Title 15C, Title 15C: Parentage Proceedings

§ 105. Standing to maintain proceeding Subject to other provisions of this chapter, a proceeding to adjudicate parentage may be maintained by: (1) the child; (2) the person who gave birth to the child unless a court has adjudicated that the person is not a parent or the person is…

§ 106. Notice of proceeding (a) A petitioner under this chapter shall give notice of the proceeding to adjudicate parentage to the following: (1) the person who gave birth to the child unless a court has adjudicated that the person is not a parent; (2) a person who is a parent of…

§ 107. Form of notice Notice shall be by first-class mail to the person’s last known address. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 108. Personal jurisdiction (a) Personal jurisdiction. A person shall not be adjudicated a parent unless the court has personal jurisdiction over the person. (b) Personal jurisdiction over nonresident. A court of this State having jurisdiction to adjudicate parentage may exercis…

§ 109. Venue Venue for a proceeding to adjudicate parentage shall be in the county in which: (1) the child resides or is present or, for purposes of chapter 7 or 8 of this title, is or will be born; (2) any parent or intended parent resides; (3) the respondent resides or is prese…

§ 110. Joinder of proceedings (a) Joinder permitted. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, a proceeding to adjudicate parentage may be joined with a proceeding for parental rights and responsibilities, parent-child contact, child support, child protectio…

§ 111. Orders (a) Interim order for support. In a proceeding under this title, the court may issue an interim order for support of a child in accordance with the child support guidelines under 15 V.S.A. § 654 with respect to a person who is: (1) a presumed, acknowledged, or adjud…

§ 112. Admission of parentage authorized (a) Admission of parentage. A respondent in a proceeding to adjudicate parentage may admit parentage of a child when making an appearance or during a hearing in a proceeding involving the child or by filing a pleading to such effect. An ad…

§ 113. Order on default The court may issue an order adjudicating the parentage of a person who is in default, providing: (1) the person was served with notice of the proceeding; and (2) the person is found by the court to be the parent of the child. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Se…

§ 114. Order adjudicating parentage (a) Issuance of order. In a proceeding under this chapter, the court shall issue a final order adjudicating whether a person alleged or claiming to be a parent is the parent of a child. (b) Identify child. A final order under subsection (a) of …

§ 115. Binding effect of determination of parentage (a) Determination binding. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, a determination of parentage shall be binding on: (1) all signatories to an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage as provide…

§ 116. Full faith and credit A court of this State shall give full faith and credit to a determination of parentage and to an acknowledgment of parentage from another state if the determination is valid and effective in accordance with the law of the other state. (Added 2017, No.…

§ 201. Recognized parents A person may establish parentage by any of the following: (1) Birth. Giving birth to the child, except as otherwise provided in chapter 8 of this title. (2) Adoption. Adoption of the child pursuant to Title 15A. (3) Acknowledgment. An effective voluntary…

§ 202. Nondiscrimination 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 birth of the child. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 203. Consequences of establishment of parentage Unless parentage has been terminated by a court order or an exception has been stated explicitly in this title, parentage established under this title applies for all purposes, including the rights and duties of parentage under th…

§ 204. Determination of maternity and paternity Provisions of this title relating to determination of paternity may apply to determination of maternity as needed to determine parentage consistent with this title. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 205. No limitation on child Nothing in this chapter limits the right of a child to bring an action to adjudicate parentage. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 206. Adjudicating competing claims of parentage (a) Competing claims of parentage. Except as otherwise provided in section 616 of this title, in a proceeding to adjudicate competing claims of parentage or challenges to a child’s parentage by two or more persons, the court shall…

§ 301. Acknowledgment of parentage (a) The following persons may sign an acknowledgment of parentage to establish parentage of a child: (1) a person who gave birth to the child; (2) a person who is the alleged genetic parent of the child; (3) a person who is an intended parent to…

§ 302. Acknowledgment of parentage void An acknowledgment of parentage shall be void if, at the time of signing: (1) a person other than the person seeking to establish parentage is a presumed parent, unless a denial of parentage in a signed record has been filed with the Departm…

§ 303. Denial of parentage A person presumed to be a parent or an alleged genetic parent may sign a denial of parentage only in the limited circumstances set forth in this section. A denial of parentage shall be valid only if: (1) an acknowledgment of parentage by another person …

§ 304. Conditions for acknowledgment or denial of parentage (a) Completed forms for acknowledgment of parentage and denial of parentage shall be filed with the Department of Health. (b) An acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage may be signed before or after the birth …

§ 305. Equivalent to adjudication; no ratification required (a) Acknowledgment. Except as otherwise provided in sections 307 and 308 of this title, a valid acknowledgment of parentage under section 301 of this title filed with the Department of Health is equivalent to an adjudica…

§ 306. No filing fee The Department of Health shall not charge a fee for filing an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 307. Timing of rescission (a) A person may rescind an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage under this chapter by any of the following methods: (1) Filing a rescission with the Department of Health within 60 days after the effective date of the acknowledgment or de…

§ 308. Challenge to acknowledgment after expiration of period for rescission (a) Challenge by signatory. After the period for rescission under section 307 of this title has expired, a signatory of an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage may commence a proceeding to …

§ 309. Procedure for rescission or challenge (a) Every signatory party. Every signatory to an acknowledgment of parentage and any related denial of parentage shall be made a party to a proceeding under section 307 or 308 of this title to rescind or challenge the acknowledgment or…

§ 310. Forms for voluntary acknowledgment and denial of parentage (a) The Department of Health shall develop a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage form and a denial of parentage form for execution of parentage under this chapter. (b) The acknowledgment of parentage form shall p…

§ 311. Release of information (a) The Department of Health shall provide the completed following forms only to the parties who signed the document, the Office of Child Support, and the Family Services Division of the Department of Children and Families: (1) acknowledgment of pare…

§ 312. Adoption of rules The Department of Health may adopt rules to implement this chapter. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 401. Presumption of parentage (a) Except as otherwise provided in this title, a person is presumed to be a parent of a child if: (1) the person and the person who gave birth to the child are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage; or (2) the person and …

§ 402. Challenge to presumed parent (a) Except as provided in subsections (b)-(d) of this section, a proceeding to challenge the parentage of a person whose parentage is presumed under section 401 of this title shall be commenced within two years after the birth of the child. (b)…

§ 402a. Adjudication of parentage if birth parent only other parent The following rules apply in a proceeding to adjudicate a presumed parent’s parentage of a child if the person who gave birth is the only other person with a claim to parentage of the child: (1) If no party to th…

§ 403. Multiple presumptions If two or more conflicting presumptions arise under this chapter, the court shall adjudicate parentage pursuant to section 206 of this title. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

§ 501. Standard; adjudication (a)(1) In a proceeding to adjudicate the parentage of a person who claims to be a de facto parent of the child, if there is only one other person who is a parent or has a claim to parentage of the child, the court shall adjudicate the person who clai…

§ 502. Standing; petition (a) A person seeking to be adjudicated a de facto parent of a child shall file a petition with the Family Division of the Superior Court before the child reaches 18 years of age. Both the person seeking to be adjudicated a de facto parent and the child m…

§ 601. Scope This chapter governs procedures and requirements of genetic testing and genetic testing results of a person to determine parentage and adjudication of parentage based on genetic testing, whether the person voluntarily submits to testing or is tested pursuant to an or…

§ 602. Requirements for genetic testing Genetic testing shall be of a type reasonably relied upon by scientific and medical experts in the field of genetic testing and performed in a testing laboratory accredited by a national association of blood banks or an accrediting body des…

§ 603. Court order for testing (a) Order to submit to genetic testing. Except as provided in section 615 of this title or as otherwise provided in this chapter, upon motion the court may order a child and other persons to submit to genetic testing. (b) Presumption of genetic pare…

§ 604. Genetic testing results (a) A person shall be identified as a genetic parent of a child if the genetic testing of the person complies with this chapter and the results of testing disclose that the individual has at least a 99 percent probability of parentage as determined …

§ 605. Report of genetic testing (a) A report of genetic testing shall 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 chapter is self-authenticating. (b) A party in possession of results of …

§ 606. Admissibility of results of genetic testing (a) Production of results; notice. Unless waived by the parties, a party intending to rely on the results of genetic testing shall do all of the following: (1) make the test results available to the other parties to the parentage…

§ 607. Additional genetic testing 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 a genetic parent of the child under section 604 of this title, the …

§ 608. Consequences of declining genetic testing (a) If a person whose parentage is being determined under this chapter declines to submit to genetic testing ordered by the court, the court for that reason may adjudicate parentage contrary to the position of that person. (b) Gene…

§ 609. Adjudication of parentage based on genetic testing (a)(1) If genetic testing results pursuant to section 604 of this title exclude a person as the genetic parent of a child, the court shall find that person is not a genetic parent of the child and may not adjudicate the pe…

§ 610. Costs of genetic testing (a) The costs of initial genetic testing shall be paid: (1) by the Office of Child Support in a proceeding in which the Office is providing services, if the Office requests such testing; (2) as agreed by the parties or, if the parties cannot agree,…