Iowa Code 232.125 – Petition
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1. A family in need of assistance proceeding shall be initiated by the filing of a petition alleging that a child and the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian are a family in need of assistance.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 232.125
- Child: means any person under the age of eighteen years. See Iowa Code 232.68
- clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Court: means the juvenile court established under section 602. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Custodian: means a stepparent or a relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity to a child who has assumed responsibility for that child, a person who has accepted a release of custody pursuant to subchapter IV, or a person appointed by a court or juvenile court having jurisdiction over a child. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Family in need of assistance: means a family in which there has been a breakdown in the relationship between a child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian. See Iowa Code 232.2
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Guardian: means a person who is not the parent of a child, but who has been appointed by a court having jurisdiction over the child, to have a permanent self-sustaining relationship with the child and to make important decisions which have a permanent effect on the life and development of that child and to promote the general welfare of that child. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Guardian ad litem: means a person appointed by the court to represent the interests of a child in any judicial proceeding to which the child is a party. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Judge: means the judge of a juvenile court. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Juvenile: means the same as "child". See Iowa Code 232.2
- Parent: means a biological or adoptive mother or father of a child; or a father whose paternity has been established by operation of law due to the individual's marriage to the mother at the time of conception, birth, or at any time during the period between conception and birth of the child, by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or by administrative order when authorized by state law. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Petition: means a pleading the filing of which initiates formal judicial proceedings in the juvenile court. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Petitioner: includes each dependent person for whom support is sought in a proceeding instituted pursuant to this chapter or a mother or putative father of a dependent. See Iowa Code 252A.2
- state: means the general interest held by the people in the health, safety, welfare, and protection of all children living in this state. See Iowa Code 232.90
2. Such a petition may be filed by the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian, by the child, or on the court‘s own motion as provided in section 232C.2. The judge, county attorney, or juvenile court officer may authorize such parent, guardian, custodian, or child to file a petition with the clerk of the court without the payment of a filing fee.
3. The petition and subsequent court documents shall be entitled as follows:
In re the family of …………………….
4. The petition shall state all of the following:
a. The names and residences of the child.
b. The names and residences of the child’s living parents, guardian, custodian, and guardian ad litem, if any.
c. The age of the child.
5. The petition shall allege that there has been a breakdown in the familial relationship and that the petitioner has sought services from public or private agencies to maintain and improve the familial relationship.