The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 15C V.S.A. § 708)
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§ 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.)