Title 16 — JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS

16-1501. Minors and adults may be adopted. Any minor child may be adopted by any adult person residing in and having residence in Idaho, in the cases and subject to the rules prescribed in this chapter. (1) Persons not minors may be adopted by a resident adult in cases where the …

16-1501A. Rights and Responsibilities of parties in adoption proceedings. (1) The legislature finds that the rights and interests of all parties affected by an adoption proceeding must be considered and balanced in determining what constitutional protections and processes are nec…

16-1501B. Right of parent with disability to present evidence and information. If the prospective adoptive parent has a disability as defined in this chapter, the prospective adoptive parent shall have the right to provide evidence to the court regarding the manner in which the u…

16-1502. Restrictions as to comparative age. The person adopting a child must be at least fifteen (15) years older than the person adopted, or twenty-five (25) years of age or older, except such age restrictions or requirements shall not apply in cases where the adopting parent i…

16-1503. Consent of husband and wife necessary. A married man, not lawfully separated from his wife, cannot adopt a child without the consent of his wife; nor can a married woman, not thus separated from her husband, without his consent, provided the husband or wife, not consenti…

16-1504. Necessary consent to adoption. (1) Consent to adoption of a child is required from: (a) The adoptee, if he is more than twelve (12) years of age, unless he does not have the mental capacity to consent; (b) Both parents or the surviving parent of an adoptee who was concei…

16-1505. Notice of adoption proceedings. (1) Notice of an adoption proceeding shall be served on each of the following persons: (a) Any person or agency whose consent or relinquishment is required under section 16-1504, Idaho Code, unless that right has been terminated by waiver,…

16-1506. Proceedings on adoption. (1) Proceedings to adopt a child shall be commenced by the filing of a petition together with a copy thereof. The petition shall be initiated by the person or persons proposing to adopt the child and shall be filed with the district court of the …

16-1507. Order of adoption. The judge must examine all persons appearing before him pursuant to this chapter, each separately, and any report of the investigation provided pursuant to the last section and if satisfied that the interests of the child will be promoted by the adopti…

16-1508. Effect of adoption. A child or adult, when adopted, may take the name of the person adopting, and the two (2) shall thenceforth sustain toward each other the legal relation of parent and child, and shall have all the rights and shall be subject to all the duties of that …

16-1509. Release of child’s parents from obligation — Termination of rights of parents and children. Unless the decree of adoption otherwise provides, the natural parents of an adopted child are, from the time of the adoption, relieved of all parental duties toward, and all respo…

16-1509A. Dissolution of adoption. An adoption may be dissolved, upon petition, with the agreement of both the adoptee and the adopting parent, when the adopting parent was the spouse of a natural parent, and the marriage of the natural parent and adoptive parent was terminated. …

16-1511. Sealing record of proceedings. Upon the motion of petitioners, or upon its own motion the court shall order that the record of its proceedings in any adoption proceeding shall be sealed. When such order has been made and entered the court shall seal such record and there…

16-1512. Appeal from order — Binding effect of adoption order. (1) Any appeal from an order granting or refusing to grant an order of adoption shall be taken to the supreme court. (2) After the order of adoption by the court becomes final, no party to an adoption proceeding, nor …

16-1513. Registration of notice and filing of paternity proceedings. (1) A person who is the father or claims to be the father of a child born out of wedlock may claim rights pertaining to his paternity of the child by commencing proceedings to establish paternity under section 7…

16-1514. Petition for adoption of foreign born child. (1) Proceedings to adopt a foreign born child who has been allowed to enter the United States for the purpose of adoption shall be commenced by the filing of a petition under this section. A petition under this section shall b…

16-1514A. International adoption. (1) When an Idaho resident adopts a child in a foreign country in accordance with the laws of the foreign country, and such adoption is recognized as full and final by the United States government, such resident may file with a petition a copy of…

16-1515. Revocation of adoption — Payment of expenses of adoptive parents. (1) If a natural parent withdraws or revokes a consent to adoption and the court orders that the custody of the child be returned to the natural parent upon the petition of a natural parent, whether or not…