The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 15C: Parentage Proceedings

Chapter 007: Parentage by Assisted Reproduction

• § 701. Scope

  This chapter does not apply to the birth of a child conceived by sexual intercourse or assisted reproduction under a surrogacy agreement under chapter 8 of this title. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

• § 702. Parental status of donor

  (a) A donor is not a parent of a child conceived through assisted reproduction.

  (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section:

  (1) a person who provides a gamete or gametes or an embryo or embryos to be used for assisted reproduction for the person’s spouse is a parent of the resulting child; and

  (2) a person who provides a gamete or an embryo for assisted reproduction is a parent of the resulting child if the person has a written agreement or agreements with the person giving birth that the person providing the gamete or the embryo is intended to be a parent. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

• § 703. Parentage of child of assisted reproduction

  A person who consents under section 704 of this title to assisted reproduction by another person with the intent to be a parent of a child conceived by the assisted reproduction is a parent of the child. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

• § 704. Consent to assisted reproduction

  (a) A person who intends to be a parent of a child born through assisted reproduction shall consent to the use of assisted reproduction to conceive a child with the intent to parent the child:

  (1) in a record, signed before, on, or after the birth of the child by each intended parent; or

  (2) in an oral agreement entered into before conception by each intended parent.

  (b) In the absence of evidence pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, a court may adjudicate a person as the parent of a child if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the person resided with the child after birth and undertook to develop a parental relationship with the child. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2023, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 705. Limitation on spouse’s dispute of parentage

  (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, a spouse may commence a proceeding to challenge the spouse’s parentage of a child born by assisted reproduction during the marriage within two years after the birth of the child if the court finds that the spouse did not consent to the assisted reproduction before, on, or after the birth of the child or that the spouse withdrew consent pursuant to section 706 of this title.

  (b) A spouse or the person who gave birth to the child may commence a proceeding to challenge the spouse’s parentage of a child born by assisted reproduction at any time if the court determines:

  (1) the spouse neither provided a gamete for, nor consented to, the assisted reproduction;

  (2) the spouse and the person who gave birth to the child have not cohabited since the probable time of assisted reproduction; and

  (3) the spouse never openly held out the child as the spouse’s child.

  (c) This section shall apply to a spouse’s dispute of parentage even if the spouse’s marriage is declared invalid after assisted reproduction occurs. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2023, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 706. Effect of dissolution of marriage or withdrawal of consent

  (a)(1) If a marriage is dissolved before transfer or implantation of gametes or embryos, the former spouse is not a parent of the resulting child unless the former spouse consented in a signed record with notice to the other spouse and the person giving birth that, if assisted reproduction were to occur after a divorce, the former spouse would be a parent of the child.

  (2) A person who has petitioned for divorce, or a person who has been served with a complaint for divorce, may proceed with assisted reproduction pursuant to this subsection, provided at least 60 days have elapsed since service of the complaint. In such case, the spouse shall not be a parent of any child born as a result of the assisted reproduction unless both parties consent in writing to be parents of that child after commencement of the divorce action. A married person proceeding with assisted reproduction pursuant to this section shall not utilize gametes of the person’s spouse unless the spouse consents in writing to the use of the spouse’s gametes for assisted reproduction by the married person after filing of the divorce petition.

  (b) Consent of a person to assisted reproduction pursuant to section 704 of this title may be withdrawn by that person in a signed record with notice to the person giving birth and any other intended parent before transfer or implantation of gametes or embryos. A person who withdraws consent under this subsection is not a parent of the resulting child. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2023, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 9, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 707. Parental status of deceased person

  (a) If a person who intends to be a parent of a child conceived by assisted reproduction dies during the period between the transfer of a gamete or embryo and the birth of the child, the person’s death does not preclude the establishment of the person’s parentage of the child if the person otherwise would be a parent of the child under this chapter.

  (b)(1) If a person who consented in a record to assisted reproduction by the person giving birth to the child dies before transfer or implantation of gametes or embryos, the deceased person is not a parent of a child conceived by assisted reproduction unless:

  (A) the deceased person consented in a record that if assisted reproduction were to occur after the death of the deceased person, the deceased person would be a parent of the child; or

  (B) the deceased person’s intent to be a parent of a child conceived by assisted reproduction after the person’s death is established by a preponderance of the evidence.

  (2) A person is a parent of a child conceived by assisted reproduction under subdivision (1) of this subsection only if:

  (A) the embryo is in utero not later than 36 months after the person’s death; or

  (B) the child is born not later than 45 months after the person’s death. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)

• § 708. Birth and parentage orders

  (a) A party consenting to assisted reproduction, a person who is a parent pursuant to sections 702–704 of this title, an intended parent or parents, or the person giving birth may commence a proceeding in the Probate Division of the Superior Court to obtain an order and judgment of parentage doing any of the following:

  (1) declaring that the intended parent or parents are the parent or parents of the resulting child and ordering that parental rights and responsibilities vest exclusively in the intended parent or parents immediately upon the birth of the child;

  (2) except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, sealing the record from the public to protect the privacy of the child and the parties;

  (3) designating the contents of the birth certificate and directing the Department of Health to designate the intended parent or parents as the parent or parents of the child; or

  (4) for any relief that the court determines necessary and proper.

  (b) A proceeding under this section may be commenced before or after the birth of the child. If the court determines a person is a parent of the child either because the person gave birth to the child or the person is a consenting intended parent, the court shall adjudicate the person to be a parent of the child.

  (c) Neither the donor, the State, nor the Department of Health is a necessary party to a proceeding under this section.

  (d) The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall forward a certified copy of the order issued pursuant to this section to the Department of Health and to the intended parents or their representative.

  (e) The intended parent or parents and any resulting child shall have access to the court records relating to the proceeding at any time.

  (f) An uncontested petition for a judgment of parentage pursuant to this section shall be resolved by the court promptly. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2019, No. 24, § 4; 2023, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 10, eff. July 1, 2024.)

• § 709. Laboratory error

  If due to a laboratory error the child is not genetically related to either of the intended parents, the intended parents are the parents of the child unless otherwise determined by the court. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)