Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 14-2-402 (2026)

Definitions.

✓ current as of May 2026
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(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
14-2-907.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2004–2021 · leading case: MAM v. State, Dep't of Fam. Servs., 2004 WY 127 (Wyo. 2004).
MAM v. State, Dep't of Fam. Servs., 2004 WY 127 (Wyo. 2004). · cites it 2× “The district court's findings and conclusions included: (1) the appellant was an "adjudicated father" under Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 14-2-402 (a)@), 14-2-815, and 14-2-822; (2) the appellant failed to file his petition within the two-year time limit found in Wyo.”
Bj v. Km & Cm, 2021 WY 37 (Wyo. 2021). · cites it 4× “]” Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-402 (a)(xi). “Child” is defined as “an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined .”
Lp v. Lf, 2014 WY 152 (Wyo. 2014). · cites it 2× “" Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 14-2-402 (a)(xiii). Section 14-2-501 defines those relationships as follows: (a) The mother-child relationship is established between a woman and a child by: (i) The woman's having given birth to the child; (ii) An adjudication of the woman's maternity; or…”
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