2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 42. Adoption › Chapter 2. Adoption of Child › Part 6. Petition to Terminate Parental Rights › 42-2-608. Finding of unfitness

42-2-608. Finding of unfitness.
(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 child;
(b) the parent has willfully abandoned the child, as defined in 41-3-102, in Montana or in any other jurisdiction of the United States;
(c) it is proven to the satisfaction of the court that the parent, if able, has not contributed to the support of the child for an aggregate period of 1 year before the filing of a petition for adoption;
(d) it is proven to the satisfaction of the court that the parent is in violation of a court order to support either the child that is the subject of the adoption proceedings or other children with the same birth mother;
(e) the parent has been found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction of:
(i) aggravated assault on the adoptee, as provided in 45-5-202;
(ii) sexual assault on a child, as provided in 45-5-502;
(iii) sexual intercourse without consent, as provided in 45-5-503, if the victim was a child;
(iv) incest, as provided in 45-5-507, if the victim was a child;
(v) homicide of a child, as provided in 45-5-102 or 45-5-103;
(vi) sexual abuse of a child, as provided in 45-5-625; or
(vii) ritual abuse of a minor, as provided in 45-5-627;
(f) the child has been maintained by a public or private children's institution, a charitable agency, a licensed child-placing agency, or the department for a period of 1 year without the parent contributing to the support of the child during that period, if able;
(g) a finding is made for a parent who is given proper notice of hearing:
(i) that the parent has been convicted of a crime of violence or of violating a restraining or protective order; and
(ii) the facts of the crime or violation and the parent's behavior indicate that the parent is unfit to maintain a relationship of parent and child with the child;
(h) a finding is made for a parent who is given proper notice of hearing and is a respondent to the petition to terminate parental rights and:
(i) by a preponderance of the evidence, it is found that termination is in the best interests of the child; and
(ii) upon clear and convincing evidence, it is found that one of the following grounds exists:
(A) if the child is not in the legal and physical custody of the other parent, that the respondent is not able or willing to promptly assume legal and physical custody of the child and to pay for the child's support in accordance with the respondent's financial means;
(B) if the child is in the legal and physical custody of the other parent and a stepparent who is the prospective adoptive parent, that the respondent is not able or willing to promptly establish and maintain contact with the child and to pay for the child's support in accordance with the respondent's financial means;
(C) placing the child in the respondent's legal and physical custody would pose a risk of substantial harm to the physical or psychological well-being of the child because the circumstances of the child's conception, the respondent's behavior during the mother's pregnancy or since the child's birth, or the respondent's behavior with respect to other children indicates that the respondent is unfit to maintain a relationship of parent and child with the child; or
(D) failure to terminate the relationship of parent and child would be detrimental to the child.
(2) In making a determination under subsection (1)(h)(ii)(D), the court shall consider any relevant factor, including the respondent's efforts to obtain or maintain legal and physical custody of the child, the role of other persons in thwarting the respondent's efforts to assert parental rights, the respondent's ability to care for the child, the age of the child, the quality of any previous relationship between the respondent and the child and between the respondent and any other children, the duration and suitability of the child's present custodial environment, and the effect of a change of physical custody on the child.
History: En. Sec. 71, Ch. 480, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 77, Ch. 51, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 19, Ch. 566, L. 1999.