Legislative Offices

Parentage Act

Parentage Act

What is Maine’s Parentage Act

The Maine Parentage Act is codified as 19-A MRS,  c. 61 (§§1831-1939). It “offers an updated, comprehensive statutory framework for determining a child’s legal parentage”. It consists primarily of the Maine Parentage Act, but also entails a series of amendments to existing statutes, including the repeal of various provisions.

The law establishes eight main mechanisms for establishing parentage – birth, adoption, acknowledgement, presumption, de facto parentage, genetic parentage, assisted reproduction, and gestational-carrier agreements.

Pine Tree Legal Assistance has website on this topic: “Maine Parentage Act: Who can be a parent?”

The Maine Vital Records Office has several form related to parentage on its website.

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5/4/2023        A-Z List