§ 31-35-1-12 — Required advisement to parents

Indiana § 31-35-1-12

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 35: JUVENILE LAW: TERMINATION OF
• Ch. 1: Voluntary Termination of Parent-Child Relationship by

Text

For purposes of sections 6 and 8 of this
chapter, the parents must be advised that:
(1) their consent is permanent and cannot be revoked or set aside
unless it was obtained by fraud or duress or unless the parent is
incompetent;
(2) when the court terminates the parent-child relationship:
(A) all rights, powers, privileges, immunities, duties, and
obligations, including any rights to custody, control, parenting
time, or support pertaining to the relationship, are permanently
terminated; and
(B) their consent to the child's adoption is not required;
(3) the parents have a right to the:
(A) care;
(B) custody; and
(C) control;
of their child as long as the parents fulfill their parental
obligations;
(4) the parents have a right to a judicial determination of any
alleged failure to fulfill their parental obligations in a proceeding
to adjudicate their child a delinquent child or a child in need of
services;
(5) the parents have a right to assistance in fulfilling their parental
obligations after a court has determined that the parents are not
doing so;
(6) proceedings to terminate the parent-child relationship against
the will of the parents can be initiated only after:
(A) the child has been adjudicated a delinquent child or a child
in need of services and removed from their custody following
the adjudication; or
(B) a parent has been convicted and imprisoned for an offense
listed in IC 31-35-3-4 (or has been convicted and imprisoned
for an offense listed in IC 31-6-5-4.2(a) before its repeal), the
child has been removed from the custody of the parents under
a dispositional decree, and the child has been removed from the
custody of the parents for six (6) months under a court order;
(7) the parents are entitled to representation by counsel, provided
by the state if necessary, throughout any proceedings to terminate
the parent-child relationship against the will of the parents;
(8) the parents will receive notice of the hearing, unless notice is
waived under section 5(c) of this chapter, at which the court will
decide if their consent was voluntary, and the parents may appear
at the hearing and allege that the consent was not voluntary; and
(9) the parents' consent cannot be based upon a promise regarding
the child's adoption or contact of any type with the child after the
parents voluntarily relinquish their parental rights of the child
after entry of an order under this chapter terminating the
parent-child relationship.
[Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-6-5-3.]

Legislative History

As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.18. Amended by P.L.68-2005, SEC.56; P.L.146-2007, SEC.15; P.L.128-2012, SEC.171; P.L.179-2025, SEC.23.