ESTABLISHMENT OF PARENTAGE
04/87 Revised 09/01/25 Training
Completed 09/01/25 Last Reviewed 09/30/25
Utah Code 81-5-302,
305, 502, 505, 613,
617
Introduction
The Uniform Parentage Act, enacted by Utah on
Occasionally, the mother will name more than one potential
father/consort for a child. When more than one potential father/consort is
named, it is possible for each father to fall into a different category of
parent-child relationship. When more than one potential consort is named, you
must evaluate each potential consort/father to determine which category
applies. The applicable category determines if further actions are necessary to
legally establish parentage and the actions available to establish a support
order. The applicable category also determines what actions are available to
the parents if they wish to challenge parentage establishment. The applicable
category of each potential father/consort also determines how the case must be
worked when more than one consort is named.
Because of the legal rights and obligations
associated with some categories of legal parent-child relationships, 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).
CSS liberally facilitates genetic testing for most
parties in an effort to identify or confirm the biological parentage of one man
who will be pursued for child support purposes; however, the Attorney General’s
Office (AGO) may be limited in presenting test results to the courts if
judicial action is required to disestablish an existing legal parent-child
relationship.
Multiple Consorts, Intake Procedures
When
there are multiple consorts, the Intake Team will be responsible for obtaining
a separate “Application for Services Packet” and a separate “Parentage
Questionnaire” on each possible consort during the application process. The
mother must cooperate by providing the real name of all possible consorts, and
by providing complete and accurate information on each man. For additional
information, refer to CS 059P Applicant/Recipient Cooperation – General
Information, Forms, and Specified Relative, and applicable sub-sections.
The
Intake Team will open one case on
ORSIS for the child. This case will include all potential consorts for the
child. If any man has been adjudicated as the father or has signed a Voluntary
Declaration of Paternity (VDP), he will be listed on the case. If there is a
presumed father, he will be listed on the case. Alleged fathers are listed with
one man as the “primary” alleged father and the other man (or men) as secondary
alleged fathers. However, all possible
alleged fathers have equal status on a multiple consort case and will be
pursued equally until such time that they may be excluded by genetic testing.
NOTE
1: ORSIS will only allow more than one obligor father or alleged father as an
active participant on a case when there is only one child on the case. In cases
in which there is more than one child from the same pregnancy (e.g., twins),
you will need to activate and inactivate the multiple consort participants on
the case as you proceed through the testing and exclusion process. If there are
multiple consorts and multiple
pregnancies, open separate cases for each child while parentage is being
established.
NOTE 2: For Children in Care (CIC) cases, Intake will open one case for each parent. If parentage has not been established, Intake will not
open or reinstate a case on an alleged father unless parentage testing has been
ordered by the juvenile court judge.
For
more information, refer to the case initiation sections of policy.
After
the Intake team has attempted to verify the name and location of each man, the
case will be referred to the appropriate pre-order team based on case
assignment and functional activity determination (FAD) rules. For details,
refer to CS 056P FAD, Case Assignment and Case.
NOTE: On a parentage case with multiple alleged consorts where at
least one of the alleged consorts resides out-of-state, all of the cases will
be assigned based on the across state line indicator. If the primary obligor or
primary alleged father as listed on the screen is out-of-state then all of the
cases will be worked by the interstate team. The assigned worker will be
determined by the obligee name. It would be best to
test all consorts before initiating a two-state action, if possible.
Adjudicated Father as a Multiple Consort
Any order that adjudicates parentage
creates a binding parent-child relationship until/unless it is amended, set
aside, or terminated by a subsequent order.
Genetic Testing when the Adjudicated Father is a
Multiple Consort: Procedures found in CS
329P-4 Parentage Disestablishment, Genetic Testing After the Order, allow
Support Order Establishment when the Adjudicated
Father is a Multiple Consort: If
parentage/support has been adjudicated in an order, do not proceed with any
establishment actions against any other category of consort/father until the parentage
issues in the existing order have been resolved. For additional information,
refer to CS 329P-2 Parentage Disestablishment, Judicial Order Required and CS
329P-3 Parentage Disestablishment, Amending Administrative Orders Based on
Genetic Test Results.
Presumed Father as a Multiple Consort
Genetic
Testing when the Presumed Father is a Multiple Consort: Prior
to a support order, only a presumed father can request genetic testing through
ORS/CSS if the presumption is due to the child being born during the marriage.
Support
Order Establishment when the Presumed Father is a Multiple Consort: Because
a presumed father has specific rights per Utah law, pursue the presumed father
for child support until/unless the child’s parentage based on the presumed
father status has been rebutted, and the legal status of the presumed father
has been terminated through adjudication.
EXAMPLE
1: No order exists between the mother and the presumed father. The
named individuals include the mother, the child, the presumed father, and an
alleged father. Serve the mother and presumed father with an administrative
“Notice of Agency Action: Child Support” form. Because of the presumption of parentage,
include arrears in the NACA as directed in
policy. The presumed father contacts ORS and requests genetic tests because he
does not believe that he is the biological father.
Scenario
1a: If the presumed father submits to testing and is excluded by the
tests, provide both parties with a copy of the results. After the appropriate
response period, issue an “Order: Genetic Test Exclusion” form to adjudicate
that the presumed father is not the father. Begin establishment procedures
against the alleged father.
Scenario
1b: If the presumed father submits to testing and is not excluded,
ask the mother and the presumed father to sign an administrative “Stipulation
and Order: Child Support” form. If the presumed father will not voluntarily
sign a stipulation, proceed to take an “Order: Child Support” form.
Scenario
1c: If neither the presumed father nor mother requests testing, or
if either party fails to cooperate with the testing, ask the mother and the
presumed father to sign an administrative “Stipulation and Order: Child
Support” form. If the parties will not voluntarily sign a stipulation, proceed
to take an “Order: Child Support” form.
NOTE: If the mother responds to the Notice of Agency Action
(NAA) and contests the parentage of the presumed father, dismiss the NAA
and refer the case to the AGO. Do not facilitate genetic tests on a presumed
father based on the mother’s request unless directed by the AGO.
EXAMPLE 2:
A judicial order exists that addresses the marriage and divorce of the mother
and the presumed father; however, it is silent regarding the child or is
otherwise unclear if the presumed father was excluded. Refer the case to the
AGO to name the child, establish parentage, and establish an appropriate child
support award, or to modify the existing judicial order to state that the
presumed father is not the father of the child. After the presumed father
status has been adjudicated, proceed with the next consort as appropriate.
Declarant Father as a Multiple Consort
A Voluntary Declaration of Paternity (VDP) creates a
legally-established parent-child relationship between the declarant father and
the child. Utah Code 81-5-305 confirms this as follows:
“(2)
(a) When a declaration of paternity is filed, the declaration of paternity
shall be recognized as a basis for a child support order without any further
requirement or proceeding regarding the establishment of parentage.”
Only
two of the other parent-child categories have a potential effect on a declarant
father’s legal responsibility, even if the VDP has not been rescinded. These
parent-child categories are:
1.
Adjudicated fathers; and,
2.
Presumed fathers.
Pursuant to Utah Code
81-5-302:
“(3)
A declaration of paternity is void if the declaration of paternity:
(a) states that another man is a
presumed father, unless a denial of paternity signed or otherwise authenticated
by the presumed father is filed with the Office of Vital Records and Statistics
in accordance with Section 81-5-303;
(b) states that another man is a
declarant or adjudicated father; or
(c) falsely denies the existence
of a presumed, declarant, or adjudicated father of the child.”
If a presumed father exists,
the VDP is not valid without his signature on the back of the form. If the
presumed father was excluded by any other method listed in CS 305P Parentage: Adjudicated,
Presumed and Declarant Fathers (adjudication, genetic testing, or proof of
absence at the time of conception), the VDP must still be signed by the
presumed father to ensure that the VDP is valid.
If the Office of Vital
Records and Statistics (OVRS) accepts a VDP that does not appear valid based on
the lack of the presumed father’s signature, send the “Request for Presumed
Father Information” letter to the mother and the declarant father to notify
them that the presumed father issue has not been resolved. If neither parent
provides information to resolve the presumed father issue (such as more
accurate marriage/divorce dates or a copy of an order excluding the presumed
father) refer the case to the AGO to obtain an order declaring that the VDP is
“void.” Do not proceed with parentage establishment procedures against other
consorts until the AGO obtains the order declaring the VDP “Void.”
Genetic Testing when the Declarant Father is a
Multiple Consort: Prior to a support order, if
either the mother or the declarant father has requested or consented to genetic
tests (and if it has not been more than four years since the VDP was filed with
OVRS, the limit for challenging the VDP based on a material mistake of fact),
facilitate the testing, if appropriate, based on CS 329P-1 Parentage
Disestablishment, Rescission of the “Affidavit for Voluntary Declaration of
Paternity by Parents.” Do not test any additional consorts while there is a
valid declarant father.
Support Order Establishment when the Declarant
Father is a Multiple Consort: Do
not proceed with any support order establishment actions against any other type
of father until the parentage issues in the VDP have been resolved either by
signing the rescission section of the document within 60 days or by judicially
challenging and rescinding the VDP with a court order. For additional
information, refer to CS 329P-1 Parentage Disestablishment, Rescission of the
“Affidavit for Voluntary Declaration of Paternity by Parents.”
Alleged Fathers as Multiple Consorts
Alleged fathers will not be pursued until all issues with
adjudicated, presumed and declarant fathers have been resolved. All alleged
fathers have equal status on a multiple consort case and will be pursued
equally until such time that they may be excluded by genetic testing.
Genetic Testing when there are Multiple Alleged Father Consorts: All
alleged fathers can be pursued for genetic testing at the same time. Utah Code
81-5-502 addresses testing more than one consort as follows:
“(3) If
two or more individuals are subject to an order for genetic testing, the
testing may be ordered concurrently or
sequentially.”
Support
Order Establishment when the Alleged Father is a Multiple Consort: If
multiple consorts have been narrowed down to one possible biological father
through genetic tests (either by inclusive test results against one party or by
eliminating all other possibilities with exclusion results), you may establish
a support order against the remaining consort using normal procedures. If some
or all of the alleged fathers will not cooperate with genetic testing, refer
the case to the AGO for judicial action. The AGO will determine whether it is
feasible to compel cooperation with genetic tests through judicial action.
When you receive a case with multiple alleged father consorts,
take the steps listed below.
1.
Locate the address for each alleged father, if needed and if
possible. For more information on locate, refer to CS 140P Locating a
Noncustodial Parent.
2.
Arrange for genetic testing by sending each located alleged father
the “Parentage: Genetic Test Appointment, Alleged Father” form by regular first-class
mail. Also send the “Parentage: Genetic Test Appointment, Mother – Alleged
Father” form to the mother. The purpose of the letters is to require the
parties to submit to genetic testing and to notify the parties of the date,
time and place genetic testing has been scheduled.
3.
If an alleged father does not appear for the scheduled test, or
does not respond to the letter, or will not cooperate with genetic testing,
refer the case to the AGO for judicial action.
If all but one of the alleged fathers are excluded and the
remaining alleged father will not cooperate, proceed with the administrative
process to establish a support order.
If you receive conclusive genetic
test results (at least a 99% probability of parentage and a combined parentage
index of at least 100 to 1 pursuant to Utah Code 81-5-505) for one of the
alleged fathers, dismiss the actions against the other consorts and proceed
with the establishment process.