The Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) is a legislative act originally promulgated in 1973 by the National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws. The 1973 original version of the act was created to address the need for new state legislation, because at the time the bulk of the law on the subject of children born out of wedlock was unconstitutional or led to doubt.[1] It was amended in 2002 and in 2017. The most recent changes are reflected in the 2017 version of the Uniform Parentage Act. The Act serves to provide a uniform legal framework for establishing paternity of minor children born to married and unmarried couples.[2] It allows more than two people to be legally recognized as parents.[3]

2002 Revisions

The new revisions in 2002 include adding new definitions to Article 1, General Provisions, to help clarify determinations of parentage and fitting the act to scientific developments at the time. Article 2, Parent-Child Relationship was kept similar to the 1973 version, only the term "natural" to describe a genetic parent was changed. Article 3, Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity, was a new addition in 2002, which was driven by federal mandates that states provide means to establish paternity. Article 4, Registry of Paternity, was another new addition, focusing on incorporating registry law to deal with men's rights who are not acknowledged, presumed or adjudicated fathers. Article 5, Genetic Testing, was expanded from one section to ten separate sections. Article 7, Child of Assisted Reproduction, recodified USCACA (1988), but applies to non-marital children as well as marital children. Article 8, Gestational Agreements is based on USCACA (1988) as well, but permits enforcement of a gestational agreement. The UPA (2002) also omitted some substantive provisions from the original 1973 version involving child support and custody, since other state law provided for those provisions.[4]

Enactment by States

1973 Original

The original version of the Uniform Parentage Act was enacted by 16 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington.[5]

2002 Revision

The 2002 Revision has been enacted by 11 states: Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.[6]

2017 Revision

The 2017 Revisions has been enacted by 7 states: California, Colorado (substantially similar), Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.[7]

2017 Revision Introduced Bills

The 2017 revision has been introduced as a bill for 5 states. Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.[8]

Hawaii bills including the act are HB384 (Judiciary Package; Uniform Parentage Act)[9] and SB484 (Judiciary Package; Uniform Parentage Act).[10]

Kansas has one bill regarding the Uniform Parentage act, which is HB2409 (Enacting the Kansas uniform parentage act (2017)).[11]

Massachusetts bills including the act are SD1088 (An Act to ensure legal parentage equality)[12] and HD2348 (An Act to ensure legal parentage equality).[13]

Nevada has one bill, AB371 (makes various changes relating to parentage). (BDR 11–140).

Pennsylvania has one bill, HB350 (An act amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, adding provisions relating to establishment of parent-child relationship for certain individuals; providing for voluntary acknowledgment of parentage, for registry of paternity, for genetic testing, for proceeding to adjudicate parentage, for assisted reproduction, for surrogacy agreements and for information about donors.)[14]

Articles

Article 1: General Provisions

Article 2: Parent-Child Relationship

Article 3: Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage

Article 4: Registry of Paternity

  • Part 1: General Provisions
  • Part 2: Operation of Registry
  • Part 3: Search of Registry

Article 5: Genetic Testing

Article 6: Proceeding to Adjudicate Parentage

  • Part 1: Nature of Proceeding
  • Part 2: Special Rules for Proceeding to Adjudicate Parentage
  • Part 3: Hearing and Adjudication

Article 7: Assisted Reproduction

Article 8: Surrogacy Agreement

  • Part 1: General Requirements
  • Part 2: Special Rules for Gestational Surrogacy Agreement
  • Part 3: Special Rules for Genetic Surrogacy Agreement

Article 9: Information About Donor

Article 10: Miscellaneous Provisions

References

  1. ↑ "Parentage Act (1973) - Uniform Law Commission". www.uniformlaws.org. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Parentage Act". Uniform Law Commission. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  3. ↑ "FAQs — Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition". Polyamorylegal.org. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  4. ↑ SAMPSON, JOHN J. (2003). "Preface to the Amendments to the Uniform Parentage Act (2002)". Family Law Quarterly. 37 (1): 1–4. ISSN 0014-729X.
  5. ↑ "Parentage Act - Uniform Law Commission". www.uniformlaws.org. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Parentage Act - Uniform Law Commission". www.uniformlaws.org. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Parentage Act - Uniform Law Commission". www.uniformlaws.org. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Parentage Act - Uniform Law Commission". www.uniformlaws.org. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Hawaii HB384 | TrackBill". trackbill.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Hawaii SB484 | TrackBill". trackbill.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Kansas HB2409 | TrackBill". trackbill.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Massachusetts SD1088 | TrackBill". trackbill.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Massachusetts HD2348 | TrackBill". trackbill.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Pennsylvania HB350 | TrackBill". trackbill.com. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
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