Rule 8.2.Decrees, Orders or Judgments Affecting Indian Children - Compliance with Certain Laws

Rule 8.2 attaches a documentation requirement to a broad class of orders affecting children. It reaches decrees of adoption, divorce, or separate maintenance where custody of a minor Indian child is given to a third party; orders of adjudication in juvenile proceedings; termination of parental rights; and final orders in habeas corpus and guardianship of the person proceedings that adjudicate the status, custody, or wardship of minor children.

Each such order must contain a finding of compliance with two bodies of law: the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, 25 U.S.C.A. 1901 et seq., and the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act at 43 § 551.101 et seq. The finding is part of the instrument itself, so its absence is visible on the face of the order.

The rule also directs the trial court, in all such proceedings, to make findings of fact as to the child's correct, full legal name and date of birth, and requires every instrument memorializing the decree, order, or judgment to recite the findings the rule calls for. That identification requirement applies to the proceedings the rule covers generally, not only to those involving an Indian child.