New York Law (NYLE) Practice Exam

Establishing paternity for an out-of-wedlock child can be done through several means, the most common being an order of filiation or an acknowledgment of paternity. When a father voluntarily acknowledges paternity, he is officially recognizing that he is the parent of the child, which can help in resolving issues related to custody, child support, and inheritance rights. This acknowledgment can typically be done at the hospital when the child is born or through a legal document filed with the state.

While DNA testing can be used to establish paternity, it is not a requirement for an acknowledgment of paternity to be legally recognized. An acknowledgment of paternity forms do not have to be witnessed by two people, and the binding nature of such acknowledgments is not necessarily defined by a 60-day period in all contexts. Therefore, the statement about the methods available to establish paternity is the most accurate representation of how this process works under New York law.