Determining Parentage

Because a parent and child are in a legal relationship, the issue of who is the parent is often litigated. As medical technology has advanced, the issue has become more complicated. The Uniform Parentage Act (UPA), enacted by several states, sets the guidelines for the presumption of parentage, recognizes the rights of unmarried parents. Even states that have not enacted the entire UPA have generally enacted portions into law.

A parent-child relationship is established between an individual and a child if:

• the individual gave birth to the child, or
• there is a presumption under the UPA of the individual's parentage of the child, unless the presumption is overcome in a judicial proceeding or a valid denial of parentage is made under the UPA, or
• the individual adopted the child, or
• the individual acknowledges parentage of the child under the UPA, unless the acknowledgment is rescinded or successfully challenged, or
• the individual's parentage of the child is established under the UPA, or
• the individual is adjudicated a parent of the child under the UPA.

Under the UPA, generally, an individual is presumed to be a parent of a child if:

• the individual and the woman who gave birth to the child are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, whether the marriage is or could be declared invalid; or
• the individual and the woman who gave birth to the child were married to each other and the child is born not later than 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, divorce, dissolution, annulment, or declaration of invalidity, or after a decree of separation or separate maintenance, whether the marriage is or could be declared invalid; or
• the individual and the woman who gave birth to the child married each other after the birth of the child, whether the marriage is or could be declared invalid, the individual at any time asserted parentage of the child, and (i) the assertion is in a record filed with the state agency maintaining birth records; or (ii) the individual agreed to be and is named as a parent of the child on the birth certificate of the child.

An individual may also be presumed to be a parent of a child if the individual resided in the same household with the child for the first two years of the life of the child, including any period of temporary absence, and openly held out the child as the individual's child.

The UPA contains procedures for acknowledging and denying parentage, as well as genetic testing and the procedure to adjudicate parentage. We suggest you consult your state law or the UPA for more information.