Legal Definitions - acknowledge

Acknowledge means to accept, recognize, confirm, or admit the existence or truth of something. It can also mean to validate an identity or claim, authenticate a document or writing, recognize an individual as one's heir, recognize receipt of a document or payment, or accept responsibility for something.

• An "acknowledged child" is a child that a parent recognizes as their own.
• An "acknowledged heir" is an heir recognized by a decedent while they were alive.
• An "acknowledged deed" is a deed recognized as authentic and true by a formal statement that is witnessed.
• An "acknowledged payment" is a payment made by an authorized person that has been successfully received.
• An "acknowledged debt" is a debt that has been recognized by the debtor as owed to the lender.

For example, if a father acknowledges a child as his own, he is accepting and recognizing that the child is his biological offspring. If a person acknowledges a debt, they are admitting that they owe money to someone else. In each of these examples, the person is acknowledging the existence or truth of something.