Montana Code 42-2-616. Appearance of parent at hearing — determination of custody
42-2-616. Appearance of parent at hearing — determination of custody. (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 the parent’s rights to the child.
Terms Used In Montana Code 42-2-616
- Adoption: means the act of creating the legal relationship between parent and child when it does not exist genetically. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Adoptive parent: means an adult who has become the mother or father of a child through the legal process of adoption. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Agency: means a child placement agency licensed by the state of Montana pursuant to Title 52, chapter 8, that is expressly empowered to place children preliminary to a possible adoption. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Child: means any person under 18 years of age. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Court: means a court of record in a competent jurisdiction and in Montana means a district court or a tribal court. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Department: means the department of public health and human services, provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Parent: means the birth or adoptive mother or the birth, adoptive, or legal father whose parental rights have not been terminated. See Montana Code 42-1-103
(2)At the hearing, the court shall consider whether there is a basis for terminating parental rights and whether the best interests of the child will be served by granting custody to the respondent parent, the department, a licensed child-placing agency, or a prospective adoptive parent in a direct parental placement adoption.
(3)If the petitioner has established that there are grounds for terminating parental rights and it is in the best interests of the child for termination to occur, those rights must be terminated.