According to the provisions of the Family Law of the Republic of North Macedonia, the mother’s spouse will be considered the father of the child, if the child was born during the marriage or within 300 days after the termination of the marriage.
If the child is born out of wedlock, the father of the child is considered the person whom the child recognizes as his own.
The procedure for acknowledgment of paternity is regulated by the provisions of the Family Law, according to which the acknowledgment of paternity is carried out by the voluntary approach of the person who considers himself the father of the child born out of wedlock, ie by giving a statement of acknowledgment of paternity before the registrar, social work center and court.
The statement of acknowledgment of paternity is a strictly personal statement and can only be made by a man who is capable of reasoning, or a person with legal capacity who is legal age, minor if he is older than 16 years, as well as by a person with limited legal capacity, if is able to understand the content and meaning of the statement of acknowledgment of paternity.
The statement of acknowledgment of paternity can also be made through a power of attorney. The power of attorney must be certified and contain an express authorization of the attorney to make a statement of acknowledgment of paternity of a specific child born to a specific mother. Also, acknowledgment of paternity can be done with a will.
The authority before which this acknowledgment was given is obliged to submit the record of acknowledgment of paternity without delay to the registrar responsible for registering the child in the birth registry.
Acknowledgment of paternity produces a legal effect and is recorded in the birth register only if the child’s mother agrees, and the registrar notifies her. The statement of consent for the acknowledgment of paternity is given by the mother within 30 days after receiving the notification. When the mother is not alive or missing or with limited or deprived legal capacity, the statement is made by the guardian of the child with the approval of the Center for Social Work.
If the child for whom the statement of acknowledgment of paternity is given is older than 16 years, his consent is also required for acknowledgment of paternity. The statement of consent is given within 30 days from the day of receipt of the notification. If the child is under 16 years and is under guardianship, because the mother is dead or has an unknown residence or place of residence or has been deprived of legal capacity, a statement of consent for the acknowledgment of paternity is given by the guardian of the child with the approval of the Center for Social Work.
So, in order to carry out the entire procedure for acknowledgment of paternity, the will of the father, the child and the mother is necessary and relevant. If the mother of the child and the child who is older than 16 years or the guardian of the child when his consent is required, do not agree to the acknowledgment of paternity or do not declare it within 30 days after receiving the notification, the person who recognized the child on his own, he can file a lawsuit in order to establish that he is the father of the child.
The statement of recognition of paternity and the mother’s and the child’s statement of consent to recognized paternity cannot be revoked, except when the statements are made by fraud or misrepresentation.