Chapter 48, Chapter 48

(a) An order or decree of adoption is a final order for purposes of appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals on the date when the order is entered. An order or decree of adoption for any other purpose is final upon the expiration of the time for filing an appeal when no appeal is f…

Any adult person who is a resident of West Virginia may petition the circuit court or any other court of record having jurisdiction of adoption proceedings for permission to adopt one who has reached the age of eighteen years or over, and, if desired, to change the name of such p…

Any contract, agreement or stipulation which endeavors to deny to any person or persons the right to petition for adoption of any person, or which endeavors to alter the time or manner of adoption as provided in this article, is contrary to the public policy of the state and such…

When an adoption occurs in a foreign country and the adopted child has immigrated to the United States with the permission of the United States, this state shall recognize the adoption. The rights and obligations of the parties as to matters within the jurisdiction of this state …

(a) At any time after the child has immigrated to the United States, the adoptive parent or parents may commence proceedings with the circuit court in their county of residence to have the foreign adoption decree recognized by filing a petition for recognition of foreign adoption…

The court shall review the petition and accompanying documentation and, if the court finds the petition and documentation to be satisfactory, it shall enter an order of adoption stating that the documentation required has been submitted and is satisfactory and that the adoption m…

(a) Adoption is based upon the legal termination of parental rights and responsibilities of birth parents and the creation of the legal relationship of parent and child between an adoptee and his or her adoptive parents. These legal and social premises underlying adoption must be…

The purpose of this article is to: (1) Set up a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry where birth parents and adult adoptees may register their willingness to the release of identifying information to each other; (2) To provide for the disclosure of such identifying informat…

For the purposes of this article the words or terms defined in this article, and any variation of those words or terms required by the context, have the meanings ascribed to them in this article. These definitions are applicable unless a different meaning clearly appears from the…

"Adoptee" means a person who has been legally adopted in the State of West Virginia.

"Adoption" means the judicial act of creating the relationship of parent and child where it did not exist previously.

"Adult" means a person who is eighteen years of age or more.

"Agency" means any public or voluntary organization licensed or approved pursuant to the laws of any jurisdiction within the United States to place children for adoption.

"Genetic and social history" means a comprehensive report, when obtainable, on the birth parents, siblings to the birth parents, if any, other children of either birth parent, if any, and parents of the birth parents, which shall contain the following information: (1) Medical his…

"Health history" means a comprehensive report of the child's health status at the time of placement for adoption and medical history, including neonatal, psychological, physiological and medical care history.

"Mutual consent voluntary adoption registry" or "registry" means a place provided for herein where eligible persons as described in section 23-501 may indicate their willingness to have their identity and whereabouts disclosed to each other under conditions specified in this arti…

"Putative father" means any man not deemed or adjudicated under the laws of a jurisdiction of the United States to be the father of genetic origin of a child and who claims or is alleged to be the father of genetic origin of such child.

The Department of Human Services shall establish and maintain the mutual consent voluntary adoption registry, except that the department may contract out the function of establishing and maintaining the registry to a licensed voluntary agency with expertise in providing post-lega…

Use of the mutual consent voluntary adoption registry for obtaining identifying information about birth parents and adult adoptees is available to birth parents and adult adoptees, except as otherwise limited by section 23-402.

(a) A birth parent is not eligible to use the registry until his or her child who was adopted is eighteen years of age or older. (b) An adult adoptee is not eligible to use the registry if he or she has a sibling in his or her adoptive family who is under the age of eighteen year…

A birth father may register if: (1) He was named as the father in the original sealed birth certificate; (2) He legitimated or formally acknowledged the child as provided by law; or (3) He signed a voluntary abandonment and release for the child's adoption as provided by law.

If a birth parent used an alias name in terminating his or her parental rights, and the alias is listed in the original sealed birth record, that birth parent may register if the agency, organization, entity or person that placed the child for adoption, certifies to the court tha…

The adult adoptee and each birth parent may voluntarily, without having been contacted by any employee or agent of the entity operating the registry, place his or her name in the appropriate registry before any disclosure or identifying information can be made. A qualified person…

Upon registering, the registrant shall participate in not less than one hour of counseling with a social worker employed by the entity that operates the registry, except if a birth parent or adult adoptee is domiciled outside the state, he or she shall obtain counseling from a so…

In any case where the identity of the birth father was unknown to the birth mother, or where the administrator learns that one or both of the birth parents are deceased, this information shall be shared with the adult adoptee. In these kinds of cases, the adoptee will not be able…

(a) Each mutual consent voluntary adoption registry must be operated under the direction of an administrator. (b) A person eligible to register may request the administrator to disclose identifying information by filing an affidavit which sets forth the following: (1) The current…

Any affidavits filed and other information collected shall be retained for ten years following the date of registration by any qualified person to which the information pertains. Any qualified person who registers may renew his or her registration for ten additional years within …

A mutual consent voluntary adoption registry shall obtain only information necessary for identifying a birth parent or adult adoptee and in no event shall obtain information of any kind pertaining to the adoptive parents, any siblings to the adult adoptee who are children of the …

All costs for establishing and maintaining a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry shall be obtained through user's fees charged to all persons who register.

(a) Prior to placement for adoption, the court shall require that the licensed adoption agency or, where an agency is not involved, the person, entity or organization handling the adoption, shall compile and provide to the prospective adoptive parents a detailed written health hi…

(a) No person, agency, entity or organization of any kind, including, but not limited to, any officer or employee of this state and any employee, officer or judge of any court of this state, may disclose any confidential information relating to an adoption except as provided in t…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information acquired by any registry may not be disclosed under any sunshine or freedom of information legislation, rules or practice. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person, group of persons, or entity, inclu…

(a) A civil action to establish the paternity of a child and to obtain an order of support for the child may be instituted, by verified complaint, in the family court of the county where the child resides: Provided, That if such venue creates a hardship for the parties, or either…

(a) Except for a proceeding brought by a child in his or her own right under the provisions of subdivision 24-101(e)(7), a proceeding for the establishment of the paternity of a child shall be brought prior to such child's eighteenth birthday. (b) A proceeding to establish patern…

(a) Prior to the commencement of an action for the establishment of paternity, the Bureau for Child Support enforcement may order the mother, her child and the man to submit to genetic tests to aid in proving or disproving paternity. The bureau may order the tests upon the reques…

(a) When the respondent, by verified responsive pleading, admits that the man is the father of the child and owes a duty of support, or if after a hearing on the merits, the court shall find, by clear and convincing evidence that the man is the father of the child, the court shal…

Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, no parent in any proceeding brought pursuant to this article may have counsel appointed for them according to section one, article twenty-one, chapter twenty-nine of this code or otherwise receive legal services provided…

A written, notarized acknowledgment executed pursuant to the provisions of section ten, article five, chapter sixteen of this code legally establishes the man as the father of the child for all purposes and child support may be established in accordance with the support guideline…

(a) A person desiring a change of his or her own name, or that of his or her child, may apply to the circuit court or family court of the county in which he or she resides by a verified petition setting forth and affirming the following: (1) That he or she has been a bona fide re…

Any person who is likely to be injured by the change of name of any person so petitioning, or who knows of any reason why the name of any such petitioner should not be changed, may appear at the time and place named in the notice, and shall be heard in opposition to such change.

(a) Upon the filing of the verified petition, and upon proof of the publication of the notice and of the matters set forth in the petition, and being satisfied that no injury will be done to any person by reason of the change, and upon a finding that all representations the appli…

When such order is made the petitioner shall forthwith cause a certified copy thereof to be filed in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county where petitioner resides, and such clerk shall record the same in a book to be kept for the purpose and index the sa…

When such change has been ordered and a certified copy of the order filed in the office of the county clerk, the new name shall thenceforth be used in place of the former name.

Any person residing in this state who shall change his or her name, or assume another name, unlawfully, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not exceeding $100, and upon a repetition thereof shall be confined in the county or regional jail…

(a) It is unlawful for any person convicted of first degree murder in violation of section one, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code, and for any person convicted of violating any provision of section fourteen-a, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code, for which a sen…

(a) Judges and magistrates may order persons to apply to a licensed monitored parenting and exchange program for monitored parenting or monitored exchange of children: Provided, That a licensed monitored parenting and exchange program may not be required to perform duties that ar…

The provisions of this part do not apply to therapeutic or supervised visitation or exchanges or any activity conducted by the state or others in abuse and neglect proceedings pursuant to §49-2-801 through §49-2-814 and §49-4-601 through §49-4-610 of this code in which assessment…

Every program shall require that the parent, guardian or other adult sign a written contract prior to using the program and that the use of the services provided by the program can be terminated by the program for violation of the contract.

This article shall be known as the "West Virginia Domestic Violence Act."

Where shelters are available, the law-enforcement officer or other public authority investigating an alleged incident of domestic violence shall advise the victim of the availability of the family protection shelter to which that person may be admitted.