LD 1526
pg. 35
Page 34 of 118 An Act To Enact the Uniform Parentage Act and Conforming Amendments and Additio... Page 36 of 118
Download Bill Text
LR 134
Item 1

 
1.__Registration required.__Except as otherwise provided in
subsection 2 or section 1875, a man who desires to be notified of a
proceeding for adoption of, or termination of parental rights
regarding, a child that he may have fathered must register in the
registry of paternity before the birth of the child or within 30
days after the birth.

 
2.__Exception to registration requirement.__A man is not
required to register if:

 
A.__A parent-child relationship between the man and the
child has been established under this chapter or other law;
or

 
B.__The man commences a proceeding to adjudicate his
parentage before the court has terminated his parental
rights.

 
3.__Notification of change in information.__A registrant shall
promptly notify the registry in a record of any change in the
information registered. The State Registrar of Vital Statistics
shall incorporate all new information received into its records
but need not affirmatively seek to obtain current information for
incorporation in the registry.

 
Comment

 
(This is section 402 of the UPA.)

 
A registry of paternity protects a claim of paternity from
summary termination, but the primary advantage of such a registry
is to facilitate infant adoptions. By registering, a registrant
ensures that he will receive notice of the possible adoption of a
child that he may have fathered if the birth occurs in the state
of registration. In this manner, a man may seek to protect his
right to assert parentage.

 
Limiting the consequence of a failure to register with a
registry of paternity only to termination of paternal rights in
cases of infant adoption seems appropriate. If an adoption is not
commenced in the first year of the child's life, the nonmarital
father and the mother remain responsible for support and eligible
for custody or visitation throughout the minority of the child in
the absence of an adoption or termination after notice to the
alleged father. The latter fact situation distinguishes it from
an infant adoption in which both parents lose those rights and
duties for the benefit of the child.


Page 34 of 118 Top of Page Page 36 of 118