acknowledgment
Acknowledgment refers to a formal declaration before an official that one has executed a particular legal document . Some common usages of the term “acknowledgment” in a legal sense include:
- Cases such as State v. Burries (2022) from Nebraska explain that “’acknowledgment’ is the act by which a party who has executed an instrument goes before a competent officer and declares or acknowledges the same as his or her genuine and voluntary act and deed .”
- In the context of limitation of actions , cases such as Estate of Ehrhardt v. Jefferson Parish Fire Department (2013) , explain that “an ‘acknowledgment’ is the recognition of the creditor's right or obligation that halts the progress of prescription before it has run its course. It involves an admission of liability , either through explicit recognition of a debt owed, or through actions of the debtor that constitute a tacit acknowledgment.”
- In the context of family law , “acknowledgment” refers to public recognition by a man of a child as his own. See acknowledged father .
[Last reviewed in October of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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