Enrolled SB 134: Relating to the appointment of guardians ad litem; relating to petitions and proceedings for termination of parental rights; and amending Rule 90.3, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and Rules 1 and 6, Alaska Adoption Rules.
00Enrolled SB 134 01 Relating to the appointment of guardians ad litem; relating to petitions and proceedings for 02 termination of parental rights; and amending Rule 90.3, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, and 03 Rules 1 and 6, Alaska Adoption Rules. 04 _______________ 05 * Section 1. AS 25.23.030(c) is amended to read: 06 (c) Proceedings for the termination of parental rights on the grounds set out in 07 AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)] shall be brought in the superior court for the 08 district in which the child that is the subject of the action resides. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 25.23.050(a) is amended to read: 10 (a) Consent to adoption is not required of 11 (1) for purposes of this section, a parent who has abandoned a child for 12 a period of at least six months; 13 (2) a parent of a child in the custody of another, if the parent for a 14 period of at least one year has failed significantly without justifiable cause, including
01 but not limited to indigency, 02 (A) to communicate meaningfully with the child; [,] or 03 (B) to provide for the care and support of the child as required 04 by law or judicial decree; 05 (3) the father of a minor if the father's consent is not required by 06 AS 25.23.040(a)(2); 07 (4) a parent who has relinquished the right to consent under 08 AS 25.23.180; 09 (5) a parent whose parental rights have been terminated by order of the 10 court under AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)] or AS 47.10.080(c)(3); 11 (6) a parent judicially declared incompetent or mentally defective if the 12 court dispenses with the parent's consent; 13 (7) a parent of the person to be adopted, if the person is 18 or more 14 years of age; 15 (8) a guardian or custodian specified in AS 25.23.040(a)(3) or (4) who 16 has failed to respond in writing to a request for consent for a period of 60 days or who, 17 after examination of the guardian's or custodian's written reasons for withholding 18 consent, is found by the court to be withholding consent unreasonably; or 19 (9) the spouse of the person to be adopted, if the requirement of 20 consent to the adoption is waived by the court by reason of prolonged unexplained 21 absence, unavailability, incapacity, or circumstances constituting an unreasonable 22 withholding of consent. 23 * Sec. 3. AS 25.23.125(b) is amended to read: 24 (b) The court may appoint a guardian ad litem or attorney, or both, under 25 AS 25.24.310 for a minor who is to be adopted or for a minor whose parent is the 26 subject of a petition to terminate parental rights under AS 25.23.180(c). 27 * Sec. 4. AS 25.23.130(d) is amended to read: 28 (d) Except as provided in (e) and (f) of this section, a decree terminating 29 parental rights on the grounds set out in AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)] 30 voids all legal relationships between the child and the biological parent so that the 31 child is a stranger to the biological parent and to relatives of the biological parent for
01 all purposes, including interpretation of documents executed before or after the 02 termination of parental rights that do not include the child by name or by a description 03 not based on a parental or blood relationship. 04 * Sec. 5. AS 25.23.130(e) is amended to read: 05 (e) Inheritance rights between a child and a biological parent are not voided by 06 a decree terminating parental rights on the grounds set out in AS 25.23.180(c)(2) 07 [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)] unless the decree specifically provides for the termination of 08 inheritance rights. 09 * Sec. 6. AS 25.23.130 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 10 (f) A decree ordering termination of parental rights between a biological 11 parent and a child on the grounds specified in AS 25.23.180(c)(2) does not relieve the 12 biological parent of an obligation to pay child support unless the decree specifically 13 provides for the termination of the obligation to pay child support. A child support 14 obligation under this subsection does not entitle the obligor to contact or otherwise 15 maintain a relationship with the child. 16 * Sec. 7. AS 25.23.140(c) is amended to read: 17 (c) Subject to the disposition of an appeal, one year after a decree is issued 18 terminating parental rights on grounds set out in AS 25.23.180(c)(2) 19 [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)], the order may not be challenged on any ground, including fraud, 20 misrepresentation, failure to give notice, or lack of jurisdiction of the parties or of the 21 subject matter. 22 * Sec. 8. AS 25.23.150(b) is amended to read: 23 (b) The papers and records relating to an adoption or a termination of parental 24 rights under AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)] that are a part of the permanent 25 record of a court are subject to inspection only upon consent of the court. The papers 26 and records relating to an adoption or a termination of parental rights under 27 AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)] on file with the department, an agency, or an 28 individual are subject to inspection only with consent of all interested persons or by 29 order of a court for good cause shown. Except as provided in this section, adoption 30 records of the Bureau of Vital Statistics are subject to inspection under the provisions 31 of AS 18.50.
01 * Sec. 9. AS 25.23.150(c) is amended to read: 02 (c) Except as otherwise provided by law, or as authorized in writing by the 03 adopted child, if 14 or more years of age, or by the adoptive parent, or upon order of 04 the court for good cause shown, a person may not disclose the identity or address of an 05 adoptive parent, an adopted child, a child who is the subject of a proceeding under 06 AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)], or a biological parent whose parental rights 07 have been terminated on grounds set out in AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)]. 08 * Sec. 10. AS 25.23.150(d) is amended to read: 09 (d) The court may order the disclosure of a natural parent's identity or address 10 only if 11 (1) the court makes an express finding that the disclosure is required 12 because of a medical necessity or other extraordinary circumstance; and 13 (2) the natural parent unless the parent's parental rights have been 14 terminated on grounds set out in AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)], the child, 15 and the adoptive parents are afforded proper notice and a hearing; the court may waive 16 the hearing and notice requirement if it finds there is a medical necessity that poses an 17 immediate risk to life. 18 * Sec. 11. AS 25.23.170 is amended to read: 19 Sec. 25.23.170. Applications for birth certificates. Within 30 days after an 20 adoption decree becomes final, the clerk of the court shall, if requested by the adoptive 21 parents, prepare an application for a birth certificate in the name of the adopted 22 person. Upon issuing a decree terminating parental rights on grounds set out in 23 AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [AS 25.23.180(c)(3)] the court may order the preparation of an 24 application for a birth certificate in the name of the child without reference to the 25 parent whose parental rights have been terminated. The clerk of the court shall 26 forward the application 27 (1) for a person born in the United States, to the appropriate vital 28 statistics office of the place, if known, where the adopted person was born and a copy 29 of the decree to the department for statistical purposes; and 30 (2) for a person born outside the United States to the state registrar of 31 vital statistics.
01 * Sec. 12. AS 25.23.180(c) is amended to read: 02 (c) The relationship of parent and child may be terminated by a court order 03 issued in connection with a proceeding 04 (1) under this chapter or a proceeding under AS 47.10 on the grounds 05 (A) [(1)] specified in AS 47.10.080(o) or 47.10.088; or 06 (B) [(2)] that a parent who does not have custody is 07 unreasonably withholding consent to adoption, contrary to the best interest of 08 the minor child; 09 (2) under this chapter, a proceeding under AS 47.10, or an 10 independent proceeding on the grounds [OR (3)] that the parent committed an act 11 constituting sexual assault, [OR] sexual abuse of a minor, or incest under the laws of 12 this state, or a comparable offense under the laws of the state where the act occurred, 13 that resulted in conception of the child and that termination of the parental rights of the 14 biological parent is in the best interests of the child. 15 * Sec. 13. AS 25.23.180(e) is amended to read: 16 (e) A petition for termination of the relationship of parent and child made in 17 connection with an adoption proceeding or in an independent proceeding for the 18 termination of parental rights on grounds set out in (c)(2) [(c)(3)] of this section may 19 be made by 20 (1) either parent if termination of the relationship is sought with 21 respect to the other parent; 22 (2) the petitioner for adoption, the guardian of the person, the legal 23 custodian of the child, or the individual standing in parental relationship to the child; 24 (3) an agency; or 25 (4) another person having a legitimate interest in the matter. 26 * Sec. 14. AS 25.23.180(g) is amended to read: 27 (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of (b) of this section, a relinquishment of 28 parental rights with respect to a child, executed under this section, may be withdrawn 29 by the parent, and a decree of a court terminating the parent and child relationship on 30 grounds set out in (c)(1) [AND (2)] of this section may be vacated by the court upon 31 motion of the parent, if the child is not on placement for adoption and the person
01 having custody of the child consents in writing to the withdrawal or vacation of the 02 decree. 03 * Sec. 15. AS 25.23.180(h) is amended to read: 04 (h) The respondent to a petition filed for the termination of parental rights on 05 grounds set out in (c)(2) [(c)(3)] of this section is entitled to representation in the 06 proceedings by an attorney. If the respondent is financially unable to employ an 07 attorney, the court shall appoint the office of public advocacy to represent the 08 respondent in the proceedings. 09 * Sec. 16. AS 25.23.180(i) is amended to read: 10 (i) Proceedings for the termination of parental rights on the grounds set out in 11 (c)(2) [(c)(3)] of this section do not affect the rights of a victim of sexual assault, 12 sexual abuse of a minor, or incest to obtain legal and equitable civil remedies for all 13 injuries and damages arising out of the perpetrator's conduct. 14 * Sec. 17. AS 25.23.180 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 15 (o) A petition for termination of parental rights under (c)(2) of this section 16 may be filed to initiate an independent proceeding not connected to a petition for 17 adoption or a proceeding under AS 47.10. 18 * Sec. 18. AS 44.21.410(a) is amended to read: 19 (a) The office of public advocacy shall 20 (1) perform the duties of the public guardian under AS 13.26.700 - 21 13.26.750; 22 (2) provide visitors and experts in guardianship proceedings under 23 AS 13.26.291; 24 (3) provide guardian ad litem services to children in child protection 25 actions under AS 47.17.030(e) and to wards and respondents in guardianship 26 proceedings who will suffer financial hardship or become dependent upon a 27 government agency or a private person or agency if the services are not provided at 28 state expense under AS 13.26.041; 29 (4) provide legal representation in cases involving judicial bypass 30 procedures for minors seeking abortions under AS 18.16.030, in guardianship 31 proceedings to respondents who are financially unable to employ attorneys under
01 AS 13.26.226(b), to indigent parties in cases involving child custody in which the 02 opposing party is represented by counsel provided by a public agency, and to indigent 03 parents or guardians of a minor respondent in a commitment proceeding concerning 04 the minor under AS 47.30.775; 05 (5) provide legal representation and guardian ad litem services under 06 AS 25.24.310; in cases arising under AS 47.15 (Interstate Compact for Juveniles); in 07 cases involving petitions to adopt a minor under AS 25.23.125(b) or petitions for the 08 termination of parental rights under AS 25.23.180(c)(2) [ON GROUNDS SET OUT 09 IN AS 25.23.180(c)(3)]; in cases involving petitions to remove the disabilities of a 10 minor under AS 09.55.590; in children's proceedings under AS 47.10.050(a) or under 11 AS 47.12.090; in cases involving appointments under AS 18.66.100(a) in petitions for 12 protective orders on behalf of a minor; and in cases involving indigent persons who 13 are entitled to representation under AS 18.85.100 and who cannot be represented by 14 the public defender agency because of a conflict of interests; 15 (6) develop and coordinate a program to recruit, select, train, assign, 16 and supervise volunteer guardians ad litem from local communities to aid in delivering 17 services in cases in which the office of public advocacy is appointed as guardian ad 18 litem; 19 (7) provide guardian ad litem services in proceedings under 20 AS 12.45.046 or AS 18.15.355 - 18.15.395; 21 (8) establish a fee schedule and collect fees for services provided by 22 the office, except as provided in AS 18.85.120 or when imposition or collection of a 23 fee is not in the public interest as defined under regulations adopted by the 24 commissioner of administration; 25 (9) provide visitors and guardians ad litem in proceedings under 26 AS 47.30.839; 27 (10) provide legal representation to an indigent parent of a child with a 28 disability; in this paragraph, "child with a disability" has the meaning given in 29 AS 14.30.350; 30 (11) investigate complaints and bring civil actions under 31 AS 44.21.415(a) involving fraud committed against residents of the state who are 60
01 years of age or older; in this paragraph, "fraud" has the meaning given in 02 AS 44.21.415. 03 * Sec. 19. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 04 read: 05 INDIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENTS. (a) AS 25.23.130(f), enacted by sec. 6 06 of this Act, has the effect of amending Rule 90.3, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, by 07 providing that a termination of parental rights under AS 25.23.180(c)(2), as amended by sec. 08 12 of this Act, does not relieve a biological parent of an obligation to pay child support. 09 (b) AS 25.23.180(c), as amended by sec. 12 of this Act, and AS 25.23.180(o), enacted 10 by sec. 17 of this Act, have the effect of amending Rules 1(b) and 6(c), Alaska Adoption 11 Rules, by clarifying that a petition for involuntary termination of parental rights may be filed 12 in a proceeding that is independent from an adoption or a proceeding under AS 47.10 and by 13 restructuring AS 25.23.180(c), which eliminates AS 25.23.180(c)(3).