Terms Used In Utah Code > Title 78B > Chapter 15 > Part 6 - Adjudication of Parentage

• Adjudicated father: means a man who has been adjudicated by a tribunal to be the father of a child. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Adjudicative proceeding: means :
       (2)(a) an action by a board, commission, department, officer, or other administrative unit of the state that determines the legal rights, duties, privileges, immunities, or other legal interests of one or more identifiable persons, including an action to grant, deny, revoke, suspend, modify, annul, withdraw, or amend an authority, right, or license; and
       (2)(b) judicial review of an action described in Subsection (2)(a). See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Alleged father: means a man who alleges himself to be, or is alleged to be, the genetic father or a possible genetic father of a child, but whose paternity has not been determined. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Child: means an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined under this chapter. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Commence: means to file the initial pleading seeking an adjudication of parentage in the appropriate tribunal of this state. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Declarant father: means a male who, along with the biological mother claims to be the genetic father of a child, and signs a voluntary declaration of paternity to establish the man's paternity. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Determination of parentage: means the establishment of the parent-child relationship by the signing of a valid declaration of paternity under Part 3, Voluntary Declaration of Paternity Act, or adjudication by a tribunal. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Father: means a parent who is of the male sex. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Genetic testing: means an analysis of genetic markers to exclude or identify a man as the father or a woman as the mother of a child. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Guardian: includes a person who:
       (14)(a) qualifies as a guardian of a minor or incapacitated person pursuant to testamentary or court appointment; or
       (14)(b) is appointed by a court to manage the estate of a minor or incapacitated person. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Man: means a male individual of any age. See Utah Code 78B-15-102 v2
• Mother: means a parent who is of the female sex. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Parent: means an individual who has established a parent-child relationship under Section 78B-15-201. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Parent-child relationship: means the legal relationship between a child and a parent of the child. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Person: means :
       (24)(a) an individual;
       (24)(b) an association;
       (24)(c) an institution;
       (24)(d) a corporation;
       (24)(e) a company;
       (24)(f) a trust;
       (24)(g) a limited liability company;
       (24)(h) a partnership;
       (24)(i) a political subdivision;
       (24)(j) a government office, department, division, bureau, or other body of government; and
       (24)(k) any other organization or entity. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Presumed father: means a man who, by operation of law under Section 78B-15-204, is recognized as the father of a child until that status is rebutted or confirmed as set forth in this chapter. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Probate: Proving a will
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
• 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. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Signatory: means an individual who authenticates a record and is bound by its terms. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, any territory, Native American Tribe, or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Support-enforcement agency: means a public official or agency authorized under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act which has the authority to seek:
       (25)(a) enforcement of support orders or laws relating to the duty of support;
       (25)(b) establishment or modification of child support;
       (25)(c) determination of parentage; or
       (25)(d) location of child-support obligors and their income and assets. See Utah Code 78B-15-102
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Tribunal: means a court of law, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce, or modify support orders or to determine parentage. See Utah Code 78B-15-102