(1) The court may grant an order terminating the relationship where it finds that termination of parental rights is in the best interests of the child and that one (1) or more of the following conditions exist:
(a)  The parent has abandoned the child.
(b)  The parent has neglected or abused the child.
(c)  The presumptive parent is not the biological parent of the child.
(d)  The parent is unable to discharge parental responsibilities and such inability will continue for a prolonged indeterminate period and will be injurious to the health, morals or well-being of the child.
(e)  The parent has been incarcerated and is likely to remain incarcerated for a substantial period of time during the child’s minority.
(2)  The court may grant an order terminating the relationship and may rebuttably presume that such termination of parental rights is in the best interests of the child where:
(a)  The parent caused the child to be conceived as a result of rape, incest, lewd conduct with a minor child under the age of sixteen (16) years, or sexual abuse of a child under the age of sixteen (16) years, as defined in sections 18-6101, 18-1508, 18-1506, and 18-6601, Idaho Code;
(b)  The following circumstances are present:
(i)   Abandonment, chronic abuse or chronic neglect of the child. Chronic neglect or chronic abuse of a child shall consist of abuse or neglect that is so extreme or repetitious as to indicate continuing the relationship would result in unacceptable risk to the health and welfare of the child;
(ii)  Sexual abuse against a child of the parent. Sexual abuse, for the purposes of this section, includes any conduct described in section 18-1506, 18-1506A, 18-1507, 18-1508, 18-1508A, 18-6101, or 18-6604, Idaho Code;
(iii) Torture of a child; any conduct described in the code sections listed in section 18-8303(1), Idaho Code; battery or an injury to a child that results in serious or great bodily injury to a child; voluntary manslaughter of a child, or aiding or abetting such voluntary manslaughter, soliciting such voluntary manslaughter or attempting or conspiring to commit such voluntary manslaughter;
(iv)  The parent has committed murder, aided or abetted a murder, solicited a murder or attempted or conspired to commit murder; or
(c)  The court determines the child to be an abandoned infant, except in a parental termination action brought by one (1) parent against another parent.

Terms Used In Idaho Code 16-2005

  • Abandoned: means the parent has willfully failed to maintain a normal parental relationship including, but not limited to, reasonable support or regular personal contact. See Idaho Code 16-2002
  • Abused: means conduct as defined in section 16-1602(1), Idaho Code. See Idaho Code 16-2002
  • Adaptive equipment: means any piece of equipment or any item that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the parenting abilities of a parent with a disability. See Idaho Code 16-2002
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Court: means the district court or magistrate’s division thereof or, if the context requires, a judge or magistrate thereof. See Idaho Code 16-2002
  • Disability: means , with respect to an individual, any mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one (1) or more major life activities of the individual including, but not limited to, self-care, manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, or working, or a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. See Idaho Code 16-2002
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • minor: means any individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years. See Idaho Code 16-2002
  • Neglected: means :
Idaho Code 16-2002
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Parent: means :
    • Idaho Code 16-2002
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person;
    • Idaho Code 73-114
  • seal: includes an impression of such seal upon the paper, alone, as well as upon wax or a wafer affixed thereto; or, alternatively, the seal may be the mark of a rubber stamp providing substantially the same information as the impression. See Idaho Code 73-111
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories; and the words "United States" may include the District of Columbia and territories. See Idaho Code 73-114
  • Supportive services: means services which assist a parent with a disability to compensate for those aspects of their disability which affect their ability to care for their child and which will enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. See Idaho Code 16-2002
    • (3)  The court shall not grant an order terminating the relationship based upon the child’s immunization status.
    (4)  The court may grant an order terminating the relationship if termination is found to be in the best interest of the parent and child.
    (5)  The court may grant an order terminating the relationship where a consent to termination in the manner and form prescribed by this chapter has been filed by the parent(s) of the child in conjunction with a petition for adoption initiated by the person or persons proposing to adopt the child, or where the consent to termination has been filed by a licensed adoption agency, no subsequent hearing on the merits of the petition shall be held. Consents required by this chapter must be witnessed by a district judge or magistrate of a district court, or equivalent judicial officer of the state, where a person consenting resides or is present, whether within or without the county, and shall be substantially in the following form:

    IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE…. JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF IDAHO, IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF….
    In the Matter of the termination )
    of the parental rights of            )
    ……………….                    )
    ……………….                    )
    I (we), the undersigned, being the…. of…., do hereby give my (our) full and free consent to the complete and absolute termination of my (our) parental right(s), to the said…., who was born….,…., unto…., hereby relinquishing completely and forever, all legal rights, privileges, duties and obligations, including all rights of inheritance to and from the said…., and I (we) do hereby expressly waive my (our) right(s) to hearing on the petition to terminate my (our) parental relationship with the said…., and respectfully request the petition be granted.

    STATE OF IDAHO     )
       ) ss.
    COUNTY OF….      )

    On this…. day of…., 20.., before me, the undersigned….,…. (Judge or Magistrate) of the District Court of the…. Judicial District of the state of Idaho, in and for the county of…., personally appeared…., known to me (or proved to me on the oath of….) to be the person(s) whose name(s) is (are) subscribed to the within instrument, and acknowledged to me that he (she, they) executed the same.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal the day and year in this certificate first above written.

    (6)  The court shall accept a consent or a surrender and release executed in another state if:
    (a)  It is witnessed by a magistrate or district judge of the state where signed; or
    (b)  The court receives an affidavit or a certificate from a court of comparable jurisdiction stating that the consent or the surrender and release was executed in accordance with the laws of the state in which it was executed, or the court is satisfied by other showing that the consent or surrender and release was executed in accordance with the laws of the state in which it was executed.
    (7)  The court shall accept a termination or relinquishment from a sister state that has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction under like proceedings; or in any other manner authorized by the laws of a sister state. In a state where the father has failed to file notice of claim to paternity and willingness to assume responsibility as provided for pursuant to the laws of such state, and where such failure constitutes an abandonment of such child and constitutes a termination or relinquishment of the rights of the putative father, the court shall accept such failure as a termination in this state without further hearing on the merits, if the court is satisfied that such failure constitutes a termination or relinquishment of parental rights pursuant to the laws of that state.
    (8)  Unless a consent to termination signed by the parent(s) of the child has been filed by an adoption agency licensed in the state of Idaho, or unless the consent to termination was filed in conjunction with a petition for adoption of the child, the court shall hold a hearing.
    (9)  If the parent has a disability, as defined in this chapter, the parent shall have the right to provide evidence to the court regarding the manner in which the use of adaptive equipment or supportive services will enable the parent to carry out the responsibilities of parenting the child. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create any new or additional obligation on state or local governments to purchase or provide adaptive equipment or supportive services for parents with disabilities.