Montana Code 42-4-304. Consent to adoption — stepparent’s spouse
42-4-304. Consent to adoption — stepparent’s spouse. (1) A consent to adoption executed by a parent who is the stepparent’s spouse must be signed in the presence of an individual authorized to take acknowledgments.
Terms Used In Montana Code 42-4-304
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Relinquishment: means the informed and voluntary release in writing of all parental rights with respect to a child by a parent to an agency or individual. See Montana Code 42-1-103
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
- Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203
(2)A consent must be in writing and must state that:
(a)the parent executing the consent has legal and physical custody of the child and voluntarily and unequivocally consents to the adoption of the child by the stepparent;
(b)the adoption will not terminate the parental relationship between the parent executing the consent and the child; and
(c)the parent executing the consent understands and agrees that:
(i)the adoption will terminate the relationship of parent and child between the child’s other parent and the child and will terminate any existing court order for custody, visitation, or communication with the child;
(ii)the child and any descendant of the child will retain rights of inheritance from or through the child’s other parent; and
(iii)a court order for visitation or communication with the child by an individual related to the child through the parent executing the relinquishment or an agreement or order concerning another individual that is approved by the court survives the decree of adoption, but that failure to comply with the terms of the order or agreement is not a ground for revoking or setting aside the consent or the adoption.