(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), consent to adoption of a child, or relinquishment of a child for adoption, is required from:

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Terms Used In Utah Code 78B-6-120

  • Adoptee: means a person who:
         (1)(a) is the subject of an adoption proceeding; or
         (1)(b) has been legally adopted. See Utah Code 78B-6-103
  • Adoption: means the judicial act that:
         (2)(a) creates the relationship of parent and child where it did not previously exist; and
         (2)(b) except as provided in Subsections 78B-6-138(2) and (4), terminates the parental rights of any other person with respect to the child. See Utah Code 78B-6-103
  • Father: means a parent who is of the male sex. 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, regardless of age. See Utah Code 78B-6-103
  • Mother: means a parent who is of the female sex. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • 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
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Unmarried biological father: means a man who:
         (28)(a) is the biological father of a child; and
         (28)(b) was not married to the biological mother of the child described in Subsection (28)(a) at the time of the child's conception or birth. See Utah Code 78B-6-103
  • Woman: means an adult human female. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
     (1)(a) the adoptee, if the adoptee is more than 12 years old, unless the adoptee does not have the mental capacity to consent;
     (1)(b) a man or woman who:

          (1)(b)(i) by operation of law under Section 78B-15-204, is recognized as the father or mother of the proposed adoptee, unless:

               (1)(b)(i)(A) the presumption is rebutted under Section 78B-15-607;
               (1)(b)(i)(B) at the time of the marriage, the man or woman knew or reasonably should have known that the marriage to the mother of the proposed adoptee was or could be declared invalid; or
               (1)(b)(i)(C) the man or woman was not married to the mother of the proposed adoptee until after the mother consented to adoption, or relinquishment for adoption, of the proposed adoptee; or
          (1)(b)(ii) is the father of the adoptee by a previous legal adoption;
     (1)(c) the mother of the adoptee;
     (1)(d) a biological parent who has been adjudicated to be the child’s biological father by a court of competent jurisdiction prior to the mother’s execution of consent to adoption or her relinquishment of the child for adoption;
     (1)(e) consistent with Subsection (3), a biological parent who has executed and filed a voluntary declaration of paternity with the state registrar of vital statistics within the Department of Health in accordance with Title 78B, Chapter 15, Utah Uniform Parentage Act, prior to the mother’s execution of consent to adoption or her relinquishment of the child for adoption;
     (1)(f) an unmarried biological father, of an adoptee, whose consent is not required under Subsection (1)(d) or (1)(e), only if he fully and strictly complies with the requirements of Sections 78B-6-121 and 78B-6-122; and
     (1)(g) the person or agency to whom an adoptee has been relinquished and that is placing the child for adoption.
(2)

     (2)(a) The consent of a person described in Subsections (1)(b) through (g) is not required if the adoptee is 18 years old or older.
     (2)(b) The consent of a person described in Subsections (1)(b) through (f) is not required if the person’s parental rights relating to the adoptee have been terminated.
(3) For purposes of Subsection (1)(e), a voluntary declaration of paternity is considered filed when it is entered into a database that:

     (3)(a) can be accessed by the Department of Health and Human Services; and
     (3)(b) is designated by the state registrar of vital statistics as the official database for voluntary declarations of paternity.