reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
WV Code § 48-22-112 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-112. Nonmarital Child Defined

Nonmarital child means a child not born or conceived during marriage.
WV Code § 48-22-113 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-113. Outsider Father Defined

Outsider father means the biological father of a child born to or conceived by the mother while she is married to another man who is not the biological father of the child.
WV Code § 48-22-114 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-114. Putative Father Defined

Putative father means, before adoption, any man named by the mother as a possible biological father of the child pursuant to the provisions of section 22-502, who is not a legal or determined father.
WV Code § 48-22-115 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-115. Relinquishment Defined

Relinquishment means the voluntary surrender to an agency by a minor child's parent or guardian, for purposes of the child's adoption, of the rights of the parent or guardian with respect to the child, including the legal and physical custody of the child.
WV Code § 48-22-116 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-116. Stepparent Adoption Defined

Stepparent adoption means an adoption in which the petitioner for adoption is married to one of the birth parents of the child or to an adoptive parent of the child.
WV Code § 48-22-117 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-117. Unknown Father Defined

Unknown father means a biological father whose identity the biological mother swears is unknown to her before adoption, pursuant to the provisions of section 22-502.
WV Code § 48-22-201 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-201. Persons Who May Petition for Decree of Adoption

Any person not married or any person, with his or her spouses consent, or any husband and wife jointly, may petition a circuit court of the county wherein such person or persons reside for a decree of adoption of any minor child or person who may be adopted by the petitioner or petitioners: Provided, That if the minor child to be adopted has been removed from a prior home due to an abuse or neglect proceeding, the petition may be filed in the same county as the original abuse and neglect proceeding regarding the minor child.
WV Code § 48-22-301 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-301. Persons Whose Consent or Relinquishment Is Required; Exceptions

(a) Subject to the limitations hereinafter set forth, consent to or relinquishment for adoption of a minor child is required of:(1) The parents or surviving parent of a marital child, whether adult or infant;(2) The outsider father of a marital child who has been adjudicated to be the father of the child or who has filed a paternity action which is pending at the time of the filing of the petition for adoption;(3) The birth mother of a nonmarital child, whether adult or infant; and(4) The determined father.(b) Consent or relinquishment shall not be required of a parent or of any other person having custody of the adoptive child:(1) Whose parental rights have been terminated pursuant to the provisions of §49-4-114 of this code;(2) Whom the court finds has abandoned the child as set forth in §48-22-306 of this code; or(3) Who, in a stepparent adoption, is the birth parent or adoptive parent of the child and is married to the petitioning adoptive parent. In such stepparent adoption, the parent must assent to the adoption by joining as a party to the petition for adoption.(c) If the mother, legal father, or determined father is under disability, the court may order the adoption if it finds:(1) The parental rights of the person are terminated, abandoned, or permanently relinquished;(2) The person is incurably insane; or (3) The disability arises solely because of age and an otherwise valid consent or relinquishment has been given.(d) If all persons entitled to parental rights of the child sought to be adopted are deceased or have been deprived of the custody of the child by law, then consent or relinquishment is required of the legal guardian or of any other person having legal custody of the child at the time. If there is no legal guardian nor any person who has legal custody of the child, then consent or relinquishment is required from some discreet and suitable person appointed by the court to act as the next friend of the child in the adoption proceedings.(e) If one of the persons entitled to parental rights of the child sought to be adopted is deceased, only the consent or relinquishment of the surviving person entitled to parental rights is required.(f) If the child to be adopted is 12 years of age or over, the consent of the child is required to be given in the presence of a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction, unless for extraordinary cause, the requirement of such consent is waived by the court.(g) Any consent to adoption or relinquishment of parental rights shall have the effect of authorizing the prospective adoptive parents or the agency to consent to medical treatment for the child, whether or not such authorization is expressly stated in the consent or relinquishment.
WV Code § 48-22-302 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-302. Timing and Execution of Consent or Relinquishment

(a) No consent or relinquishment may be executed before the expiration of seventy-two hours after the birth of the child to be adopted.(b) A consent or relinquishment executed by a parent or guardian as required by the provisions of section 22-301 must be signed and acknowledged in the presence of one of the following:(1) A judge of a court of record;(2) A person whom a judge of a court of record designates to take consents or relinquishments;(3) A notary public;(4) A commissioned officer on active duty in the military service of the United States, if the person executing the consent or relinquishment is in military service; or(5) An officer of the foreign service or a consular officer of the United States in another country, if the person executing the consent or relinquishment is in that country.
WV Code § 48-22-304 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-304. Consent or Relinquishment by Infants

If a person who has executed a consent to or relinquishment for adoption is under eighteen years of age at the time of the filing of the petition, and such infant parent is a resident of the state, the consent or relinquishment shall be specifically reviewed and approved by the court and a guardian ad litem may be appointed to represent the interests of the infant parent. The guardian ad litem shall conduct a discreet inquiry regarding the consent or relinquishment given, and may inquire of any person having knowledge of the consent or relinquishment. If the guardian ad litem finds reasonable cause to believe that the consent or relinquishment was obtained by fraud or duress, the court may request the infant parent to appear before the court or at a deposition, so that inquiry may be made regarding the circumstances surrounding the execution of the consent or relinquishment. The failure of the court to appoint a guardian ad litem is not grounds for setting aside a decree of adoption.
WV Code § 48-22-305 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-305. Revocation of Consent or Relinquishment for Adoption

(a) Parental consent or relinquishment, whether given by an adult or minor, may be revoked only if:(1) The person who executed the consent or relinquishment and the prospective adoptive parent named or described in the consent or the lawyer for said adoptive parent, or the agency in case of relinquishment, agree to its revocation prior to the entry of an adoption order; or(2) The person who executed the consent or relinquishment proves by clear and convincing evidence, in an action filed either within six months of the date of the execution of the consent or relinquishment or prior to the date an adoption order is final, whichever date is later, that the consent or relinquishment was obtained by fraud or duress; or(3) The person who executed the consent or relinquishment proves by a preponderance of the evidence, prior to the entry of an adoption order, that a condition allowing revocation as expressly set forth in the consent or relinquishment has occurred; or(4) The person who executed the consent or relinquishment proves by clear and convincing evidence, prior to the entry of an adoption order, that the consent or relinquishment does not comply with the requirements set forth in this article.(b) If the custody of a child during the pendency of a petition to revoke a consent or relinquishment is in issue, the court shall conduct a hearing, within thirty days of service of notice upon the respondent, to determine the issue of temporary custody. The court shall award such custody based upon the best interests of the child.
WV Code § 48-22-306 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-306. Conduct Presumptively Constituting Abandonment

(a) Abandonment of a child over the age of six months shall be presumed when the birth parent:(1) Fails to financially support the child within the means of the birth parent; and(2) Fails to visit or otherwise communicate with the child when he or she knows where the child resides, is physically and financially able to do so and is not prevented from doing so by the person or authorized agency having the care or custody of the child: Provided, That such failure to act continues uninterrupted for a period of six months immediately preceding the filing of the adoption petition.(b) Abandonment of a child under the age of six months shall be presumed when the birth father:(1) Denounces the child's paternity any time after conception;(2) Fails to contribute within his means toward the expense of the prenatal and postnatal care of the mother and the postnatal care of the child;(3) Fails to financially support the child within father's means; and(4) Fails to visit the child when he knows where the child resides: Provided, That such denunciations and failure to act continue uninterrupted from the time that the birth father was told of the conception of the child until the time the petition for adoption was filed.(c) Abandonment of a child shall be presumed when the unknown father fails, prior to the entry of the final adoption order, to make reasonable efforts to discover that a pregnancy and birth have occurred as a result of his sexual intercourse with the birth mother.(d) Notwithstanding any provision in this section to the contrary, any birth parent shall have the opportunity to demonstrate to the court the existence of compelling circumstances preventing said parent from supporting, visiting or otherwise communicating with the child: Provided, That in no event may incarceration provide such a compelling circumstance if the crime resulting in the incarceration involved a rape in which the child was conceived.
WV Code § 48-22-401 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-401. Delivery of Child for Adoption; Written Recital of Circumstances

§48-22-401. Delivery of child for adoption; written recital of circumstances.Whenever a person delivers a child for adoption the person first receiving such child and the prospective adopting parent or parents 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 the provisions of section 22-502.
WV Code § 48-22-501 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-501. Filing of Petition for Adoption

The petition for adoption may be filed at any time after the child who is the subject of the adoption is born, the adoptive placement determined and all consents or relinquishments that can be obtained have been executed. The hearing on the petition may be held only after the child has lived with the adoptive parent or parents for a period of six 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 nonconsenting birth parents have otherwise been terminated.
WV Code § 48-22-601 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-601. Who Shall Receive Notice

§48-22-601. Who shall receive notice.(a) Unless notice has been waived, notice of a proceeding for adoption of a child must be served, within twenty days after a petition for adoption is filed, upon:(1) Any person whose consent to the adoption is required pursuant to the provisions of section 22-301, but notice need not be served upon a person whose parental relationship to the child or whose status as a guardian has been terminated;(2) Any person whom the petitioner knows is claiming to be the father of the child and whose paternity of the child has been established pursuant to the provisions of 24-101, et seq.;(3) 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 issued by a court in this or another state;(4) The spouse of the petitioner if the spouse has not joined in the petition; and(5) 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.(b) The court shall require notice of a proceeding for adoption to be served upon any person the court finds, at any time during the proceeding, is:(1) A person described in subsection (a) of this section who has not been given notice;(2) A person who has revoked consent or relinquishment pursuant to the provisions of section 22-305; or(3) 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 § 48-22-602 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-602. How Notice Is to Be Served

(a) Notice shall be served on each person as required under the provisions of section 22-601, in accordance with rule 4 of the West Virginia rules of civil procedure, except as otherwise provided in this article.(b) The notice shall inform the person, in plain language, that his or her parental rights, if any, may be terminated in the proceeding and that such person may appear and defend any such rights within the required time after such service. The notice shall also provide that if the person upon whom notice is properly served fails to respond within the required time after its service, said person may not appear in or receive further notice of the adoption proceedings.(c) In the case of any person who is a nonresident or whose whereabouts are unknown, service shall be achieved: (1) By personal service; (2) by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, to the person's last known address, with instructions to forward; or (3) by publication. If personal service is not achieved and the person giving notice has any knowledge of the whereabouts of the person to be served, including a last known address, service by mail shall be first attempted as provided herein. Any service achieved by mail shall be complete upon mailing and shall be sufficient service without the need for notice by publication. In the event that no return receipt is received giving adequate evidence of receipt of the notice by the addressee or of receipt of the notice at the address to which the notice was mailed or forwarded, or if the whereabouts of the person is unknown, then the person required to give notice shall cause service of notice by publication as a Class II publication in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area shall be the county where the proceedings are had, and in the county where the person to be served was last known to reside, except in cases of foreign adoptions where the child is admitted to this country for purposes of adoptive placement and the United States immigration and naturalization service has issued the foreign-born child a visa or unless good cause is shown for not publishing in the county where the person was last known to reside. The notice shall state the court and its address but not the names of the adopting parents or birth mother, unless the court so orders.(d) In the case of a person under disability, service shall be made on the person and his or her personal representative, or if there be none, on a guardian ad litem.(e) In the case of service by publication or mail or service on a personal representative or a guardian ad litem, the person shall be allowed thirty days from the date of the first publication or mailing or of such service on a personal representative or guardian ad litem in which to appear and defend his or her parental rights.
WV Code § 48-22-603 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-603. Notice to an Unknown Father

(a) In the case of an unknown father, the court shall inspect the affidavit submitted pursuant to the provisions of section 22-502, consider any additional evidence that the court, in its discretion, determines should be produced, and determine whether said father can be identified. The inspection and consideration of any additional evidence by the court shall be accomplished as soon as practicable after the filing of the petition, but no later than sixty days before the final hearing on the adoption petition.(b) If the court identifies a father pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, then notice of the proceeding for adoption shall be served on the father so identified in accordance with the provisions of section 22-602.(c) If after consideration of the affidavit and/or the consideration of further evidence, the court finds that proper service cannot be made upon the father because his identity is unknown, the court shall order publication of the notice only if, on the basis of all information available, the court determines that publication is likely to lead to receipt of notice by the father. If the court determines that publication or posting is not likely to lead to receipt of notice, the court may dispense with the publication or posting of a notice.
WV Code § 48-22-703 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 22. Adoption|§48-22-703. Effect of Order as to Relations of Parents and Child and as to Rights of Inheritance; Intestacy of Adopted Child

(a) Upon the entry of such order of adoption, any person previously entitled to parental rights, any parent or parents by any previous legal adoption, and the lineal or collateral kindred of any such person, parent or parents, except any such person or parent who is the husband or wife of the petitioner for adoption, shall be divested of all legal rights, including the right of inheritance from or through the adopted child under the statutes of descent and distribution of this state, and shall be divested of all obligations in respect to the said adopted child, and the said adopted child shall be free from all legal obligations, including obedience and maintenance, in respect to any such person, parent or parents. From and after the entry of such order of adoption, the adopted child shall be, to all intents and for all purposes, the legitimate issue of the person or persons so adopting him or her and shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject to all the obligations of a natural child of such adopting parent or parents.(b) For the purpose of descent and distribution, from and after the entry of such order of adoption, a legally adopted child shall inherit from and through the parent or parents of such child by adoption and from or through the lineal or collateral kindred of such adopting parent or parents in the same manner and to the same extent as though said adopted child were a natural child of such adopting parent or parents, but such child shall not inherit from any person entitled to parental rights prior to the adoption nor their lineal or collateral kindred, except that a child legally adopted by a husband or wife of a person entitled to parental rights prior to the adoption shall inherit from such person as well as from the adopting parent. If a legally adopted child shall die intestate, all property, including real and personal, of such adopted child shall pass, according to the statutes of descent and distribution of this state, to those persons who would have taken had the decedent been the natural child of the adopting parent or parents.