Preface to the UPA (2017)

Abstract

First promulgated in 1973, the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) provides states with a uniform, comprehensive statutory scheme to determine a child's parentage. Today, approximately half the states have parentage laws that are based in whole or in part of some version of the UPA. In 2015, the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) determined that the Act was in need of another update. A core impetus for the update was to ensure that the Act applied equally to children of same-sex couples. The UPA (2017) was approved by the ULC in 2017 and is now available to enactment in the states. As of November 2018, three states — California, Vermont, and Washington — had adopted all or substantial portions of the UPA (2017). This Preface explains the important changes implemented in the UPA (2017). The revisions primarily address six issues: (A) ensuring the equal treatment of children of same-sex couples; (B) expanding recognition of non-biological parents; (C) providing guidance in cases involving competing claims of parentage; (D) addressing the parentage of children conceived through sexual assault; (E) updating the rules governing children born through a surrogacy agreement; and (F) establishing a procedure to enable children conceived through assisted reproduction to access information about any gamete providers. In addition, the Index includes the full text of the UPA (2017).