LD 1851
pg. 7
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LR 2675
Item 1

 
(This is section 102 of the UPA.)

 
Four separate definitions of "father" are provided by the Act
to account for the permutations of a man who may be so
classified. Subsection (1), "acknowledged father," directly
responds to a 1996 federal mandate encouraging states to adopt
nonjudicial means for a man to identify himself as the father of
a child in order to achieve an early determination of paternity.
The term "acknowledged father" is given a relatively narrow
meaning, rather than the broader definition previously accorded
to the term. Only a man who acknowledges paternity of a child in
accordance with the formal requirements established in Article 3
qualifies as an "acknowledged father." Because the mother of the
child must concur in the formal acknowledgment, the federal
mandate declares that the states must treat the action as the
equivalent of an adjudication of paternity.

 
Subsection (2), "adjudicated father," although self-defining,
presents a policy choice reached by the Conference that contested
parentage matters are reserved for courts to resolve. The
definition is limited to judicial adjudication of parentage,
rather than providing for an alternative of administrative
determination of parentage.

 
Subsection (3), "alleged father," is derived from the UPUFA §
1(1), although much of the terminology has been changed. A man
who is asserted to be, or asserts himself to be or possibly to
be, the father of a child is the primary target of the Uniform
Parentage Act.

 
Subsection (16), "presumed father," is more fully defined by
the factual circumstances establishing a presumption of paternity
in § 204, infra.

 
Closely related to the definitions of "father," Subsection
(12) is derived from the UPUFA § 1(1). Defining "man" to include
all male humans eliminates the connotation of adulthood, thereby
satisfying the obvious need for the Act to cover under-age
progenitors. Although objection to calling a 14-year-old father a
"man" was raised when UPUFA was considered by the Conference, for
purposes of procreation such a teen-age boy is a man.

 
Note that a wide variety of other terms historically employed
to identify the male parent are not defined in this section.
Specifically, the term "putative father" has been replaced by the
broader term "alleged father." According to Webster's, "putative"
means "commonly accepted or supposed." Clearly, many "alleged
fathers" do not fit that definition. Further, UPUFA chose the
term "biological father" over more


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