Acknowledgement of paternity

If a child is born and the parents are not married at the time of birth, paternity to the child must first be declared by the father. This is done by a so-called acknowledgement of paternity. In a publicly certified document, the father makes a declaration before the Office of Social Services that he is the father of the child. This step establishes the legal relationship to the child. This means that he receives both rights (right of contact, right of inheritance, etc.) and incurs obligations (child support, etc.) vis-à-vis his child. 

The most important in brief

• The Office of Social Services is automatically informed by the Vaduz Civil Registry Office, without the instigation of the child's parents, of the birth of a child to a mother resident in Liechtenstein. Thereupon, the child's mother receives a letter in which she is requested to invite the child's father for a date proposed in the Office of Social Services.
• The child's father then has the opportunity to acknowledge paternity to his child by making a personal declaration before an employee of the Office of Social Services.
• The following documents are required for this:
     - Passport or ID of the father
     - Official document listing the father's place of birth e.g. birth certificate for persons not resident in Liechtenstein.
• The child's father signs several copies of the document. After signing  these are immediately transmitted by the Office of Social Services for guardianship court approval to the district court.
• After approval (duration: about 10 days), the district court sends both parents one certificate each by registered mail. The remaining originals are sent to the Civil Registry Office Vaduz and the Office for Social Services or remain at the Regional Court. For any desired certified copies, the district court is responsible.
• The child's mother may file an objection against the acknowledgement with the court within two years.
• The acknowledgement of paternity is free of charge.
• Joint custody can only be applied for after the birth of the child at the Office of Social Services. It follows as part of the paternity acknowledgment a brief interview.

• A maintenance arrangement can also be applied for at the Office for Social Services (see chapter "Child support")

Paternal paternity acknowledgment

Usually, the recognition takes place after the birth of the child. However, at the request of the child's parents, there is also the possibility of prenatal recognition. For the recognition it required mandatory in each case a medical certificate of pregnancy with expected date of birth and whether one or more children are expected.

With this form of paternity recognition, the child's parents must also submit the following documents to the Office of Social Services, provided they are not resident in Liechtenstein:

 - Confirmation of residence of the child's parents (not older than 6 months)
 - Civil status confirmation of the child's parents/extract from the family register (not older than 6 months)

Important note: Prenatal recognition is handled in the same way as postnatal recognition with regard to naming in Liechtenstein. In both forms of recognition, the child takes on the name and nationality of the child's mother at the time of the child's birth

Breakthrough or qualified acknowledgement of paternity

If the mother is married but the husband is not the father of the child, the natural father has the option of making a so-called qualified acknowledgement of paternity. The prerequisites for this are that the mother names the acknowledger as the father and the child (represented by the Office of Social Services) agrees to the acknowledgment. This requires the agreement of the persons named. If these requirements are not met, it is possible to file an application with the district court to establish paternity.

Are there doubts about paternity?

Then a so-called paternity opinion or a paternity test offers clarification. The Office of Social Services recommends contacting a forensic medical institute. They guarantee a high standard of quality. Their paternity reports can be presented as evidence in court in the event of a dispute

Is the actual father unwilling to acknowledge his paternity?

Then a determination of paternity should be applied for at the regional court (cf.  §138h, i ABGB). The child mother can apply for a special guardianship for her child at the Office for Social Services (cf. § 212 ABGB). In this case, an employee of the Office for Social Services represents the interests of the child in these proceedings free of charge. The special guardianship does not restrict the custody of the child mother and can be terminated at any time by written application of the child mother.