Series Title: State Statutes
Author(s): Child Welfare Information Gateway
Year Published: 2022
Current Through: June 2022
To access the statutes for a specific State or territory, visit the State Statutes Search.
This publication provides an overview of State laws related to the rights of unmarried parents and the methods by which a person may establish a legal parent-child relationship with their child. The circumstances in which a person may be presumed to be the other parent of a child, the use of parentage registries, the use of genetic tests to establish parentage, and the right of rescission of parentage claims are discussed. This publication presents a general overview of this aspect of child welfare law. Summaries of laws on this topic for all individual States and U.S. territories are available from the Statutes Search page.
Suggested Citation: Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2022). The rights of unmarried parents. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau. https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/statutes/parentage/
This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by Child Welfare Information Gateway. While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.
This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare Information Gateway.