07/13/2007 - National Legal News

A Virginia paternity law went into effect July 1 that changes the process by which a biological father’s parental rights are terminated in adoption proceedings.

The Virginia Putative Father Registry enables men who believe they may have fathered a child to establish a potential link to the child prior to adoption or ending of parental rights, without the biological mother’s approval. Prior to the registry’s creation, a mother who wished to give her child up for adoption had to name the biological father to have his parental rights terminated. This was problematic for biological mothers, some of whom are unable to or traumatized by having to name their child’s father.

The new law considers a man a potential father if the following conditions are met: a court has not determined the child’s paternity; the man is not married to the child’s mother; he has not acknowledged his paternity in writing; and he has not adopted the child.

Potential fathers must register their paternity during the mother’s pregnancy or within ten days of the child’s birth. The registry entitles such men to notification of the child’s adoption, but does not establish paternity of the child. According to director of Amherst County Social Services Glenn Sullivan, potential benefits of the registry include increased adoptions, options for child placement if a mother loses her parental rights, and easier adoption proceedings.