# Utah Code § 81-13-104: Responsibility for own actions -- Fraud or misrepresentation

> Utah · Statutes · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_104

## Section

- **Citation:** Utah Code § 81-13-104
- **Heading:** Responsibility for own actions -- Fraud or misrepresentation
- **Jurisdiction:** Utah
- **Kind:** Statutes
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** Utah Code / Title 81 / Chapter 81-13 / § 81-13-104

## Text

(1) Each parent of an adoptee conceived or born outside of marriage is responsible for the parent's own actions and is not excused from strict compliance with the provisions of this chapter based upon any action, statement, or omission of the other parent or third parties. (2) (a) Any person injured by fraudulent representations or actions in connection with an adoption is entitled to pursue civil or criminal penalties in accordance with existing law. (b) A fraudulent representation is not a defense to strict compliance with the requirements of this chapter and is not a basis for dismissal of a petition for adoption, vacation of an adoption decree, or an automatic grant of custody to the offended party. (c) For a child adoptee, a custody determination shall be based on the best interests of the child adoptee in accordance with the provisions of Section 81-13-215. (3) A child-placing agency and the employees of a child-placing agency may not: (a) employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud; (b) engage in any act, practice, or course of business that operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon any person; (c) materially and intentionally misrepresent facts or information; or (d) request or require a prospective adoptive parent to grant, as a condition of or in connection with entering into an agreement with a child-placing agency, a release of either the prospective adoptive parent's claims or the adoptee's claims against the child-placing agency regarding any of the following: (i) criminal misconduct; (ii) ethical violations, as established by the Office of Licensing's administrative rules; (iii) bad faith; (iv) intentional torts; (v) fraud; (vi) gross negligence associated with care of the adoptee, as described in Subsection 81-13-210(2); (vii) future misconduct that may arise before the adoption is finalized; (viii) breach of contract; or (ix) gross negligence. (4) Subsection (3) does not prohibit a release of claims against a child-placing agency or a child-placing agency's employees for liability arising from the acts or the failure to act of a third party.

## Nearby sections

- [Utah Code § 81-13-101 § 81-13-101. Definitions for chapter.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_101.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-102 § 81-13-102. Venue for an adoption proceeding.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_102.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-103 § 81-13-103. Court hearings -- Adoption documents -- Motion to intervene.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_103.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-104 § 81-13-104. Responsibility for own actions -- Fraud or misrepresentation.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_104.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-105 § 81-13-105. Adoption order from foreign country.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_105.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-106 § 81-13-106. Compact for Interstate Sharing of Putative Father Registry Information -- Severability clause.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_106.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-201 § 81-13-201. Definitions for part.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_201.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-202 § 81-13-202. Legislative findings -- Best interest of the minor child -- Interests of each party.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_202.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-203 § 81-13-203. Who may adopt -- Adoption of a minor child.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_203.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-204 § 81-13-204. Petition for adoption of a minor child.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_204.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-205 § 81-13-205. Petition to terminate parental rights of a minor child.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_205.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-206 § 81-13-206. Determination of rights in an adoption proceeding for a minor child.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_206.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-207 § 81-13-207. Notice of an adoption proceeding for a minor child.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_207.md)
- [Utah Code § 81-13-208 § 81-13-208. Prebirth notice to birth father of intent to place a minor child for adoption.](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_208.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_UT_T81_S81_13_104. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.