1. The paternity of a child born out of wedlock may be legally established by the completion and filing of an affidavit of paternity only as provided by this section.
2. When paternity has not been legally established, paternity may be established by affidavit under this section for the following children:
a. The child of a woman who was unmarried at the time of conception and birth of the child.
b. The child of a woman who is married at the time of conception or birth of the child if a court of competent jurisdiction has determined that the individual to whom the mother was married at that time is not the father of the child.
3. a. Prior to or at the time of completion of an affidavit of paternity, written information about paternity establishment, developed by the child support recovery unit created in section 252B.2, shall be provided to the mother and putative father.
b. The information provided shall include a description of parental rights and responsibilities, including the duty to provide financial support for the child, and the benefits of establishing paternity.
c. Copies of the written information shall be made available by the child support recovery unit or the Iowa department of public health to those entities where an affidavit of paternity may be obtained as provided under subsection 4.
4. a. The affidavit of paternity form developed and used by the Iowa department of public health is the only affidavit of paternity form recognized for the purpose of establishing paternity under this section.
b. The form shall be available from the state registrar, each county registrar, the child support recovery unit, and any institution in the state.
c. The Iowa department of public health shall make copies of the form available to the entities identified in paragraph "b" for distribution.
5. A completed affidavit of paternity shall contain or have attached all of the following:
a. A statement by the mother consenting to the assertion of paternity and the identity of the father and acknowledging either of the following:
(1) That the mother was unmarried at the time of conception and birth of the child.
(2) That the mother was married at the time of conception or birth of the child, and that a court order has been entered ruling that the individual to whom the mother was married at that time is not the father of the child.
b. If paragraph "a", subparagraph (2), is applicable, a certified copy of the filed order ruling that the husband is not the father of the child.
c. A statement from the putative father that the putative father is the father of the child.
d. The name of the child at birth and the child's birth date.
e. The signatures of the mother and putative father.
f. The social security numbers of the mother and putative father.
g. The addresses of the mother and putative father, as available.
h. The signature of a notary public attesting to the identities of the parties signing the affidavit of paternity.
i. Instructions for filing the affidavit.
6. A completed affidavit of paternity shall be filed with the state registrar. However, if the affidavit of paternity is obtained directly from the county registrar, the completed affidavit may be filed with the county registrar who shall forward the original affidavit to the state registrar. For the purposes of legal establishment of paternity under this section, paternity is legally established only upon filing of the affidavit with the state registrar.
7. The state registrar shall make copies of affidavits of paternity and identifying information from the affidavits filed pursuant to this section available to the child support recovery unit created under section 252B.2 in accordance with section 144.13, subsection 4.
8. An affidavit of paternity completed and filed pursuant to this section has all of the following effects:
a. Is admissible as evidence of paternity.
b. Has the same legal force and effect as a judicial determination of paternity.
c. Serves as a basis for seeking child or medical support without further determination of paternity.
9. All institutions in the state shall provide the following services with respect to any newborn child born out of wedlock:
a. Prior to discharge of the newborn from the institution, the institution where the birth occurs shall provide the mother and, if present, the putative father, with all of the following:
(1) Written information about establishment of paternity pursuant to subsection 3.
(2) An affidavit of paternity form.
(3) An opportunity for consultation with the staff of the institution regarding the written information provided under subparagraph (1).
(4) An opportunity to complete an affidavit of paternity at the institution, as provided in this section.
b. The institution shall file any affidavit of paternity completed at the institution with the state registrar, pursuant to subsection 6, accompanied by a copy of the child's birth certificate, within ten days of the birth of the child.
10. a. An institution may be reimbursed by the child support recovery unit created in section 252B.2 for providing the services described under subsection 9, or may provide the services at no cost.
b. An institution electing reimbursement shall enter into a written agreement with the child support recovery unit for this purpose.
c. An institution entering into an agreement for reimbursement shall assist the parents of a child born out of wedlock in completing and filing an affidavit of paternity.
d. Reimbursement shall be based only on the number of affidavits completed in compliance with this section and submitted to the state registrar during the duration of the written agreement with the child support recovery unit.
e. The reimbursement rate is twenty dollars for each completed affidavit filed with the state registrar.
93 Acts, ch 79, §13; 94 Acts, ch 1171, §13; 95 Acts, ch 52, §2
Referred to in § 144.13, 144.40, 252A.3, 252A.6A, 252C.4, 598.21
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1997
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Last update: Mon Jan 27 16:05:08 CST 1997
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