42-2-203. Purpose of registry. (1) The purpose of the putative father registry is to provide notice of termination of parental rights to a putative father who asserts a parental interest in a child so that the putative father may appear in a proceeding and have an opportunity to establish that the putative father’s inchoate rights in the child have vested because a substantial relationship with the child has been established as provided in 42-2-610.

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Terms Used In Montana Code 42-2-203

  • Child: includes an unborn child. See Montana Code 42-2-201
  • Putative father: means an individual who may be a child's birth father but who:

    (i)is not married to the child's mother on or before the date that the child is born; or

    (ii)has not established paternity of the child prior to the filing of a petition for termination of parental rights to the child for purposes of adoption. See Montana Code 42-2-201

  • Registry: means the putative father registry established under 42-2-202. See Montana Code 42-2-201

(2)In addition to any other notice to which the putative father is entitled, a putative father of a child who complies with the requirements of the putative father registry is entitled to notice of any proceedings involving termination of parental rights to the child.