ESTABLISHMENT OF PARENTAGE
CS
1305P Children in Care (CIC) Parentage: Adjudicated, Presumed, and Declarant
Fathers
04/87
Revised 09/02/25 Training Completed 09/16/25 Last Reviewed 10/01/25
NOTE: Some CIC-specific procedures are contained in the section. However,
please also refer to CS 305P Parentage: Adjudicated, Presumed and Declarant
Fathers for a more complete discussion of the various types of parentage
establishment until the two sections can be merged.
Definitions
1.
Adjudicated
(Ordered) Father – A man who, through a judicial or administrative legal
proceeding resulting in an order, has been established as the father of a child.
2.
Alleged
Father – A man (not adjudicated, declarant, or presumed father), who has
been named as the biological father of a child.
3.
Declarant
father – A man who, along with the biological mother, has signed a valid
Voluntary Declaration of Paternity by Parents (VDP) and thereby declared that
he is the biological father of a child.
4.
Presumptive
(or Presumed) Father – A man is presumed to be the father of
a child if:
a.
He and the mother of the child were married to each other and the child was
born during the marriage;
b.
He and the mother of the child were married to each other and the child was
born within 300 days after the marriage was terminated by death, annulment,
declaration of invalidity, or divorce, or after a decree of separation;
c.
Before the birth of the child, he and the mother of the
child married each other in apparent compliance with law, even if the attempted
marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born during the
invalid marriage or within 300 days after its termination by death, annulment,
declaration of invalidity, divorce, or after a decree of separation; or,
d.
After the birth of the child, he and the mother of the
child married each other in apparent compliance with the law, whether or not
the marriage is, or could be declared, invalid, he voluntarily asserted his parentage
of the child, and there is no other presumptive father of the child, and:
i.
The assertion is in a record filed with the Office of
Vital Records and Statistics (OVRS);
ii.
He agreed to be and is named as the child’s father on
the child’s birth certificate; or,
iii.
He promised in a record to support the child as his
own.
Because of the legal rights and obligations
associated with some categories of each legal parent-child relationship, the
Office of Recovery Services/Child Support Services (ORS/CSS) will pursue
consorts for child support in multiple consort situations in the following
order:
1.
Adjudicated father;
2.
Presumed father;
3.
Declarant father; and,
4.
Alleged father(s).
If a Juvenile Court order names a specific person to pay support
and it is in conflict with the order presented above, consult with the assigned
Assistant Attorney General (AAG) for possbile
judicial establishment.
Adjudicated Father, Judicial Order Establishes the Parentage of the Child
The following are some examples of
adjudicated parentage:
1.
A divorce decree. Utah Code 81-5-623 states when a divorce is
considered to have adjudicated parentage as follows:
“(3) In a proceeding to dissolve a marriage, the
tribunal is considered to have made an adjudication of the parentage of a child
if the question of parentage is raised and the tribunal adjudicates according
to this part and the final order:
(a) expressly identifies a child as a ’child
of the marriage,’ ’issue of the marriage,’ or similar words indicating that the
husband is the father of the child; or
(b) provides for support of the child
by the husband unless parentage is specifically disclaimed in
the order.
(4) The tribunal is not considered to have made an
adjudication of the parentage of a child if the child was born at the time of
entry of the order and other children are named as children of the marriage,
but that child is specifically not named.”
NOTE: If the Findings of Fact is incorporated by reference into the
divorce decree, then they are considered part of the decree. If they are not,
they still will be deemed by the assigned AAG and by the courts as helpful
information. If you have questions about the Findings of Fact and whether they
have been incorporated by the final order, review the order with the assigned AAG.
2.
Judicial parentage order.
3.
Juvenile Court order. Juvenile Courts
have jurisdiction to adjudicate parentage issues and the adjudication is not affected when Juvenile Court
terminates its jurisdiction. The order must contain specific language that the
man is found to be the father of the child in order to consider that parentage has been adjudicated. It is not enough for
the man to be listed as the father among those present at the court
proceedings.
EXAMPLE
1: The Juvenile Court order states that “John Smith is found to be the father
of the child Bobby Smith born
EXAMPLE
2: The Juvenile Court order states that “The mother, Anna Smith; the father,
John Smith; the guardian ad litem Joanna Montana; and the DCFS worker, Bob Utah
were present at the hearing.” This language is not a specific adjudication of parentage.
NOTE: Review
Juvenile Court orders with the assigned AAG if parentage appears to have been addressed in a
Findings of Fact or other Juvenile Court document, but not in the final order. If
the assigned AAG advises that the parentage has been adjudicated by the other document, narrate the discussion and
reasons parentage is considered
established.
4.
Utah administrative order. If a Utah administrative order contains
language similar to, “That (alleged father’s name) is the father of the
following child(ren) born to (mother’s name),” and then lists the child(ren) in
question, parentage has been administratively adjudicated for that child.
NOTE: In the past, CSS procedures
directed agents to have willing parents sign a VDP after they had been served
with administrative parentage action. The administrative order that followed
the VDP may not actually contain the parentage establishment language depending
on the procedures in place when it was issued.
Any order that adjudicates parentage creates a binding
parent-child relationship until/unless it is amended, set aside, or terminated
by a subsequent order. As long as parentage has been adjudicated in an order,
do not proceed with any establishment actions against any other type of father.
If there is an existing judicial order which establishes the child
to be “of the marriage” or otherwise establishes the parentage of the
husband/ex-husband, and the husband/ex-husband states he is not the biological
father, inform the husband/ex-husband that challenging an existing judicial
order is not a service that is provided by ORS. Even if the adjudicated father,
the mother, and an “alleged” father all signed a VDP that was filed with OVRS,
the court order governs the parentage of the child until/unless modified. Continue
to enforce the support obligation until such time as you receive an exclusion
order, or are ordered by the court to cease enforcing the existing order. If
you receive an exclusion order, end the current support debt on ORSIS. Do not
refund any payments that have been made by the individual and collect the
arrears that are still owed, unless the court order states otherwise.
Adjudicated Father, Administrative Order Establishes the Parentage
of the Child
1.
Utah
Administrative Order – If a Utah administrative parentage
order established the presumed father as the adjudicated father, there has been
no court order determining his parentage, and he is later excluded by genetic
tests, follow the procedures outlined in CS 1329P Children in Care (CIC) Parentage
Rescinded.
2.
Other
State Administrative Order – If an administrative order from
another state established the presumed father as the adjudicated father, it
must be given full faith and credit. If the adjudicated father contests the
validity of the order, he may attempt to pursue an action in the original
tribunal issuing the parentage order. For additional information, refer to CS
157P Enforcement – Registration of a Support Order, CS 808P Enforcement of an
Order Issued in Another State, CS 153P Order and Parentage Establishment, and
CS 200P Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders.
Presumed Father, Divorce Decree or
Other Judicial Order Excludes Presumed Father
If the divorce decree, findings of fact, or other judicial order
contains a paragraph such as one of the three examples listed below, you may
generally conclude that the presumed father has been judicially excluded as the
biological father of the child.
EXAMPLES:
1.
“During the marriage, a child was born to Mrs. Doe. Mr. Doe is not
the father of the child because he was residing in another country at the time
of conception.”;
2.
“During the marriage, a child was born to Mrs. Doe. Mr. Doe is not
the father of that child.”; or,
3.
“There have been no children born of this marriage. Mrs. Doe is
expecting, but both parties acknowledge that Mr. Doe is not the biological
father of the unborn child.”
NOTE: The Attorney General’s
Office (AGO) has advised that it is not enough for an order to state that “no
children are expected” or “there were no children born as issue of the
marriage” to exclude a presumed father. There must also be a finding that the
mother is not currently expecting or that if she is expecting, the expected
child is not an issue of the marriage.
If you are unsure whether the judicial order excludes the presumed
father, consult with the assigned AAG before you proceed exclusively against an
alleged (or declarant) father. If the assigned AAG determines that the order
does not exclude the presumed father, refer to “Presumed Father, Divorce
Decree, or Other Judicial Order Silent” below for instructions.
Presumed Father, Divorce Decree or Other Judicial Order Silent
If a child was conceived or born
during the mother’s marriage, there is a legal presumption that the husband is
the biological father. A legal presumption may be contested and is, therefore,
not the same as a legal finding or adjudication of parentage. Either the
presumed father or the mother may contest the presumption in a judicial
proceeding.
When there is a divorce decree or other judicial order addressing
the marriage and/or divorce of the parties, but it does not name the child in
question, consult with the assigned AAG. The judicial order may need to be
modified to clarify the parentage status of the child; however, the assigned
AAG will direct you as to when and if genetic testing is appropriate during the
judicial process.
Presumed Father, No Court Order
If the child was born during a valid marriage, serve the mother
and presumed father with a “Notice of Agency Action: Child Support” that does not
raise the presumed parentage issue or provide the genetic testing option. Obtain
an administrative child support order. If the presumed father (not the mother)
requests genetic testing in this situation, facilitate the testing. If the
Juvenile Court has ordered genetic tests, consult with the assigned AAG on how
to proceed.
Declarant Father
If p parentage has previously been legally established by the
mother and declarant father signing a valid VDP that was filed with OVRS, the
steps you will take will depend on genetic test results and whether there is a
presumed father and if he has excluded himself by testing, by court order or by
signing the VDP in the “Legal Father” section.
1.
Genetic
testing was previously completed that supports the valid VDP. Establish
an administrative order for the declarant father to pay support.
2.
Genetic
testing was NOT previously completed that supports the valid VDP:
a.
Testing not ordered by Juvenile Court:
i.
Establish an administrative order against the declarant father.
b.
Testing ordered by Juvenile Court and VDP was filed less than four
years ago:
i.
Facilitate the testing. If the declarant father is excluded, refer
the case to the assigned AAG to notify the Juvenile Court of the results and
initiate an action to challenge the VDP. If results are positive, establish an
administrative order against the declarant father.
c.
Testing ordered by Juvenile Court, but VDP was filed more than
four years ago:
i.
Consult with the assigned AAG for instructions on how to proceed
since ORS does not generally offer or facilitate genetic testing for parties if
it has been more than four years since the VDP was filed with OVRS.
If the juvenile court orders
genetic testing on another possible consort when a declarant father exists, do
not proceed to establish parentage against the next possible biological father
until the VDP has been rescinded by the courts (since it is possible that the
courts may still uphold the VDP).