Protect Legal Utah Paternity Forms For Free

A Voluntary Declaration of Paternity (VDP) allows unmarried parents to legally declare the paternity of their child. The VDP must be filed with the Department of Health. Once it is filed, it creates a legal parent-child relationship between the biological father and the child.

Parents can sign a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity form at any time after the birth of a child. If parents sign the Voluntary Declaration of Paternity after leaving the hospital or birthing facility, they have to file the form directly with the Department of Health, Vital Records and Statistics.

Under the Utah Uniform Parentage Act an unmarried father must declare his parentage or establish paternity through genetics testing, or declaration under certain circumstances, to have a say in the child's upbringing or receive formal notification of adoption.

Both parents may sign and file a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity form as described in Utah Code Section 78B-15-302. If a parent applies for child support services through ORS, they can obtain an administrative paternity order through the Office of Recovery Services (ORS) once paternity is verified.

If his name is on the birth certificate, he will be automatically recognized as the child's legal parent and have as much legal claim in courts as the mother. If his paternity is not established at birth, his rights to custody will be based on his suitability as a parent once paternity is established.

How Long Does a Father Have to Establish Paternity? If a man believes that he may be a child's father he should sign or file with the court a voluntary acknowledgment of his paternity by 30 days from the date the child was born.