Title 19-A, Title 19-A

In a proceeding to adjudicate the parentage of a child, all parents of the child must be joined as parties.

1. Personal jurisdiction. An individual may not be adjudicated to be a parent unless the court has personal jurisdiction over the individual. 2. Personal jurisdiction over nonresident. A court of this State having jurisdiction to adjudicate parentage may exercise personal jurisdi…

Venue for a proceeding to adjudicate parentage is in the county or division in which: [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).] 1. Child. The child resides or is present or, for purposes of subchapter 7 or 8, is or will be born; 2. Parent. The parent o…

1. Joinder permitted. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a proceeding to adjudicate parentage may be joined with a proceeding for parental rights and responsibilities, child support, child protection, termination of parental rights, child custody or visitation, divorce…

1. Interim order for support. In a proceeding under this subchapter, the court may issue an interim order for support of a child in accordance with the child support guidelines under chapter 63 with respect to a person who is: A. A presumed, acknowledged or adjudicated parent of …

1. Admission of parentage. A respondent in a proceeding to adjudicate parentage may admit to the parentage of a child by filing a pleading to that effect or by admitting parentage under penalty of perjury when making an appearance or during a hearing. 2. Order adjudicating parent…

The court may issue an order adjudicating the parentage of a person who is in default, as long as: [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).] 1. Served with notice. The person was served with notice of the proceeding; and 2. Found to be parent. The pers…

1. Issuance of order. In a proceeding under this subchapter, the court shall issue a final order adjudicating whether a person alleged or claiming to be a parent is the parent of a child. 2. Identify child. A final order under subsection 1 must identify the child by name and date…

1. Determination binding; signatories and parties. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, a determination of parentage is binding on: A. All signatories to an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage as provided in subchapter 3; and [PL 2021, c. 141, §1 (AMD).] B…

A court of this State shall give full faith and credit to a determination of parentage, including but not limited to an acknowledgment of paternity, from another state if the determination is valid and effective in accordance with the law of the other state.

Parentage may be established by: [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).] 1. Birth. Giving birth to the child, except as otherwise provided in subchapter 8; 2. Adoption. Adoption of the child pursuant to Title 18‑C, Article 9; 3. Acknowledgment. An ef…

Every child has the same rights under law as any other child without regard to the marital status or gender of the parents or the circumstances of the child's birth.

1. All purposes. Unless parental rights are terminated, parentage established under this chapter applies for all purposes, except as otherwise specifically provided by other law of this State. 2. Preservation of parent-child relationship. Consistent with the establishment of pare…

Provisions of this chapter relating to determination of paternity may apply to determination of maternity as needed to determine parentage consistent with this chapter.

Nothing in this subchapter limits the right of a child to bring an action to adjudicate parentage.

The following persons may sign an acknowledgment of parentage to establish parentage of a child: [PL 2021, c. 141, §4 (AMD).] 1. Woman who gave birth. A woman who gave birth to the child and who is not a gestational carrier; 2. Alleged genetic parent. A person who is the alleged …

1. Requirements. An acknowledgment of parentage under section 1861 must: A. Be in a record; [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).] B. Be signed, or otherwise authenticated, under penalty of perjury by the woman who gave birth to the child, other tha…

A person presumed to be a parent under section 1881 or an alleged genetic parent may execute a denial of parentage only in the limited circumstances set forth in this section. A denial of parentage is valid only if: [PL 2021, c. 141, §6 (AMD).] 1. Acknowledgment. An acknowledgmen…

1. Acknowledgment and denial. An acknowledgment of parentage and denial of parentage under this subchapter must be signed after the birth of the child and filed with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics and may be contained in a single document or may be signed in counterparts…

1. Acknowledgment. Except as otherwise provided in sections 1867 and 1868, a valid acknowledgment of parentage under section 1861 filed with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics is equivalent to an adjudication of parentage of a child and confers upon the acknowledged parent a…

The State Registrar of Vital Statistics may not charge a fee for filing an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage.

A signatory may rescind an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage under this subchapter by commencing a court proceeding subject to section 1869, subsection 4. [PL 2021, c. 141, §12 (AMD).] 1. Timing. The court proceeding to rescind an acknowledgment of parentage or d…

1. Challenge by signatory. After the period for rescission under section 1867 has expired, a signatory of an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage may commence a proceeding to challenge the acknowledgment or denial only: A. On the basis of fraud, duress, coercion, th…

1. Every signatory party. Every signatory to an acknowledgment of parentage and denial of parentage under this subchapter must be made a party to a proceeding under section 1867 or 1868 to rescind or challenge the acknowledgment or denial. 2. Submission to personal jurisdiction. …

A court or administrative agency conducting a judicial or administrative proceeding may not ratify an unchallenged acknowledgment of parentage under section 1861.

To facilitate compliance with this subchapter, the State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall prescribe forms for the acknowledgment of parentage and the denial of parentage. A valid acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage is not affected by a later modification of the …

The State Registrar of Vital Statistics may release information relating to an acknowledgment of parentage under section 1861 as provided in Title 22, section 2706.

The State Registrar of Vital Statistics may adopt rules to implement this subchapter. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules for the purposes of Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.

1. Marital presumption established. A person is presumed to be the parent of a child if: A. The person and the woman giving birth to the child are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage; [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).…

1. Two-year limitation. Except as provided in subsection 2, a proceeding to challenge the parentage of an individual whose parentage is presumed under section 1881 must be commenced not later than 2 years after the birth of the child; otherwise the presumption cannot be rebutted.…

If 2 or more conflicting presumptions arise under this subchapter, the court shall adjudicate parentage and determine parental rights and responsibilities in accordance with section 1653.

1. De facto parentage. The court may adjudicate a person to be a de facto parent. 2. Standing to seek de facto parentage. A person seeking to be adjudicated a de facto parent of a child under this subchapter must establish standing to maintain the action in accordance with the fo…

1. Scope. This subchapter governs procedures and requirements of genetic testing and genetic testing results of an individual to determine parentage and adjudication of parentage based on genetic testing, whether the individual voluntarily submits to testing or is tested pursuant…

1. Type of genetic testing. Genetic testing must be of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the field of genetic testing and performed in a testing laboratory accredited by: A. A national association of blood banks approved by the department; or [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1…

1. Report; self-authenticating. A report of genetic testing must be in a record and signed under penalty of perjury by a designee of the testing laboratory. A report made under the requirements of this subchapter is self-authenticating. 2. Documentation. Documentation from the te…

1. Results identify as genetic parent. Under this chapter, a person is rebuttably identified as the genetic parent of a child if the genetic testing of the person complies with this subchapter and the results disclose: A. In the case of paternity: (1) That the man has at least a …

1. Payment for the costs advanced. The payment for the costs, if any, of initial genetic testing must be advanced: A. By the department in a proceeding in which the department is providing services; [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).] B. By the i…

The court shall order additional genetic testing upon the request of a party who contests the result of the initial testing. If the initial genetic testing identified a person as the genetic father or genetic mother of the child under section 1904, the court or agency may not ord…

1. Specimen not available; submission of specimens. Subject to subsection 2, if a genetic testing specimen is not available from a person who may be the genetic father or genetic mother of a child, for good cause and under circumstances the court considers to be just, the court m…

For good cause shown, the court may order genetic testing of a deceased person.

1. Genetic testing of sibling. The court may order genetic testing of a sibling of a person if the person is commonly believed to have an identical sibling and evidence suggests that the sibling may be the genetic father or genetic mother of the child. 2. Nongenetic evidence. If …

1. Release of report. A report of genetic testing for parentage is confidential and may not be released except as provided in this subchapter. 2. Intentional release of identifiable specimen. An individual who intentionally releases an identifiable specimen of another individual …

1. Order to submit to genetic testing. Except as provided in section 1912 or as otherwise provided in this chapter, the court may order a child and other designated individuals to submit to genetic testing if the request for testing is supported by the sworn statement of a party …

1. Grounds for denial. In a proceeding to adjudicate parentage, the court may deny a motion seeking an order for genetic testing or deny admissibility of the test results at trial if the court determines that: A. The conduct of the parties estops a party from denying parentage; o…

1. Record admissible; objection. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a record of a genetic testing expert is admissible as evidence of the truth of the facts asserted in the report unless a party objects to its admission within 14 days after its receipt by the objecting…