An Overview of Adoption Law
In West Virginia
When Can the Petition for Adoption Be Filed? West Virginia law provides that an adoption petition may be filed at any time after the child is born, the adoptive placement has been determined, and all consents and relinquishments that can be obtained have been executed.
Return to Page Index
What is the Petition Required to State? The petition must be verified, and there are very specific requirements that must be satisfied as to its content. See WV CODE § 48-22-502.
Unknown birth father: In the case of an unknown birth father, an affidavit signed by the mother must be attached.
All that is known about the parentage: The petition will attach any of the following which are applicable: consents, relinquishments, court orders (evidencing involuntary terminations), unknown birth father affidavit executed by the birth mother, a written recital of all known circumstances surrounding the birth, medical and family history of the child, and an itemization of any facts or circumstances unknown concerning the child ’ s parentage.1 The petition and its attachments must fully disclose all that is known about the parentage of the child.
Return to Page Index
When is the Final Adoption Hearing? The hearing may be held no sooner than 45 days after the petition is filed and only after the child has lived with the adoptive parents for a period of 6 months, proper notice of the petition has been given and all necessary consents or relinquishments have been executed and submitted or the rights of all non-consenting birth parents have otherwise been terminated. WV CODE § 48-22-501.
1WV CODE § 48-22-401 provides that whenever a person delivers a child for adoption, the person first receiving the child and the prospective adoptive parent(s) shall be entitled to receive from such person a written recital of all known circumstances surrounding the birth, medical and family medical history of the child, and an itemization of any facts or circumstances unknown concerning the child’s parentage or that may require further development in the form of an affidavit from the birth mother consistent with WV CODE § 48-22-502 (providing the content of the unknown father affidavit).
Return to Page Index
Notice Requirements
When Is Notice Required and to Whom Must Notice be Provided? The Adoption Code requires that a consent/relinquishment include language which expressly waives the right to receive notice for any adoption proceeding. If for some reason the consent/relinquishment did not waive the notice, or if the consent/relinquishment could not be obtained, notice of the adoption proceeding must be given to certain individuals within 20 days after a petition for adoption is filed:
- Any person whose consent was necessary (unless their rights were terminated involuntarily);
- Any person whom the petitioner knows is claiming to be the father and whose paternity has been established;
- Any person other than the petitioner who has legal or physical custody of the child or who has visitation rights with the child under an existing court order;
- The spouse of the petitioner if the spouse has not joined in the petition;
- A grandparent of the child if the grandparent ’ s child is a deceased parent of the child and, before death, the deceased parent had not executed a consent or relinquishment or the deceased parent ’ s parental relationship to the child had not been otherwise terminated.
The Court may also require notice to be served upon any person who the Court finds is one of the above, a person who has revoked consent or relinquishment, or a person who, on the basis of a previous relationship with the child, a parent, an alleged parent or the petitioner, can provide relevant information that the court, in its discretion, wants to hear.
WV CODE § 48-22-601.
How is Notice Provided?: The Adoption Code provides exactly how notice is to be served in Section 48-22-602.
Return to Page Index
<-- Previous
Section | Next
Section -->
