The three routes
Paternity can be established by a notarized voluntary acknowledgment of paternity signed by both parents, by adjudication by the Department of Revenue, or by court order in a paternity action, under § 742.10. The table below sets the three side by side so you can see where each one stops.
| Route | What it establishes | What it does not | When it makes sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notarized voluntary acknowledgment of paternity | Paternity, when signed by both parents, once the 60-day rescission window closes (§ 742.10) | A parenting plan, a timesharing schedule, or child support | Both parents agree on parentage and the immediate goal is legal fatherhood |
| Adjudication by the Department of Revenue | Paternity, by adjudication under § 742.10 | Parental responsibility, a parenting plan, a timesharing schedule, or child support as ordered in a § 742.011 action | Paternity is being addressed through the Department of Revenue rather than by signed agreement |
| Court order in a paternity action | Paternity, and in the § 742.011 action parental responsibility, a parenting plan, a timesharing schedule, and child support | Nothing on this list; it is the only route that reaches all of it | You want an enforceable schedule and a support order, not only legal fatherhood |
The 60-day rule
A voluntary acknowledgment can be rescinded within 60 days. That window is the only period in which the document can simply be undone.
After that window it establishes paternity and can be challenged only on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, under § 742.10. If you signed at the hospital, the document is on the birth certificate side of this, and for most families the 60 days closed long ago.
Why paperwork alone usually is not enough
Establishing paternity does not by itself create a timesharing schedule. Parental responsibility, a parenting plan, a timesharing schedule, and child support must be established in an action under § 742.011, per § 742.10.
That is the gap that surprises people, and it is the whole subject of rights when the parents were never married and of custody for unmarried parents in Florida. Signed paperwork answers who the parents are. It does not answer what the week looks like.
The § 742.011 action
CS/CS/HB 775, effective July 1, 2023, amended §§ 742.011, 742.10, and 744.301. A court establishing paternity must now also address parental responsibility, the parenting plan, the timesharing schedule, and child support.
Those four items are the substance of the case: parental responsibility, the parenting plan, the timesharing schedule, and child support. The schedule itself is the subject of the Florida parenting plan, and the number is the subject of Florida child support.
If you both agree
The Quick Divorce covers these cases under Essential at $995 and Premium at $2,995. Core does not, because Core is built for simple divorces with no children.
Essential is self-file. With Premium we file for you and pay your county's filing fee and the E-Filing Portal convenience fee on your behalf. Both plans are laid out side by side on pricing.
If you do not yet agree
Not every pair of parents arrives at the same page on the same day, and that is a normal place to start from rather than a dead end.
Online mediation is $450 per hour with a two-hour minimum, and how it works is described on online mediation. If you reach agreement there, the plans are the same ones above: Essential at $995 to self-file, or Premium at $2,995 where we file for you and pay your county's filing fee and the E-Filing Portal convenience fee on your behalf.