Paternity Agreement

CONNECTICUT ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PARENTAGE PREPARATION PACKET

Do not sign or file this packet as an AOP. Connecticut uses the official Acknowledgment of Parentage, form VS-56. The Department of Public Health states that the form is not available online.

Do not use the old JD-FM-151 reference. The January 2022 DSS/DPH parentage booklet identifies the current AOP as VS-56 and the rescission form as VS-57.

1. Select the Correct Parentage Route

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-476 permits the person who gave birth and an eligible alleged genetic parent, presumed parent, or intended parent to sign an acknowledgment. The form and route depend on the facts.

Section 46b-477 makes an acknowledgment void when, at signing, another person has already established parentage, the birth certificate identifies another parent outside the proposed signers, or a parentage action is pending without every party's agreement. Stop before signing if any competing-parent issue is unresolved.

Selected route:

☐ VS-56 based on alleged genetic parentage

☐ VS-56 based on presumed parentage

☐ VS-56 based on intended parentage after assisted reproduction

☐ Court adjudication or another Connecticut Parentage Act route

2. Parent and Child Information Worksheet

Transfer Social Security numbers, employer details, insurance information, and other protected identifiers directly to VS-56. Do not retain them in this worksheet when unnecessary or unsafe.

3. Obtain VS-56 and Required Oral and Written Notice

The Department of Public Health prescribes the AOP form. The official Connecticut materials state that it may be completed:

• at a Connecticut birthing hospital for a newborn;
• at a local DSS Office of Child Support Services for an older child before the child's eighteenth birthday; or
• through the Department of Public Health.

Hospital or DSS staff will forward a completed form to the DPH Parentage Registry and give each parent a copy.

Under § 46b-477, an acknowledgment is not binding unless both signers receive oral and written notice before signing concerning the alternatives, legal consequences, rights, and responsibilities. The notice must cover rescission, limited later challenge, possible custody and visitation rights, financial support, testing when genetic parentage is claimed, and the right not to sign when uncertain.

4. Rights, Voluntariness, and Testing Decision

Before signing, each proposed signer should confirm:

☐ I reviewed the complete current VS-56, including its affirmations and Notice of Rights and Responsibilities.

☐ I understand that signing is voluntary and is equivalent, once effective and filed, to a Superior Court parentage adjudication.

☐ I understand that the acknowledged parent will obtain all parental rights and duties, including financial and medical support duties.

☐ I understand that the AOP may result in custody or visitation rights, but does not guarantee access or a custody order.

☐ I understand the right to speak with an attorney before signing.

☐ If the acknowledgment is based on genetic parentage, I understand testing is available and that signing waives the trial, counsel, and testing rights described on VS-56.

☐ I am certain the selected legal basis and all information are accurate.

☐ I am signing without fraud, duress, force, threat, coercion, or material mistake of fact.

Testing status: ☐ Completed and reviewed ☐ Not requested because genetic parentage is certain ☐ Not applicable to selected route ☐ Requested — do not sign yet

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

5. Execute VS-56 Correctly

Section 46b-477 requires both signers' signatures to be attested by a notarial officer or witnessed. The current VS-56 sample contains separate signature and authorized-officer blocks for the birth parent and acknowledging parent. Follow every instruction on the current form.

☐ Birth parent completed the affirmation section.

☐ Acknowledging parent selected and substantiated the correct eligibility basis.

☐ Both signers read or had the form and notices read and explained to them.

☐ Birth parent signed before the authorized witness or notarial officer.

☐ Acknowledging parent signed before the authorized witness or notarial officer.

☐ Every required date, place, title, and commission item was completed.

Do not use this packet's signature page, a generic contract notary block, counterparts, or unsupported electronic signatures as a substitute for VS-56.

6. File With the DPH Parentage Registry

Under § 46b-478, an AOP may be signed before or after birth, except that a person relying on the two-year holding-out presumption must wait until that presumption is satisfied. The AOP takes effect on the later of:

• the child's birth; or
• filing with the Department of Public Health.

A minor's acknowledgment is valid if it otherwise complies with the Connecticut Parentage Act. Section 46b-480 prohibits a filing fee, and § 46b-481 bars a court or agency from ratifying an unchallenged AOP.

DPH currently estimates approximately four to six weeks to add the other parent's name after processing.

7. Legal Effect; Custody and Support Processes Remain Separate

Under § 46b-479, a compliant AOP filed with DPH is equivalent to a Superior Court adjudication of parentage and confers all rights and duties of a parent on the acknowledged parent.

The DSS/DPH booklet explains that signing does not guarantee access or custody. Once parentage is established, either parent may ask the Superior Court to decide custody, access, and parenting time. A separate DSS or court process establishes and enforces a support order.

Do not attach private default clauses, cure periods, fee shifting, indemnity, damages caps, force majeure, arbitration, jury waivers, automatic custody changes, relocation restrictions, or support terms to VS-56 as though they were part of the statutory acknowledgment or a court order.

8. Rescind With VS-57 Before the Earlier Cutoff

Under § 46b-482, either signatory may rescind by filing with DPH a signed rescission record attested by a notarial officer or witnessed before the earlier of:

• sixty days after the AOP's effective date; or
• the first court hearing in a proceeding involving that signer and an issue relating to the child, including support.

Use the current Rescission of Acknowledgment of Parentage, VS-57. The official booklet directs the signer to complete VS-57 before a notary or other authorized officer and forward the original to the DPH Vital Records Section—Parentage Registry.

Do not use a private cancellation letter or the signatures below as a substitute for VS-57.

9. Challenge After the Rescission Period

After the rescission period, § 46b-483 permits a challenge only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. In a genetic-parent acknowledgment, material mistake may include evidence that the alleged genetic parent is not the genetic parent. The challenger bears the burden of proof, and every AOP signatory must be made a party.

Support and other responsibilities continue while the challenge is pending unless good cause is shown. Even if the challenger proves a permitted ground, the court or family support magistrate may set aside the AOP only after also finding that doing so is in the child's best interest under the factors in § 46b-475. If both requirements are met, DPH must be ordered to amend the birth record.

This packet is not a challenge pleading. Obtain immediate Connecticut legal review concerning forum, parties, service, evidence, genetic testing, interim duties, and requested relief.

10. Preparation Acknowledgment

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

Sources and References

• Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 818 — §§ 46b-475 to 46b-487
• Connecticut DSS/DPH — Acknowledge Parentage for Your Child and for You, January 2022
• Connecticut Department of Public Health — Parentage