Title 42, Title 42

(1) If a relinquishment and consent to adopt that was executed by an individual is revoked or set aside, the department, agency, or prospective adoptive parent shall immediately return the child to the individual's custody and move to dismiss a proceeding for adoption or terminat…

(1) Execution of a notarized denial of paternity of a child is a voluntary act that constitutes a waiver of all parental rights to the child, except for the duty to pay support if paternity is established or presumed. (2) A notarized denial of paternity is irrevocable when execut…

(1) Submission of a notarized acknowledgment of paternity and a denial of any interest in the custody of the child is a voluntary act that constitutes a waiver of all parental rights to the child but does not absolve the person of the duty to pay support. (2) An individual who ha…

(1) In order to provide notice to a putative father at the earliest possible time of an expectant mother's intent to release an expected child for adoption and in order to facilitate early placement of a child for adoption, an expectant mother may initiate proceedings to terminat…

(1) A pregnant individual may file a petition with the court indicating the intention to place an expected child for adoption. (2) The petition must include the following information: (a) the individual's intent to release the expected child for adoption; (b) the approximate date…

(1) Upon the filing of the petition under 42-2-502, the court shall issue a notice of intent to release a child for adoption. (2) The notice must be served by the petitioner, in the manner provided by the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure, upon each putative or presumed father at …

Proceedings to terminate parental rights may be filed in the court in the county in which a petitioner resides, the child resides, or an office of the agency that is placing the child is located.

A child is not legally free for adoption until the parental rights of the birth parent or parents have been terminated by a court: (1) as provided in this title; (2) pursuant to Title 41, chapter 3; or (3) of competent jurisdiction in another state or country.

(1) Pending the termination or other disposition of the rights of the father of the child, the birth mother may execute a relinquishment and consent to adoption. (2) The department, a licensed child-placing agency, the prospective adoptive parent to whom the relinquishment is iss…

(1) The petition for termination of parental rights must state: (a) the identity of the petitioner; (b) the date and location of the birth of the child; (c) the date of the relinquishment by the birth mother or relinquishing parent; (d) the current location of the child; (e) the …

(1) Notice of a hearing to be held on the petition for termination of parental rights must be served in any manner appropriate under the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure or in any manner that the court may direct on: (a) a putative or presumed father who has timely and properly c…

(1) The court shall hold a hearing as soon as practical to determine the identity of and terminate the parental rights of the parents of the child. (2) If a putative father has not been named and no one has registered with the putative father registry, the court shall cause inqui…

The court may terminate a parent's rights to a child who is the subject of an adoption proceeding based upon: (1) the voluntary acts of the parent in: (a) executing a voluntary relinquishment and consent to adopt; (b) submitting a notarized denial of paternity executed pursuant t…

(1) The court may terminate parental rights for purposes of making a child available for adoption on the grounds of unfitness if: (a) the court makes a determination that the parent has been judicially deprived of custody of the child on account of abuse or neglect toward the chi…

For purposes of making a child available for adoption, the court may terminate the parental rights of a putative father on the grounds that the parent and child relationship does not exist if: (1) a judicial determination is made under 40-6-107 that the parent and child relations…

(1) The parental rights of a putative father may be terminated by the court if the putative father has failed to timely establish and maintain a substantial relationship with the child. (2) A putative father who is not married to the child's mother but who has openly lived with t…

(1) The court may find an irrevocable waiver of parental rights of: (a) a putative father who was timely served with notice of intent to release if the court is provided with proof of service and proof that the putative father failed to timely comply with the requirements of the …

(1) If a parent appears at the hearing on the petition to terminate parental rights, objects to the termination of rights, and requests custody of the child, the court shall set deadlines that allow the parties to complete discovery and shall set a hearing on the determination of…

(1) An order granting the petition for termination of parental rights: (a) terminates the parent and child relationship except for an obligation for arrearages of child support; (b) terminates the jurisdiction of the court over the child in any dissolution or separate maintenance…

An order terminating parental rights is a final order for purposes of appeal.

A contested termination of parental rights action must take precedence over other cases and matters in the court or on appeal. The court shall examine any issues raised in challenging termination of a parent's rights or regarding the validity of any adoption decree and shall rend…

Subject to the disposition of a timely appeal, upon expiration of 6 months after an order terminating parental rights has been issued, the order may not be questioned by any person, in any manner, or upon any ground, including fraud, misrepresentation, failure to give any require…

(1) Except for an adoption proceeding by a stepparent, in any adoption under this title, a birth parent, the department, or an agency shall provide a prospective adoptive parent with social and medical histories of the birth families, including tribal affiliation, if applicable. …

(1) In a direct parental placement adoption, the disclosures required by 42-3-101 must be filed with the court in support of the notice of parental placement filed pursuant to 42-4-103 and must be permanently maintained. (2) In an adoption arranged by the department or an agency,…

(1) A child may not be placed for purposes of adoption unless the person with whom a child is proposed to be placed has had a preplacement evaluation completed to determine fitness and readiness as an adoptive parent. (2) In a direct parental placement adoption, the placing paren…

(1) A prospective adoptive parent who wishes to adopt a child may initiate the process by: (a) establishing a client relationship with the department or a licensed child-placing agency; or (b) requesting a preplacement evaluation from the department, a licensed social worker, or …

(1) A preplacement evaluation must include a review of the following information about the prospective adoptive parent: (a) a check of criminal conviction data, data on substantiated abuse or neglect of a child under Title 41, chapter 3, and data pertaining to any involvement in …

(1) The preplacement evaluation report must contain the following information if available: (a) age and date of birth, nationality, racial or ethnic background, and any religious affiliation; (b) marital status and family history, including the age and location of any child of th…

(1) An evaluator shall assess the information required by 42-3-203 to determine if it raises a specific concern that placement of any child or a particular child in the home of the individual would pose a significant risk of harm to the physical or psychological well-being of the…

(1) The evaluator shall furnish a copy of the evaluation to a department, agency, or other person authorized to place a child for adoption and, upon payment by the person evaluated of the cost of the evaluation services, to the person evaluated. (2) An evaluator shall retain the …

If, before a decree of adoption is issued, the department learns from an evaluator or another person that a child has been placed for adoption with an individual who is the subject of a preplacement evaluation on file with the department containing a finding of unsuitability, the…

In a direct parental placement adoption, if the court is satisfied that adoption is in the best interests of the child, the court may waive the requirement of a preplacement and postplacement evaluation when a parent or guardian places a child for adoption directly with an extend…

(1) In a direct parental placement adoption, the preplacement evaluation report must be filed with the court in support of the petition to terminate parental rights for purposes of adoption. (2) In an adoption arranged by the department or a licensed child-placing agency, the pre…

(1) Before the department or licensed child-placing agency may place a child for purposes of adoption, the prospective adoptive parent and the home of the prospective adoptive parent must be studied and evaluated as provided in part 2 of this chapter. (2) The department or agency…

A parent of a child may directly place the child for adoption with a specifically identified prospective adoptive parent who: (1) resides in Montana or in another state that allows direct parental placement; (2) is known to and has been personally selected by the parent; and (3) …

(1) A parent who is directly placing a child for adoption shall execute a voluntary relinquishment and consent to adopt, including: (a) receiving the adoptive decision support services required by 42-2-409; and (b) if the parent is a minor, being advised by legal counsel other th…

(1) A parent who proposes to place a child for adoption with a prospective adoptive parent who resides in Montana and who is not the child's stepparent or an extended family member shall file with the court of the county in which the prospective adoptive parent or the parent maki…

(1) Prior to taking custody of a child whom the prospective adoptive parent intends to adopt, the prospective adoptive parent shall obtain a favorable preplacement evaluation. (2) A placing parent must be provided with a copy of the preplacement evaluation prior to execution of a…

(1) Within 30 days after the filing of a notice of parental placement or the execution of a relinquishment and consent to the adoption of the child, whichever is later, a prospective adoptive parent shall promptly act to resolve the child's legal status by filing: (a) a petition …

(1) The court shall consider the petition to adopt and shall make a determination as to whether temporary custody should be awarded to the petitioner. In making that determination, the court shall consider: (a) the preplacement evaluation that pertains specifically to placement o…

(1) In a direct parental placement adoption, the court shall maintain jurisdiction over the placement during a postplacement evaluation period and issue an order for postplacement supervision and a postplacement evaluation. (2) The postplacement evaluation period must be supervis…

(1) An evaluation must be based on a personal interview with the prospective adoptive parent in the prospective parent's home and an observation of the relationship between the child and the prospective adoptive parent. (2) An evaluation must be in writing. (3) At a minimum, the …

(1) Unless the court for good cause allows an earlier or later filing, the evaluator shall file a complete written evaluation with the court within not less than 90 days and not more than 180 days after receipt of the court's order for an evaluation. (2) If an evaluation raises a…

(1) The prospective adoptive parent may file a motion for entry of an adoption decree no sooner than 6 months after the court has granted temporary custody to the prospective adoptive parent. (2) The motion must be supported by the following documents: (a) the postplacement evalu…

All records filed with the court in a direct parental placement adoption must be permanently maintained by the court.

(1) All relevant factors must be considered in determining the best interests of the child in an adoption proceeding. Factors relevant to the determination of a prospective adoptive parent's parenting ability, the future security for a child, and familial stability must be consid…