The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 15C : Parentage Proceedings

Chapter 001 : Short Title; Definitions; Scope; General Provisions

• § 102. Definitions

  As used in this title:

  (1) “Acknowledged parent” means a person who has established a parent-child relationship under chapter 3 of this title.

  (2) “Adjudicated parent” means a person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be a parent of a child.

  (3) “Alleged genetic parent” means a person who is alleged to be, or alleges that the person is, a genetic parent or possible genetic parent of a child whose parentage has not been adjudicated. The term includes an alleged genetic father and alleged genetic mother. The term does not include:

  (A) a presumed parent;

  (B) a person whose parental rights have been terminated or declared not to exist; or

  (C) a donor.

  (4) “Assisted reproduction” means a method of causing pregnancy other than sexual intercourse and includes:

  (A) intrauterine, intracervical, or vaginal insemination;

  (B) donation of gametes;

  (C) donation of embryos;

  (D) in vitro fertilization and transfer of embryos; and

  (E) intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

  (5) “Birth” includes stillbirth.

  (6) “Child” means a person of any age whose parentage may be determined under this title.

  (7) “Domestic assault” includes any offense as set forth in 13 V.S.A. chapter 19, subchapter 6 (domestic assault).

  (8) “Donor” means a person who contributes a gamete or gametes or an embryo or embryos to another person for assisted reproduction or gestation, whether or not for consideration. This term does not include:

  (A) a person who gives birth to a child conceived by assisted reproduction except as otherwise provided in chapter 8 of this title; or

  (B) a parent under chapter 7 of this title or an intended parent under chapter 8 of this title.

  (9) “Embryo” means a cell or group of cells containing a diploid complement of chromosomes or a group of such cells, not including a gamete, that has the potential to develop into a live born human being if transferred into the body of a person under conditions in which gestation may be reasonably expected to occur.

  (10) “Gamete” means a sperm or egg.

  (11) “Genetic population group” means, for purposes of genetic testing, a recognized group that a person identifies as all or part of the person’s ancestry or that is so identified by other information.

  (12) “Gestational carrier” means an adult person who is not an intended parent and who enters into a gestational carrier agreement to bear a child conceived using the gametes of other persons and not the gestational carrier’s own, except that a person who carries a child for a family member using the gestational carrier’s own gametes and who fulfills the requirements of chapter 8 of this title is a gestational carrier.

  (13) “Gestational carrier agreement” means a contract between an intended parent or parents and a gestational carrier intended to result in a live birth.

  (14) “Intended parent” means a person, whether married or unmarried, who manifests the intent to be legally bound as a parent of a child resulting from assisted reproduction or a gestational carrier agreement.

  (15) “Marriage” includes civil union and any legal relationship that provides substantially the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as marriage and is recognized as valid in the state or jurisdiction in which it was entered.

  (16) “Parent” means a person who has established parentage that meets the requirements of this title.

  (17) “Parentage” means the legal relationship between a child and a parent as established under this title.

  (18) “Presumed parent” means a person who is recognized as the parent of a child under section 401 of this title.

  (19) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

  (20) “Sexual assault” includes sexual assault as provided in 13 V.S.A. § 3252(a), (b), (d), and (e); aggravated sexual assault as provided in 13 V.S.A. § 3253; aggravated sexual assault of a child as provided in 13 V.S.A. § 3253a; lewd and lascivious conduct with a child as provided in 13 V.S.A. § 2602; and similar offenses in other jurisdictions.

  (21) “Sexual exploitation” includes sexual exploitation of an inmate as provided in 13 V.S.A. § 3257, sexual exploitation of a minor as provided in 13 V.S.A. § 3258, sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult as provided in 13 V.S.A. § 1379, and similar offenses in other jurisdictions.

  (22) “Sign” means, with the intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:

  (A) execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

  (B) attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.

  (23) “Signatory” means a person who signs a record and is bound by its terms.

  (24) “Spouse” includes a partner in a civil union or a partner in a legal relationship that provides substantially the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities as marriage and is recognized as valid in the state or jurisdiction in which it was entered. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2023, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2024.)