Terminating Parental Rights Unfortunately it is not that easy. The only method under Virginia Law in which one parent can voluntarily terminate his or her rights to a child while the other parent retains his or her rights is through a step-parent adoption.
How to Get Sole Custody in Virginia Show that you better appreciate your child's mental and physical needs. Take care of your mental and physical health. Prove that you have a better relationship with your child. Show that your child is more connected with friends and family while in your care.
The best interests of the child. The willingness of each parent to actively support the child's contact with the other parent. The willingness of each parent to keep a close relationship with the child. The willingness of each parent to cooperate and resolve disputes.
To get a custody order from a court, you will need to start by filing a petition in the Court Service Unit of a juvenile and domestic relations district court in the county where your child is living. For a list of courthouses in Virginia, please see our VA Courthouse Locations page.
Key child custody court forms include: Parenting Proceeding Affidavit. Health Insurance Affidavit. Affidavit of Income. Affidavit of Property. Request for Service. Waiver of Service of Summons. Complaint for Parentage, Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.
You do not need a lawyer to file for custody (sole or shared parental responsibility). However, with the help of a lawyer, it may be easier for you to gather and present the information you will need to convince the judge of your position on what the parenting plan and time sharing schedule should be.
In Virginia, both parents are presumed to have equal rights to the legal custody of their child.
A. If all of the parties who are individuals reside in this Commonwealth and the child does not reside in the issuing state, a tribunal of this Commonwealth has jurisdiction to enforce and to modify the issuing state's child support order in a proceeding to register that order.
The procedure requires the person seeking registration to file (1) a letter or other document to request registration, (2) two copies, including one certified copy, of the order to be registered along with a statement, under penalty of perjury, that to the best of the requestor's knowledge the order has not been ...