Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 42. ADOPTION · CHAPTER 2. ADOPTION OF CHILD · Part 4. Voluntary Relinquishment and Consent to Adopt
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 42-2-402 (2026)

Voluntary Relinquishment -- Validity

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 42
  3. CHAPTER 2
  4. Part 4
  5. 42-2-402 Voluntary relinquishment -- validity

TITLE 42. ADOPTION

CHAPTER 2. ADOPTION OF CHILD

Part 4. Voluntary Relinquishment and Consent to Adopt

Voluntary Relinquishment -- Validity

42-2-402. Voluntary relinquishment -- validity. (1) A voluntary relinquishment is not valid unless the parent specifically relinquishes custody of the child to the department, a licensed child-placing agency, or a specifically identified prospective adoptive parent and:

(a) the department or agency to whom the child is being relinquished has agreed in writing to accept custody of the child until the child is adopted; or

(b) the identified prospective adoptive parent has agreed in writing to accept temporary custody and to provide support and care to the child until that person's adoption petition is granted or denied.

(2) A voluntary relinquishment of a parent's rights solely to the child's other parent does not relieve the parent executing the relinquishment of any duty owed to the child or for the child's support.

History: En. Sec. 43, Ch. 480, L. 1997.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 2002–2017 · leading case: In re P.S., 2006 MT 4 (Mont. 2006).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
In re P.S., 2006 MT 4 (Mont. 2006). · cites it 8× “In other words, even assuming a voluntary relinquishment of parental rights is valid under § 42-2-402, MCA, it is only one of several different criteria by which a “court may order a termination of the parent-child legal relationship.”
In re A.T., 2006 MT 35 (Mont. 2006). · cites it 2× “¶35 In any event, the Court advances no authority for the proposition that, absent a parent’s actual relinquishment of parental rights pursuant to § 42-2-402(1), MCA, an attorney may “waive” a client’s parental rights or the statutory requirements that a petitioner present…”
Matter of T.H. C.D.F., 2002 MT 293N (Mont. 2002). “Section 41-3-609(1), MCA, provides that a court may terminate the parent-child legal relationship where it finds that the parents have relinquished the child pursuant to the provisions in §§ 42-2-402 and 42-2-412, MCA, or where "the child has been abandoned by the parents .”
In Re At, 2006 MT 35 (Mont. 2006). · cites it 2× “¶ 35 In any event, the Court advances no authority for the proposition that, absent a parent's actual relinquishment of parental rights pursuant to § 42-2-402(1), MCA, an attorney may "waive" a client's parental rights or the statutory requirements that a petitioner present…”
In the Matter of Ps, 2006 MT 4 (Mont. 2006). · cites it 8× “In other words, even assuming a voluntary relinquishment of parental rights is valid under § 42-2-402, MCA, it is only one of several different criteria by which a "court may order a termination of the parent-child legal relationship .”
Matter of D.S. B.A.S.W. Yinc, 2017 MT 158N (Mont. 2017). · cites it 2× “ound: (1) the Department had made reasonable efforts to avoid protective placement of the children and to return the children to their home, but that dismissal of the termination petitions would create a substantial risk of harm to the children or would be a detriment to the…”
Mont. Code Ann. § 42-2-402(1): 4 cases
In re P.S., 2006 MT 4 (Mont. 2006). “In other words, even assuming a voluntary relinquishment of parental rights is valid under § 42-2-402, MCA, it is only one of several different criteria by which a “court may order a termination of the parent-child legal relationship.”
In re A.T., 2006 MT 35 (Mont. 2006). “¶35 In any event, the Court advances no authority for the proposition that, absent a parent’s actual relinquishment of parental rights pursuant to § 42-2-402(1), MCA, an attorney may “waive” a client’s parental rights or the statutory requirements that a petitioner present…”
In Re At, 2006 MT 35 (Mont. 2006). “¶ 35 In any event, the Court advances no authority for the proposition that, absent a parent's actual relinquishment of parental rights pursuant to § 42-2-402(1), MCA, an attorney may "waive" a client's parental rights or the statutory requirements that a petitioner present…”
In the Matter of Ps, 2006 MT 4 (Mont. 2006). “In other words, even assuming a voluntary relinquishment of parental rights is valid under § 42-2-402, MCA, it is only one of several different criteria by which a "court may order a termination of the parent-child legal relationship .”
Mont. Code Ann. § 42-2-402(1)(a): 1 case
In the Matter of Ps, 2006 MT 4 (Mont. 2006). “In other words, even assuming a voluntary relinquishment of parental rights is valid under § 42-2-402, MCA, it is only one of several different criteria by which a "court may order a termination of the parent-child legal relationship .”
Mont. Code Ann. § 42-2-402(l)(a): 1 case
In re P.S., 2006 MT 4 (Mont. 2006). “In other words, even assuming a voluntary relinquishment of parental rights is valid under § 42-2-402, MCA, it is only one of several different criteria by which a “court may order a termination of the parent-child legal relationship.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.