{"data":{"id":"us-vt/15c-v.s.a.-206","jurisdiction":"us-vt","citation":"15C V.S.A. § 206","heading":"Adjudicating competing claims of parentage","body":"(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:\n(1) the age of the child;\n(2) the length of time during which each person assumed the role of parent of the child;\n(3) the nature of the relationship between the child and each person;\n(4) the harm to the child if the relationship between the child and each person is not recognized;\n(5) the basis for each person’s claim to parentage of the child; and\n(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.\n(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.","path":["Title 15C: Parentage Proceedings","Chapter 002: Establishment of Parentage"],"source_url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/15C/002/00206","current_through":"2025 session","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T17:17:00Z","sha256":"34517ffe890bae2c762320219709513e80f222b469e0f01691bbefa0f0c6213b","source_id":"us-vt","stale":false,"prev":"us-vt/15c-v.s.a.-205","next":"us-vt/15c-v.s.a.-301"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}