Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 15 Sec. 308

  • Child: means a person of any age whose parentage may be determined under this title. See
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • 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.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Parentage: means the legal relationship between a child and a parent as established under this title. See
  • Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
  • Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
  • Signatory: means a person who signs a record and is bound by its terms. See

§ 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 challenge the acknowledgment or denial only:

(1) on the basis of fraud, duress, coercion, threat of harm, or material mistake of fact; and

(2) within two years after the acknowledgment or denial is effective in accordance with section 304 of this title.

(b) Challenge by person not a signatory. If an acknowledgment of parentage has been made in accordance with this chapter, a person who is neither the child nor a signatory to the acknowledgment who seeks to challenge the validity of the acknowledgment and adjudicate parentage shall commence a proceeding within two years after the effective date of the acknowledgment unless the person did not know and could not reasonably have known of the person’s potential parentage due to a material misrepresentation or concealment, in which case the proceeding shall be commenced within two years after the discovery of the person’s potential parentage.

(c) Burden of proof. A person challenging an acknowledgment of parentage or denial of parentage pursuant to this section has the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence.

(d) Consolidation. A court proceeding in which the validity of an acknowledgment of parentage is challenged shall be consolidated with any other pending court actions regarding the child. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)