6-2-304;

6-2-304;

(B) Sexual battery under W.S. 6-2-313;  (C) Sexual abuse of a minor under W.S. 6-2-314 through 6-2-317.

(iv) The parent is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to W.S. 7-19-302 if the offense involved the child or another child of that parent. This shall not apply if the parent is only required to register for conviction under W.S. 6-2-201;

(v) Other aggravating circumstances exist indicating that there is little likelihood that services to the family will result in successful reunification.

14-2-310. Parties authorized to file petition.

(a) The petition for the termination of the parent-child relationship shall be filed with the court by:

(i) Either parent, when termination of the parent-child legal relationship is sought with respect to the other parent; or

(ii) The guardian or the legal custodian of the child; or

(iii) An authorized agency.

(b) The petition for the termination of the parent-child relationship may be filed with the court by a biological or adoptive grandparent acting in loco parentis to the child, where the child has resided with the grandparent for a period of not less than one (1) year and the placement is not under the direction of a juvenile court or the department of family services.

14-2-311. Contents of petition.

(a) The petition for the termination of the parent-child legal relationship shall state:

(i) The legal name, sex, date and place of birth of the child, if known, and the jurisdictional facts;

(ii) The name and residence of the petitioner and his relationship to the child;  (iii) The name, address and place and date of birth of the parent, if known, and of the name of the person having the legal custody or guardianship of the child;

(iv) The grounds for termination of the parent-child legal relationship pursuant to W.S. 14-2-309;

(v) Name and address of the person or authorized agency requesting appointment as the guardian of the child.

14-2-312. Hearing; appointment of guardian ad litem.

After the petition has been filed, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the child unless the court finds the interests of the child will be represented adequately by the petitioner or another party to the action and are not adverse to that party. If the court appoints a guardian ad litem it shall approve a fee for services. When a petition is filed and presented to the judge, the judge shall set the petition for hearing. The Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure, including the right of a parent, child or interested person to demand a jury trial, are applicable in actions brought under this act.

14-2-313. Service of petition.

(a) The petition shall be served on the following persons:

(i) The parent of the child;

(ii) The guardian ad litem;

(iii) The guardian or next friend of the parent if the parent is a minor;

(iv) The department of family services if the child is or has been supported by public assistance funds.

(b) Service of the petition on the person required to be served by subsection (a) of this section shall be made as provided by the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure. If the person is a nonresident or his residence is unknown, service may be had by constructive service or by publication as provided in the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.

14-2-314. Social study required; information to be shown; not excluded as hearsay. Upon the filing of a petition by anyone other than an authorized agency as defined by W.S. 14-2-308(a)(ii)(A), the court shall direct that a social study be made by the appropriate county office of public assistance and social services or by any authorized agency to aid the court in making a final disposition of the petition. The social study shall state the factual information pertaining to the allegations in the petition, the social history and the present situation and environment of the child and parent. The social study shall not be excluded as evidence by reason of hearsay alone. The social study shall be made available to any party to the action upon request.

14-2-315. Order terminating the parent-child legal relationship; contents.

The order terminating the parent-child legal relationship shall be in writing and shall contain the findings of the court. If the court terminates the parent-child legal relationship of either one (1) or both parents, it shall fix the responsibility for the child's support and appoint a guardian of the child's person or estate or both.

14-2-316. Dismissal of petition; continuation of hearing.

If the court does not terminate the parent-child legal relationship, it shall dismiss the petition or direct an authorized agency to continue to make efforts to rehabilitate the parent and continue the hearing for no longer than six (6) months. The authorized agency shall provide the court with any additional reports regarding its rehabilitative efforts and results. Pending final hearing, the court may continue the present placement of the child or place the child in the temporary custody of an authorized agency and fix responsibility for temporary child support.

14-2-317. Effect of order of termination.

(a) An order terminating the parent-child legal relationship divests the parent of all legal rights and privileges and relieves the child of all duties to that parent except:

(i) The order does not divest that parent of duties and support obligations unless otherwise specifically ordered by the court or the child is adopted; and  (ii) Except as provided in W.S. 2-4-107(a)(i), the right of the child to inherit from the parent shall not be affected by the order.

(b) The parent whose parent-child legal relationship has been terminated is not thereafter entitled to the notice of proceedings for the adoption of the child, nor has he any right to object to the adoption or otherwise participate in the adoption proceedings.

14-2-318. Costs of proceedings; appointment of counsel.

(a) The court may appoint counsel for any party who is indigent. Indigency shall be established by written affidavit signed and sworn to by the party or sworn testimony made a part of the record of the proceedings. The affidavit or sworn testimony shall state that the party is without sufficient money, property, assets or credit to employ counsel in his own behalf. The court may require further verification of financial condition as it deems necessary.

(b) Where petitioner is an authorized agency as defined by W.S. 14-2-308(a)(ii)(B), it shall pay for the costs of the action. Costs shall include:

(i) Fee for the guardian ad litem. If the agency had entered into an agreement with the office of guardian ad litem pursuant to W.S. 14-12-101 through 14-12-104 and the office was appointed to provide the guardian ad litem, the office shall pay the fee for the guardian ad litem in accordance with that agreement;

(ii) Attorney's fee for an indigent party;

(iii) Other professional fees incurred by an indigent party in defense of an action brought under this act.

(c) Prior to incurring any cost under subsection (b) of this section application shall be made to the court and written approval by the court shall be obtained.

(d) Where petitioner is an authorized agency as defined by W.S. 14-2-308(a)(ii)(A):

(i) The district attorney for the county in which the petition is filed shall represent the authorized agency in all proceedings under this act;  (ii) The authorized agency shall pay the reasonable attorney's fees and expenses for an indigent party incurred in the defense of an action brought under this act and approved by the court; and

(iii) The authorized agency shall pay the guardian ad litem reasonable fees and expenses approved by the court unless the agency had entered into an agreement with the office of guardian ad litem pursuant to W.S. 14-12-101 through 14-12-104 and the office was appointed to provide the guardian ad litem. If so, the office shall pay the fee for the guardian ad litem in accordance with that agreement.

14-2-319. Determination of indigency; recovery of payment.

(a) In determining whether a person is an indigent party for purposes of W.S. 14-2-318, the court shall consider in addition to any other relevant factors the person's income, property owned, outstanding obligations and the number and ages of his dependents. In each case the person, subject to the penalties for perjury, shall certify in writing, or by other record, material facts relating to his ability to pay as the court prescribes.

(b) To the extent that an indigent party is able to provide for an attorney or for other expenses incurred in defense of an action brought under this act, the court may order that he make payment within a specified period of time or in specified installments.

(c) Within eight (8) years after the date the services were rendered, the attorney general may sue on behalf of the state to recover payment or reimbursement from each person who has received legal assistance or another benefit under this act:

(i) To which he was not entitled;

(ii) With respect to which he was not an indigent person when he received it; or

(iii) With respect to which he has failed to make the certification required by subsection (a) of this section.

(d) Within three (3) years after the date the services were rendered, the attorney general may sue on behalf of the state to recover payment or reimbursement from each person other than a person covered by subsection (c) of this section who:

(i) Has received legal assistance or other benefit under this act; and

(ii) On the date on which suit is brought is financially able to pay or reimburse the state for all or part of the legal assistance or other benefit according to the standards of ability to pay applicable under this act but refuses to do so.

(e) Amounts recovered under this section shall be remitted to the general fund.

ARTICLE 4 - GENERAL PROVISIONS

14-2-401. Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Wyoming Parentage Act.

14-2-402. Definitions.

(a) As used in this act:

(i) "Acknowledged father" means a man who has established a father-child relationship under article 6 of this act;

(ii) "Adjudicated father" means a man who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be the father of a child;

(iii) "Alleged father" means a man who alleges himself to be, or is alleged to be, the genetic father or a possible genetic father of a child, but whose paternity has not been determined. The term does not include:

(A) A presumed father;

(B) A man whose parental rights have been terminated or declared not to exist; or

(C) A male donor.  (iv) "Assisted reproduction" means a method of causing pregnancy other than through sexual intercourse. The term includes:

(A) Intrauterine insemination;

(B) Donation of eggs;

(C) Donation of embryos;

(D) In-vitro fertilization and transfer of embryos; and

(E) Intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

(v) "Child" means an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined under this act;

(vi) "Commence" means to file the initial pleading seeking an adjudication of parentage in a district court of this state;

(vii) "Determination of parentage" means the establishment of the parent-child relationship by the signing of a valid acknowledgment of paternity under article 5 of this act or by adjudication by the court;

(viii) "Donor" means an individual who produces eggs or sperm used for assisted reproduction, whether or not for consideration. The term does not include:

(A) A husband who provides sperm, or a wife who provides eggs, to be used for assisted reproduction by the wife;

(B) A woman who gives birth to a child by means of assisted reproduction;

(C) A parent under article 9 of this chapter.

(ix) "Ethnic or racial group" means, for purposes of genetic testing, a recognized group that an individual identifies as all or part of the individual's ancestry or that is so identified by other information;

(x) "Genetic testing" means an analysis of genetic markers to exclude or identify a man as the father or a woman as the mother of a child. The term includes an analysis of one (1) or a combination of the following:

(A) Deoxyribonucleic acid; and

(B) Blood-group antigens, red-cell antigens, human-leukocyte antigens, serum enzymes, serum proteins or red- cell enzymes.

(xi) "Man" means a male individual of any age;

(xii) "Parent" means an individual who has established a parent-child relationship under W.S. 14-2-501;

(xiii) "Parent-child relationship" means the legal relationship between a child and a parent of the child. The term includes the mother-child relationship and the father-child relationship;

(xiv) "Paternity index" means the likelihood of paternity calculated by computing the ratio between:

(A) The likelihood that the tested man is the father, based on the genetic markers of the tested man, mother and child, conditioned on the hypothesis that the tested man is the father of the child; and

(B) The likelihood that the tested man is not the father, based on the genetic markers of the tested man, mother and child, conditioned on the hypothesis that the tested man is not the father of the child and that the father is of the same ethnic or racial group as the tested man.

(xv) "Presumed father" means a man who, by operation of law under W.S. 14-2-504, is recognized as the father of a child until that status is rebutted or confirmed in a judicial proceeding;

(xvi) "Probability of paternity" means the measure, for the ethnic or racial group to which the alleged father belongs, of the probability that the man in question is the father of the child, compared with a random, unrelated man of the same ethnic or racial group, expressed as a percentage incorporating the paternity index and a prior probability;  (xvii) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form;

(xviii) "Signatory" means an individual who authenticates a record and is bound by its terms;

(xix) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States;

(xx) "Title IV-D" means Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act;

(xxi) "This act" means W.S. 14-2-401 through