Vermont Statutes Title 15 Sec. 705
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 15 Sec. 705
- Assisted reproduction: means a method of causing pregnancy other than sexual intercourse and includes:
- Birth: includes stillbirth. See
- Child: means a person of any age whose parentage may be determined under this title. See
- Gamete: means a sperm, an egg, or any part of a sperm or egg. See
- Marriage: includes civil union and any legal relationship that provides substantially the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as marriage and is recognized as valid in the state or jurisdiction in which it was entered. See
- 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
- Spouse: includes a partner in a civil union or a partner in a legal relationship that provides substantially the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as marriage and is recognized as valid in the state or jurisdiction in which it was entered. See
§ 705. Limitation on spouse‘s dispute of parentage
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, a spouse may commence a proceeding to challenge his or her parentage of a child born by assisted reproduction during the marriage within two years after the birth of the child if the court finds that the spouse did not consent to the assisted reproduction before, on, or after the birth of the child or that the spouse withdrew consent pursuant to section 706 of this title.
(b) A spouse or the person who gave birth to the child may commence a proceeding to challenge the spouse’s parentage of a child born by assisted reproduction at any time if the court determines:
(1) the spouse neither provided a gamete for, nor consented to, the assisted reproduction;
(2) the spouse and the person who gave birth to the child have not cohabited since the probable time of assisted reproduction; and
(3) the spouse never openly held out the child as the spouse’s child.
(c) This section shall apply to a spouse’s dispute of parentage even if the spouse’s marriage is declared invalid after assisted reproduction occurs. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)