Also known as: Uniform Parentage Act · UPA · parentage act
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A uniform statute that establishes procedures and presumptions for determining legal parentage of children. The act supplies rules for adjudicating parentage when conception occurs through assisted reproduction or surrogacy.
Uliana Ustinova and her partner arranged for a gestational surrogate to carry their child conceived through assisted reproduction. After the child’s birth the couple sought a parentage adjudication under state law. The court applied the Uniform Parentage Act provisions referenced in the probate code to establish that the intended parents were the legal parents.
Ursula Upton agreed to raise twins born to her partner through anonymous donor insemination. She supported the pregnancies and held the children out as her own. A district attorney later sought child support, and the court held Ursula was a legal parent under the Uniform Parentage Act.
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Uma Underwood gave birth to a child conceived with a man other than her husband. The biological father sought to establish parentage. The court applied the Uniform Parentage Act framework to weigh the marital presumption against the biological tie and the child’s best interests.
Umar Underwood and his wife contracted with a surrogate who carried an embryo created from their gametes. After birth the surrogate refused to relinquish the child. The court used the Uniform Parentage Act to recognize the intended parents as the legal parents based on their intent and genetic contribution.
Urban Utley had a brief relationship with a woman who later placed their child for adoption. He had not registered with the putative father registry or provided support. The court applied the Uniform Parentage Act and due-process principles to determine whether he received adequate notice before his parental rights were terminated.
A court may adjudicate parentage only if it has personal jurisdiction over the individual. The act incorporates the long-arm bases of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, including when the nonresident engaged in sexual intercourse in the state that may have resulted in conception or when the child resides in the state as a result of the individual’s acts.
Supporting sources
No. The Uniform Parentage Act expressly provides that lack of jurisdiction over one individual does not preclude the court from making a parentage adjudication that binds another individual.
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The court may assess filing fees, reasonable attorney’s fees, genetic-testing fees, other costs, and necessary travel and related expenses. Attorney’s fees may be paid directly to counsel, who may enforce the order in the attorney’s own name.
Supporting sources
…attributes of their respective bodies of family law. For example, as of the end of 1982, only eight States had adopted the Uniform Parentage Act. 9A U. L. A. 171 (Supp. 1983). [^maj-12]: See Hafen, Marriage, Kinship, and Sexual Privacy, 81 Mich. L. Rev. 463, 479-481 (1983). [^maj-13]: See Trimble v. Gordon , 430 U. S. 762, 769…