(a) A voluntary acknowledgment described in Section 301 of this Act must:
- (1) be in a record;
- (2) be signed, or otherwise authenticated, under penalty of perjury by the mother and by the man seeking to establish his parentage;
(3) state that the child whose parentage is being acknowledged:
- (A) does not have a presumed parent, or has a presumed parent whose full name is stated; and
- (B) does not have another acknowledged or adjudicated parent;
- (4) be witnessed; and
(5) state that the signatories understand that the voluntary acknowledgment is the equivalent of a judicial adjudication of parentage of the child and that:
- (i) a challenge by a signatory to the voluntary acknowledgment may be permitted only upon a showing of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact; and
- (ii) a challenge to the voluntary acknowledgment is barred after 2 years unless that period is tolled pursuant to the law.
(b) An acknowledgment is void if it:
- (1) states that another person is a presumed parent, unless a denial signed or otherwise authenticated by the presumed parent is filed with the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, as provided by law;
- (2) states that another person is an acknowledged or adjudicated parent; or
- (3) falsely denies the existence of a presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated parent of the child.
- (c) A presumed father may sign or otherwise authenticate a voluntary acknowledgment.
(Source: P.A. 99-85, eff. 1-1-16; 99-769, eff. 1-1-17.)