Effect; Custody and Support Remain Separate

Under AS 25.20.050(l), a completed and signed form meeting AS 18.50.165(a) is a legal finding of paternity for a child born out of wedlock. If it is not successfully challenged, subsection (m) provides that the child is legitimated and considered the acknowledging parent's heir without further tribunal action to ratify the acknowledgment.

The acknowledgment does not itself supply a detailed parenting plan or determine a support amount. Use the appropriate Superior Court or Child Support Services process for custody, parenting time, support, medical coverage, or enforcement.

Do not attach private default clauses, cure periods, fee shifting, indemnity, damages caps, force majeure, arbitration, jury waivers, automatic custody changes, or support terms to the Affidavit as though they were part of the statutory form or a court order.

8. Withdrawal During the Statutory Window

For an acknowledgment signed on or after July 1, 1997, AS 25.20.050(l) permits withdrawal only by the earlier of:

• sixty days after the date that the withdrawing person signed it; or
• initiation of a judicial or administrative procedure to establish periodic support or health-care coverage for, or determine paternity of, the child, when that person is a party.

The Alaska Court System states that a revocation form is available from the Health Analytics and Vital Records paternity clerk. Obtain the current official form and filing instructions immediately; do not use a private cancellation letter.

9. Contest After the Withdrawal Period

After the statutory withdrawal period, AS 25.20.050(l) allows an acknowledgment to be contested only in Superior Court and only on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake. The contesting parent bears the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. Unless good cause is shown, the court may not stay child support or other legal responsibilities while the contest is pending.

This packet is not a complaint, motion, or request to disestablish paternity. Obtain immediate Alaska legal review concerning the proper parties, court, pleading, service, evidence, interim duties, and requested birth-record relief.

10. Preparation Acknowledgment

The signatures below confirm only that the participants reviewed this preparation packet. They do not acknowledge, withdraw, revoke, establish, or disestablish paternity and do not create custody, parenting-time, or support orders.

Sources and References

• AS 18.50.165 — Acknowledgement of paternity; forms
• AS 25.20.050 — Legitimation by subsequent marriage, acknowledgment in writing, or adjudication
• AS 25.20.055 — Early acknowledgement of paternity program
• Alaska Court System — Paternity
• Alaska Department of Health — Vital Records Orders