42-7-102. Limitations on payment of certain fees. (1) A prospective adoptive parent may pay counseling expenses for a combined maximum of 10 hours of adoptive decision support services provided pursuant to 42-2-409 and postadoptive counseling provided pursuant to 42-4-211.

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Terms Used In Montana Code 42-7-102

  • 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
  • Birth parent: means the woman who gave birth to the child or the father of genetic origin of the child. See Montana Code 42-1-103
  • Child: means any person under 18 years of age. 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

(2)A prospective adoptive parent may pay cost-sharing expenses for prenatal or postnatal outpatient mental health services provided to the birth mother. Expenses under this subsection are limited to a total of 15 outpatient mental health counseling sessions during the prenatal period and the 5 years following the birth of the child.

(3)A prospective adoptive parent may pay for legal costs entailed for providing legal counsel for one birth parent unless the birth parents elect joint representation. The right of a relinquishing parent to legal counsel paid by the prospective adoptive parent continues only until the relinquishment becomes irrevocable. An attorney may not represent both a birth parent and a prospective adoptive parent.