(a)  Subject to other provisions of this chapter, a proceeding to adjudicate parentage may be maintained by:

(1)  The child;

(2)  The individual who gave birth to the child unless a court has adjudicated that the individual is not a parent or the individual is a gestational carrier who is not a parent under article 8 of this chapter;

(3)  An individual whose parentage is to be adjudicated;

(4)  An individual who is a parent under this chapter;

(5)  The office of child support services; or

(6)  A representative authorized by law to act for an individual who would otherwise be entitled to maintain a proceeding but who is deceased, incapacitated, or a minor.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-105

  • Birth: includes stillbirth and fetal death. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Child: means an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined pursuant to this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Gestational carrier: means an adult individual who is not an intended parent and who enters into a gestational carrier agreement to bear a child conceived using the gametes of another individual and not the gestational carrier's own, except that an individual who carries a child for a family member using the gestational carrier's own gametes and who fulfills the requirements of article 8 of this chapter is a gestational carrier. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Parent: means an individual who has established parentage that meets the requirements of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Parentage: means the legal relationship between a child and a parent as established under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102

(b)  A foster parent does not have standing under this chapter to establish parentage based solely on their status as a foster parent.

History of Section.
P.L. 2020, ch. 59, § 2; P.L. 2020, ch. 60, § 2.