78B-20-102.  Definitions.
     As used in this chapter:

(1)  “Adult” means an individual who has attained 18 years old or is an emancipated minor.

Terms Used In Utah Code 78B-20-102

  • Adult: means an individual who has attained 18 years old or is an emancipated minor. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Armed forces: means the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and Coast Guard. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Caretaking authority: includes physical custody, parent-time, right to access, and visitation. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Child: means :
(a) an unemancipated individual who has not attained 18 years old; or
(b) an adult son or daughter by birth or adoption, or under law of this state other than this chapter, who is the subject of a court order concerning custodial responsibility. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Court: means a tribunal, including an administrative agency, authorized under the law of this state other than this chapter to make, enforce, or modify a decision regarding custodial responsibility. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Custodial responsibility: includes all powers and duties relating to caretaking authority and decision-making authority for a child. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Decision-making authority: means the power to make important decisions regarding a child, including decisions regarding the child's education, religious training, health care, extracurricular activities, and travel. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Deploying parent: means a service member who is deployed or has been notified of impending deployment and is:
    (a) a parent of a child under the law of this state other than this chapter; or
    (b) an individual who has custodial responsibility for a child under the law of this state other than this chapter. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Deployment: means the movement or mobilization of a service member for more than 90 days but less than 18 months pursuant to uniformed service orders that:
    (a) are designated as unaccompanied;
    (b) do not authorize dependent travel; or
    (c) otherwise do not permit the movement of family members to the location to which the service member is deployed. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Limited contact: includes authority to take the child to a place other than the residence of the child. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Nonparent: means an individual other than a deploying parent or other parent. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Other parent: means an individual who, in common with a deploying parent, is:
    (a) a parent of a child under the law of this state other than this chapter; or
    (b) an individual who has custodial responsibility for a child under the law of this state other than this chapter. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Service member: means a member of a uniformed service. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • Uniformed service: means :
    (a) active and reserve components of the United States armed forces;
    (b) the United States Merchant Marine;
    (c) the commissioned corps of the United States Public Health Service;
    (d) the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States; or
    (e) the National Guard of a state. See Utah Code 78B-20-102
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • (2) 

    (a)  “Caretaking authority” means the right to live with and care for a child on a day-to-day basis.

    (b)  “Caretaking authority” includes physical custody, parent-time, right to access, and visitation.

    (3)  “Child” means:

    (a)  an unemancipated individual who has not attained 18 years old; or

    (b)  an adult son or daughter by birth or adoption, or under law of this state other than this chapter, who is the subject of a court order concerning custodial responsibility.

    (4)  “Court” means a tribunal, including an administrative agency, authorized under the law of this state other than this chapter to make, enforce, or modify a decision regarding custodial responsibility.

    (5)  “Custodial responsibility” includes all powers and duties relating to caretaking authority and decision-making authority for a child. The term includes physical custody, legal custody, parent-time, right to access, visitation, and authority to grant limited contact with a child.

    (6)  “Decision-making authority” means the power to make important decisions regarding a child, including decisions regarding the child’s education, religious training, health care, extracurricular activities, and travel. The term does not include the power to make decisions that necessarily accompany a grant of caretaking authority.

    (7)  “Deploying parent” means a service member who is deployed or has been notified of impending deployment and is:

    (a)  a parent of a child under the law of this state other than this chapter; or

    (b)  an individual who has custodial responsibility for a child under the law of this state other than this chapter.

    (8)  “Deployment” means the movement or mobilization of a service member for more than 90 days but less than 18 months pursuant to uniformed service orders that:

    (a)  are designated as unaccompanied;

    (b)  do not authorize dependent travel; or

    (c)  otherwise do not permit the movement of family members to the location to which the service member is deployed.

    (9)  “Family care plan” means a formal written contingency plan mandated by regulation of the various departments and components of the uniformed service that requires certain service member parents of minor children to plan in advance for the smooth, rapid transfer of parental responsibilities to designees during the absence of the service member due to death, incapacity, short-term absences, long-term absences, including deployments, or noncombatant evacuation operations.

    (10)  “Family member” means a sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, stepparent, or grandparent of a child, or an individual recognized to be in a familial relationship with a child under the law of this state other than this chapter.

    (11) 

    (a)  “Limited contact” means the authority of a nonparent to visit a child for a limited time.

    (b)  “Limited contact” includes authority to take the child to a place other than the residence of the child.

    (12)  “Nonparent” means an individual other than a deploying parent or other parent.

    (13)  “Other parent” means an individual who, in common with a deploying parent, is:

    (a)  a parent of a child under the law of this state other than this chapter; or

    (b)  an individual who has custodial responsibility for a child under the law of this state other than this chapter.

    (14)  “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

    (15)  “Return from deployment” means the conclusion of a service member’s deployment as specified in uniformed service orders.

    (16)  ” Service member” means a member of a uniformed service.

    (17)  “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:

    (a)  to execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

    (b)  to attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.

    (18)  “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

    (19)  “Uniformed service” means:

    (a)  active and reserve components of the United States armed forces;

    (b)  the United States Merchant Marine;

    (c)  the commissioned corps of the United States Public Health Service;

    (d)  the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States; or

    (e)  the National Guard of a state.

    Amended by Chapter 44, 2023 General Session