§ 78B-6-120.1. Implied consent.

(1)

(a) As used in this section, "abandonment" means failure of a father, with reasonable knowledge of the pregnancy, to offer and provide financial and emotional support to the birth mother for a period of six months before the day on which the adoptee is born.

(b) A court may not determine that a father abandoned the birth mother if the father failed to provide financial or emotional support because the birth mother refused to accept support.

(2)

(a) As used in this section, "emotional support" means a pattern of statements or actions that indicate to a reasonable person that a father intends to provide for the physical and emotional well-being of an unborn child.

(b) A court may not find that a father failed to provide emotional support if the father's failure was due to impossibility of performance.

(3) Consent or relinquishment, as required by Subsection 78B-6-120(1), may be implied by any of the following acts:

(a) abandonment;

(b) leaving the adoptee with a third party, without providing the third party with the parent's identification, for 30 consecutive days;

(c) knowingly leaving the adoptee with another person, without providing for support, communicating, or otherwise maintaining a substantial relationship with the adoptee, for six consecutive months; or

(d) receiving notification of a pending adoption proceeding under Subsection 78B-6-110(6) or of a termination proceeding under Section 78B-6-112 and failing to respond as required.

(4) Implied consent under Subsection (3)(a) may not be withdrawn.

(5) Nothing in this section negates the requirements of Section 78B-6-121 or 78B-6-122 for an unmarried biological father.

Enacted by Chapter 458, 2013 General Session