Unwed Putative Fathers: Beware Utah Adoption Law

Utah’s adoption statute makes compliance unfairly difficult for unwed putative fathers. The difficulty is compounded by the possibility that predatory adoption agencies may be working with mothers to use Utah’s strict adoption laws to purposely deceive putative fathers who oppose adoption. Utah lawmakers commendably want their state to be on the cutting edge of adoption law such that the interests of adoptees are served with speedy and efficient adoptions. But those lawmakers should also recognize that they can increase the legitimacy and perceived fairness of Utah laws by inserting new provisions into Utah’s adoption statute or tweaking existing requirements to provide unwed putative fathers a more realistic opportunity to preserve their rights and to help prevent those laws from being manipulated