Washington Adoption Laws, Page 5

Putative Fathers

Statute: §§ 26.26.320; 26.33.110

A man claiming to be the father of a child may sign an acknowledgment of paternity with the intent to establish paternity.
The putative father must file a claim of paternity or respond to the petition for termination of rights within 20 days of the date of service of the petition if served within the State, or 30 days if served outside of the State.

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Information Contained in Registry/Claim
Statute: § 26.26.305

The acknowledgment of paternity must:
- Be in a record
- Be signed by the mother and the man seeking to establish paternity
- State that the child whose paternity is being acknowledged does not have another presumed or adjudicated father
- State whether there has been genetic testing and whether the claim to paternity is consistent with the results of the testing

Statute: §§ 26.26.330; 26.26.335

A signatory may rescind an acknowledgment of paternity by commencing a court proceeding to rescind before the earlier of 60 days of the effective date of the acknowledgment of the date of the first hearing to which the signatory is a party to adjudicate an issue related to the child.
After the period of rescission has elapsed, a signatory may challenge an acknowledgment only on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, within 2 years after the acknowledgment has been filed.

Statute: § 26.26.360

The State registrar of vital statistics may release the information relating to an acknowledgment of paternity to:
- A signatory of the acknowledgment or his or her attorney of record
- The courts of this or any other State
- The agencies of this or another State operating a child support program
- The agencies of this or another State involved in a dependency determination for a child named in the acknowledgment

Credits: Child Welfare Information Gateway (http://www.childwelfare.gov)