Ind. Code § 16-37-2-2.1 governs the paternity affidavit. It may be executed at the hospital "not more than seventy-two (72) hours after the child's birth," or later at a local health department before the child reaches emancipation.

Subsection (j) is what it accomplishes: it "establishes paternity" and "gives rise to parental rights and responsibilities," including the mother's or the Title IV-D agency's right to a support order, and parenting time in accordance with the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines. Subsection (p) makes the effect permanent: a properly executed affidavit "conclusively establishes the man as the legal father of a child without any further proceedings by a court."

Now the part that surprises fathers. § 31-14-13-1 gives the mother sole legal custody "except as provided in IC 16-37-2-2.1." That cross-reference is the whole practical story. The affidavit contains a box by which the parents can agree to share joint legal custody. If it is not checked, the mother has sole legal custody unless a court in a paternity proceeding says otherwise. And even if it is checked, the mother has primary physical custody unless a court determines otherwise.

Within sixty days of execution, subsection (k) lets a man who signed an affidavit file an action requesting a court-ordered genetic test. That is the easy window and it closes fast.

After sixty days, subsection (l) sets a conjunctive test that is much harder than people are told. An affidavit may not be rescinded unless a court "(1) has determined that fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact existed in the execution of the paternity affidavit; and (2) at the request of a man described in subsection (k), has ordered a genetic test, and the test indicates that the man is excluded as the father of the child."

Both halves are required. Subsection (n) reinforces it: the court "may not set aside the paternity affidavit unless a genetic test… excludes the person who executed the paternity affidavit as the child's biological father." So proving you were lied to is not enough on its own — the test has to exclude you.

And support does not pause while you fight. Under subsection (m), "unless good cause is shown, a court shall not suspend the legal responsibilities… of a party to the executed paternity affidavit during a challenge to the affidavit."

Ind. Code § 31-14-4-1 lists who may file: the mother or expectant mother; a man alleging he is the biological father or the expectant father of an unborn child; the two of them filing jointly; the child; and DCS or a prosecuting attorney in the circumstances the statute sets out. Note that expectant parents may file before the birth.

The deadline for a parent is short. § 31-14-5-3(b): the mother, a man alleging to be the father, or the department "must file a paternity action not later than two (2) years after the child is born," unless one of six exceptions applies — a joint waiver, support already furnished by the alleged father, a written acknowledgment by either parent, the petitioner's incompetence at birth, or an inability to serve the responding party during the two years.

Here is the trap most people miss. Subsection (c): "If any of the conditions described in subsection (b) exist, the paternity petition must be filed not later than two (2) years after the condition… ceases to exist." An exception buys you a new two-year clock, not unlimited time.

The child's own deadline is different and longer. Under § 31-14-5-2(b), "a child may file a paternity petition at any time before the child reaches twenty (20) years of age" — not eighteen, which is what most published material says.

Under § 31-14-6-1, "upon the motion of any party, the court shall order all of the parties to a paternity action to undergo blood or genetic testing." Mandatory on motion — no showing of cause required.

But the statute is asymmetric, and this asymmetry is misreported everywhere. § 31-14-6-3 provides that the results "constitute conclusive evidence if the results and finding exclude a party as the biological father," and otherwise are merely admissible. A test that includes you does not conclusively establish paternity by itself — it works through a presumption. § 31-14-7-1(3) presumes a man is the biological father if a genetic test "indicates with at least a ninety-nine percent (99%) probability" that he is.

Practical effect: a negative test ends the matter. A positive test starts a presumption someone would have to rebut, which is nearly always where things land.

H.E.A. 1092, P.L. 78-2026, effective July 1, 2026, changed how a support order follows an unrebutted paternity affidavit. The Indiana courts' own legislative summary describes it as requiring "an order establishing paternity to be obtained without further proceedings if certain conditions are met" — converting what had been permissive into a requirement.

The same public law expanded where support payments may be made, adding a state-approved payment facility to the clerk of the circuit court and the state central collection unit. If you have been paying somewhere by habit, confirm it is still a valid destination.