§ 206.
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/vt/206-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
§ 206. Adjudicating competing claims of parentage
(a)Competing claims of parentage. Except as otherwise provided in section 616 of this title, in a proceeding to adjudicate competing claims of parentage or challenges to a child’s parentage by two or more persons, the court shall adjudicate parentage in the best interests of the child, based on the following factors:
(1)the age of the child;
(2)the length of time during which each person assumed the role of parent of the child;
(3)the nature of the relationship between the child and each person;
(4)the harm to the child if the relationship between the child and each person is not recognized;
(5)the basis for each person’s claim to parentage of the child; and
(6)other equitable factors arising from the disruption of the relationship between the child and each person or the likelihood of other harm to the child.
(b)Preservation of parent-child relationship. Consistent with the establishment of parentage under this chapter, a court may determine that a child has more than two parents if the court finds that it is in the best interests of the child to do so. A finding of best interests of the child under this subsection does not require a finding of unfitness of any parent or person seeking an adjudication of parentage. A determination of best interests may include consideration of evidence of prebirth intent to parent the child. (Added 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2023, No. 175 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. July 1, 2024.)