Parentage and Child Support Amendments

8
78A-6-356
81-5-607
0
Parentage and Child Support Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Christine F. Watkins
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses provisions regarding parentage and child support.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
addresses a child support obligation for a child placed with a relative by the juvenile court
or the Division of Child and Family Services;
addresses the presumption of parentage for a child; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
78A-6-356
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 426
81-5-607
, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 426
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
78A-6-356
is amended to read:
78A-6-356
. Child support obligation when custody of a child is vested in an
individual or institution.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Office" means the Office of Recovery Services.
(b)
"State custody" means that a child is in the custody of a state department, division, or
agency, including secure care.
(2)
Under this section, a juvenile court may not issue a child support order against an
individual unless:
(a)
the individual is served with notice that specifies the date and time of a hearing to
determine the financial support of a specified child;
(b)
the individual makes a voluntary appearance; or
(c)
the individual submits a waiver of service.
(3)
Except as provided in Subsection
(11)
, when a juvenile court places a child in state
custody or if the guardianship of the child has been granted to another party and an
agreement for a guardianship subsidy has been signed by the guardian, the juvenile court:
(a)
shall order the child's parent, guardian, or other obligated individual to pay child
support for each month the child is in state custody or cared for under a grant of
guardianship;
(b)
shall inform the child's parent, guardian, or other obligated individual, verbally and
in writing, of the requirement to pay child support in accordance with Title 81,
Chapter 6, Child Support, and Title 81, Chapter 7, Payment and Enforcement of
Spousal and Child Support; and
(c)
may refer the establishment of a child support order to the office.
(4)
When a juvenile court chooses to refer a case to the office to determine support
obligation amounts in accordance with Title 81, Chapter 6, Child Support, the juvenile
court shall:
(a)
make the referral within three working days after the day on which the juvenile court
holds the hearing described in Subsection
(2)(a)
; and
(b)
inform the child's parent, guardian, or other obligated individual of:
(i)
the requirement to contact the office within 30 days after the day on which the
juvenile court holds the hearing described in Subsection
(2)(a)
; and
(ii)
the penalty described in Subsection
(6)
for failure to contact the office.
(5)
Liability for child support ordered under Subsection
(3)
shall accrue:
(a)
except as provided in Subsection
(5)(b)
, beginning on day 61 after the day on which
the juvenile court holds the hearing described in Subsection
(2)(a)
if there is no
existing child support order for the child; or
(b)
beginning on the day the child is removed from the child's home, including time
spent in detention or sheltered care, if the child is removed after having been returned
to the child's home from state custody.
(6)
(a)
If the child's parent, guardian, or other obligated individual contacts the office
within 30 days after the day on which the court holds the hearing described in
Subsection
(2)(a)
, the child support order may not include a judgment for past due
support for more than two months.
(b)
Notwithstanding Subsections
(5)
and
(6)(a)
, the juvenile court may order the liability
of support to begin to accrue from the date of the proceeding referenced in
Subsection
(3)
if:
(i)
the court informs the child's parent, guardian, or other obligated individual, as
described in Subsection
(4)(b)
, and the parent, guardian, or other obligated
individual fails to contact the office within 30 days after the day on which the
court holds the hearing described in Subsection
(2)(a)
; and
(ii)
the office took reasonable steps under the circumstances to contact the child's
parent, guardian, or other obligated individual within 30 days after the last day on
which the parent, guardian, or other obligated individual was required to contact
the office to facilitate the establishment of a child support order.
(c)
For purposes of Subsection
(6)(b)(ii)
, the office is presumed to have taken reasonable
steps if the office:
(i)
has a signed, returned receipt for a certified letter mailed to the address of the
child's parent, guardian, or other obligated individual regarding the requirement
that a child support order be established; or
(ii)
has had a documented conversation, whether by telephone or in person, with the
child's parent, guardian, or other obligated individual regarding the requirement
that a child support order be established.
(7)
In collecting arrears, the office shall comply with Section
26B-9-219
in setting a
payment schedule or demanding payment in full.
(8)
(a)
Unless a court orders otherwise, the child's parent, guardian, or other obligated
individual shall pay the child support to the office.
(b)
The clerk of the juvenile court, the office, or the department and the department's
divisions shall have authority to receive periodic payments for the care and
maintenance of the child, such as social security payments or railroad retirement
payments made in the name of or for the benefit of the child.
(9)
An existing child support order payable to a parent or other individual shall be assigned
to the department as provided in Section
26B-9-111
.
(10)
(a)
Subsections
(4)
through
(9)
do not apply if legal custody of a child is vested by
the juvenile court in an individual.
(b)
(i)
If legal custody of a child is vested by the juvenile court in an individual, the
court may order the child's parent, guardian, or other obligated individual to pay
child support to the individual in whom custody is vested.
(ii)
In the same proceeding, the juvenile court shall inform the child's parent,
guardian, or other obligated individual, verbally and in writing, of the requirement
to pay child support in accordance with Title 81, Chapter 6, Child Support, and
Title 81, Chapter 7, Payment and Enforcement of Spousal and Child Support.
(11)
The juvenile court may not order an individual to pay child support for a child in state
custody if:
(a)
the individual's only form of income is a government-issued disability benefit;
(b)
the benefit described in Subsection
(11)(a)
is issued because of the individual's
disability, and not the child's disability; and
(c)
the individual provides the juvenile court and the office evidence that the individual
meets the requirements of Subsections
(11)(a)
and
(b)
.
(12)
(a)
The child's parent or another obligated individual is not responsible for child
support for the period of time that the child is removed from the child's home by the
Division of Child and Family Services if:
(i)
the juvenile court finds that there were insufficient grounds for the removal of the
child; and
(ii)
the child is returned to the home of the child's parent or guardian based on the
finding described in Subsection
(12)(a)(i)
.
(b)
If the juvenile court finds insufficient grounds for the removal of the child under
Subsection
(12)(a)
, but that the child is to remain in state custody, the juvenile court
shall order that the child's parent or another obligated individual is responsible for
child support beginning on the day on which it became improper to return the child to
the home of the child's parent or guardian.
(13)
After the juvenile court or the office establishes an individual's child support obligation
ordered under Subsection
(3)
, the office shall waive the obligation without further order
of the juvenile court if:
(a)
the individual's child support obligation is established in accordance with a low
income table described in Title 81, Chapter 6, Part 3, Child Support Tables; or
(b)
the individual's only source of income is a means-tested, income replacement
payment of aid, including:
(i)
cash assistance provided under Title 35A, Chapter 3, Part 3, Family Employment
Program; or
(ii)
cash benefits received under General Assistance, social security income, or social
security disability income.
(14)
If there is an abuse, neglect, or dependency proceeding pending before the juvenile
court and the juvenile court or the Division of Child and Family Services places the
child who is the subject of the proceeding with a relative who is not the child's other
parent, the office shall waive, without an order from a court, an individual's child
support obligation for the child if:
(a)
the individual's child support obligation is established in accordance with a low
income table described in Title 81, Chapter 6, Part 3, Child Support Tables; or
(b)
the individual's only source of income is a means-tested, income replacement
payment of aid, including:
(i)
cash assistance provided under Title 35A, Chapter 3, Part 3, Family Employment
Program; or
(ii)
cash benefits received under General Assistance, social security income, or social
security disability income.
Section 2. Section
81-5-607
is amended to read:
81-5-607
. Limitation -- Child having presumed father.
(1)
(a)
Parentage of a child conceived or born during a marriage with a presumed
father, as described in Subsection
81-5-204
(1)(a), (b), or (c) may be raised by the
presumed father, the birth mother, or a child support services agency at any time
before filing an action for divorce or in the pleadings at the time of the divorce of the
parents.
(b)
(i)
If the issue is raised prior to the adjudication, genetic testing may be ordered
by the tribunal in accordance with Section
81-5-608
.
(ii)
Failure of the birth mother of the child to appear for testing may result in an
order allowing a motherless calculation of parentage.
(iii)
Failure of the birth mother to make the child available may not result in a
determination that the presumed father is not the father, but shall allow for
appropriate proceedings to compel the cooperation of the birth mother.
(iv)
If the question of parentage has been raised in the pleadings in a divorce and the
tribunal addresses the issue and enters an order, the parties are estopped from
raising the issue again, and the order of the tribunal may not be challenged on the
basis of material mistake of fact.
(c)
If the presumed father seeks to rebut the presumption of parentage, then denial of a
motion seeking an order for genetic testing or a decision to disregard genetic test
results shall be based on a preponderance of the evidence.
(d)
If the birth mother seeks to rebut the presumption of parentage, the birth mother has
the burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that it would be in the best
interests of the child to disestablish the parent-child relationship.
(e)
(i)
If a child support services agency seeks to rebut the presumption of parentage
and the presumed father opposes the rebuttal, the agency's request shall be denied.
(ii)
Otherwise, the denial of the agency's motion seeking an order for genetic testing
or a decision to disregard genetic test results shall be based on a preponderance of
the evidence, taking into account the best interests of the child.
(1)
(a)
The presumed father, the birth mother, or a child support services agency may
raise the parentage of a child conceived or born during a marriage between the
presumed father and birth mother if:
(i)
the presumption of the father's parentage arises from Subsection
81-5-204(1)(a)
,
(b), or (c); and
(ii)
the issue is raised before the filing of an action for divorce or in the pleadings at
the time of the divorce.
(b)
If the issue of parentage is raised before the adjudication of the divorce:
(i)
subject to Subsection
(1)(c)
, the presumed father may rebut the presumption by
providing genetic test results to a tribunal that exclude the presumed father as the
genetic father of the child; or
(ii)
a tribunal may order genetic testing as described in Section
81-5-608
.
(c)
If the birth mother challenges the presumed father's genetic test results under
Subsection
(1)(b)(i)
, the tribunal shall order genetic testing under Subsection
(1)(b)(ii)
.
(d)
If the presumed father seeks to rebut the presumption of parentage, the denial of a
motion seeking an order for genetic testing, or a decision to disregard genetic test
results, is based on a preponderance of the evidence.
(e)
If the birth mother seeks to rebut the presumption of parentage, the birth mother has
the burden to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it would be in the best
interest of the child to disestablish the parent-child relationship.
(f)
If a child support services agency seeks to rebut the presumption of parentage, and
the presumed father opposes the rebuttal, the tribunal shall deny the agency's request.
(g)
Except for Subsection
(1)(f)
, the denial of a child support services agency's motion
seeking an order for genetic testing, or a decision to disregard test results, is based on
a preponderance of the evidence, taking into account the best interest of the child.
(2)
For the presumption outside of marriage described in Subsection
81-5-204(1)(d)
, the
presumption may be rebutted at any time if the tribunal determines that the presumed
father and the birth mother of the child neither cohabited nor engaged in sexual
intercourse with each other during the probable time of conception.
(3)
The presumption may be rebutted by:
(a)
genetic test results that exclude the presumed father;
(b)
genetic test results that rebuttably identify another man as the father in accordance
with Section
81-5-505
;
(c)
evidence that the presumed father and the birth mother of the child neither cohabited
nor engaged in sexual intercourse with each other during the probable time of
conception; or
(d)
an adjudication under this part.
(4)
There is no presumption to rebut if the presumed father was properly served and there
has been a final adjudication of the issue.
Section 3.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-9-26 11:02 AM