ESTABLISHMENT OF PARENTAGE
CS
1329P Children in Care (CIC) Parentage Rescinded
04/87 Revised 09/01/25 Training Completed 09/15/25
Last Reviewed 10/01/25
NOTE: CIC-specific procedures contained in
this section.
A declarant father or a previously adjudicated (ordered) father
who claims he is not the biological father of a child must take steps to have
the “Voluntary Declaration of Paternity by Parents” (VDP) rescinded or the
order amended. Also, refer to CS 1305P CIC Parentage: Adjudicated, Presumed, and
Declarant Fathers.
Voluntary Declaration of Paternity
by Parents Rescission
A signatory to a VDP may rescind their signature within 60 days of
signing the VDP. The signatory may rescind the signature by contacting the
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Vital Records and Statistics
(OVRS) and following its procedures.
If 60 days have elapsed since the date the parent signed the VDP,
the signatories may challenge the VDP in court only on the grounds of fraud,
duress, or material mistake of fact. Refer to CS 315P Voluntary Declaration of
Paternity by Parents for more information.
A child support order based on the VDP remains in effect during
the pendency of a proceeding to rescind, and until a final rescission order is
issued.
According to Utah Code 81-5-308(6), if the VDP is rescinded, the
father may not recover any child support he paid for the child prior to the
rescission order.
If a judicially adjudicated father claims he is not the child's
biological father and there is a court order in effect stating otherwise, he
must contest the parentage issue through the court that issued the order.
If the judicially adjudicated father goes to court to challenge
the parentage issue, refer the case to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to
represent CIC in the proceeding. Inform the AGO of the arrears time period on
the case. If the court determines that the previously adjudicated father is not
the biological father, the previously adjudicated father’s attorney or an
individual ordered by the court should prepare an order that reflects the
court’s finding regarding parentage and the effect on the child support
obligation.
Administrative Order
In limited circumstances, CSS will facilitate genetic tests at no cost
to the parties while enforcing on a CSS Utah administrative order. If a CIC
agent receives a request for genetic testing from a mother or an
administratively adjudicated father, refer the requesting party to the
appropriate Child Support Services (CSS) agent.
Procedures
If you receive genetic test results from a parent(s) issued by an
accredited lab that exclude the previously adjudicated father as the biological
father, verify that no genetic tests were completed during or prior to the
initial proceeding and that the only existing order is an administrative order under Utah’s Administrative Procedures Act.
Once this is verified, take the steps listed below:
1.
If the previously adjudicated father is making current support
payments, stop the payments; however, continue to collect for any arrears owed.
2. In accordance with Utah Code
81-7-102, child support orders are not subject to retroactive modification or
amendment. All support that has accrued through the date CIC received the
genetic test results is still owed. Therefore, do not refund any support payments to the respondent unless ordered by
the court after an adversarial proceeding (see subsection Refunding Support
Payments below). Use regular collection methods to collect all past due
support. You may also negotiate a settlement with the respondent to pay the
debt in full. Refer to CS 700P-1 Payment in Full at 100% or Discounted
Settlement for more information.
Refunding Support Payments
If parentage has been disestablished and the current support
obligation has been terminated prospectively, such as in a parentage rescission
or an amended order, do NOT refund
any support payments to the respondent/previously adjudicated father unless
ordered by the court. Any period of time the previously adjudicated father was
the legal parent and had a support obligation due to his non-action will be
considered his responsibility. Only the ORS Director may approve an exception.
Except for rare situations, the previously adjudicated father will
continue to be considered the legally established father with a legal support
obligation for the period preceding the disestablishment.
The previously adjudicated father and mother are responsible for
submitting any changes or amendments on the birth certificate to OVRS.