Guam § 34119 - Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity.

§ 34119. Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity.

(a) The Department or the parent of a child born out of wedlock may establish paternity by filing with

the Department of Public Health and Social Services, Vital Statistics, either a notarized statement that

contains the social security numbers of both parents that is signed by both parents and that acknowledges

paternity or a separate but substantially similar notarized statement by the father that acknowledges

paternity. A voluntary acknowledgement of paternity may also be executed pursuant to Title 6 GCA § 4308,

provided that it is witnessed by an employee of the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority or an employee of

the Department of Public Health and Social Services, Vital Statistics, who is not related to either parent. A

voluntary acknowledgement of paternity shall constitute a legal finding of paternity and has the same force

and effect as a Superior Court judgment, subject to the right of any signatory to rescind the acknowledgment

within sixty (60) days of his signature or before the initiation of an administrative or judicial proceeding

relating to the child, including a proceeding to establish a support order, to which the signatory is a party,

whichever is sooner.

(b) Following the sixty (60) day period referred to in Subsection (a) of this § 34119.3, a signed

voluntary acknowledgment of paternity may be challenged in Court only on the basis of fraud, duress or

material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof on the challenger. The legal responsibilities of any

signatory arising from the acknowledgment including child support obligations shall not be suspended

during the challenge except for good cause shown.

(c) The courts and office of child support hearings of Guam shall give full faith and credit to affidavits

for the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity signed in any state or territory and these affidavits shall

constitute legal findings of paternity, subject to Subsections (a) and (b) of this § 34119.3.

(d) Judicial and administrative hearings shall not be required or permitted to ratify an unchallenged

acknowledgment of paternity.