(1)  A natural or an adoptive parent whose minor child has become a ward of this or any other state is not relieved of the primary obligation to support that child until the child reaches the age of majority, regardless of any agreements or legal defenses that may exist between the parents or other care providers. Any state that provides support for a child shall have the right to reimbursement.

Terms Used In Utah Code 78B-12-106

  • Child: means :
(a) a son or daughter under the age of 18 years who is not otherwise emancipated, self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States;
(b) a son or daughter over the age of 18 years, while enrolled in high school during the normal and expected year of graduation and not otherwise emancipated, self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States; or
(c) a son or daughter of any age who is incapacitated from earning a living and, if able to provide some financial resources to the family, is not able to support self by own means. See Utah Code 78B-12-102
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Parent: includes a natural parent, or an adoptive parent. See Utah Code 78B-12-102
  • State: includes a state, territory, possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Native American Tribe, or other comparable domestic or foreign jurisdiction. See Utah Code 78B-12-102
  • Third party: means an agency or a person other than the biological or adoptive parent or a child who provides care, maintenance, and support to a child. See Utah Code 78B-12-102
    • (2)  Nothing contained in this chapter may act to relieve the natural parent or adoptive parent of the primary obligation of support.

    (3)  A third party has the same right to recover support from the natural or adoptive parent as a custodial parent.

    Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 3, 2008 General Session

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