78B-15-607. Limitation — Child having presumed father.
| (1) |
Paternity of a child conceived or born during a marriage with a presumed father, as described in Subsection 78B-15-204(1)(a), (b), or (c), may be raised by the presumed father, the mother, or a support enforcement agency at any time before filing an action for divorce or in the pleadings at the time of the divorce of the parents.
Terms Used In Utah Code 78B-15-607- Child: means an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined under this chapter. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Genetic testing: means an analysis of genetic markers to exclude or identify a man as the father or a woman as the mother of a child. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
- Parent: means an individual who has established a parent-child relationship under Section 78B-15-201. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
- Parent-child relationship: means the legal relationship between a child and a parent of the child. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
- Presumed father: means a man who, by operation of law under Section 78B-15-204, is recognized as the father of a child until that status is rebutted or confirmed as set forth in this chapter. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
- Tribunal: means a court of law, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce, or modify support orders or to determine parentage. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
| (a) |
If the issue is raised prior to the adjudication, genetic testing may be ordered by the tribunal in accordance with Section 78B-15-608. Failure of the mother of the child to appear for testing may result in an order allowing a motherless calculation of paternity. Failure of the mother to make the child available may not result in a determination that the presumed father is not the father, but shall allow for appropriate proceedings to compel the cooperation of the mother. If the question of paternity has been raised in the pleadings in a divorce and the tribunal addresses the issue and enters an order, the parties are estopped from raising the issue again, and the order of the tribunal may not be challenged on the basis of material mistake of fact. |
| (b) |
If the presumed father seeks to rebut the presumption of paternity, then denial of a motion seeking an order for genetic testing or a decision to disregard genetic test results shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence. |
| (c) |
If the mother seeks to rebut the presumption of paternity, the mother has the burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that it would be in the best interests of the child to disestablish the parent-child relationship. |
| (d) |
If a support enforcement agency seeks to rebut the presumption of parentage and the presumptive parent opposes the rebuttal, the agency’s request shall be denied. Otherwise, the denial of the agency’s motion seeking an order for genetic testing or a decision to disregard genetic test results shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence, taking into account the best interests of the child. |
|
| (2) |
For the presumption outside of marriage described in Subsection 78B-15-204(1)(d), the presumption may be rebutted at any time if the tribunal determines that the presumed father and the mother of the child neither cohabited nor engaged in sexual intercourse with each other during the probable time of conception. |
| (3) |
The presumption may be rebutted by:
| (a) |
genetic test results that exclude the presumed father; |
| (b) |
genetic test results that rebuttably identify another man as the father in accordance with Section 78B-15-505; |
| (c) |
evidence that the presumed father and the mother of the child neither cohabited nor engaged in sexual intercourse with each other during the probable time of conception; or |
| (d) |
an adjudication under this part. |
|
| (4) |
There is no presumption to rebut if the presumed father was properly served and there has been a final adjudication of the issue. |
Amended by Chapter 156, 2017 General Session
