West Virginia Code 48-24-101 – Paternity proceedings
(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 of them, or if judicial economy requires, the court may transfer the action to the county where either of the parties resides.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 48-24-101
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- State: means a state of the United States, or the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See West Virginia Code 48-14-601
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
(b) A "paternity proceeding" is a summary proceeding, equitable in nature and within the domestic relations jurisdiction of the courts, wherein a family court upon the petition of the state or another proper party may intervene to determine and protect the respective personal rights of a child for whom paternity has not been lawfully established, of the mother of the child and of the putative father of the child. The parties to a paternity proceeding are not entitled to a trial by jury.
(c) The sufficiency of the statement of the material allegations in the complaint set forth as grounds for relief and the grant or denial of the relief prayed for in a particular case shall rest in the sound discretion of the court, to be exercised by the court according to the circumstances and exigencies of the case, having due regard for precedent and the provisions of the statutory law of this state.
(d) A decree or order made and entered by a court in a paternity proceeding shall include a determination of the filial relationship, if any, which exists between a child and his or her putative father and, if such relationship is established, shall resolve dependent claims arising from family rights and obligations attendant to such filial relationship.
(e) A paternity proceeding may be brought by any of the following persons:
(1) An unmarried woman with physical or legal custody of a child to whom she gave birth;
(2) A married woman with physical or legal custody of a child to whom she gave birth, if the complaint alleges that:
(A) The married woman lived separate and apart from her husband preceding the birth of the child;
(B) The married woman did not cohabit with her husband at any time during such separation and that such separation has continued without interruption; and
(C) The respondent, rather than her husband, is the father of the child;
(3) The state of West Virginia, including the Bureau for Child Support enforcement;
(4) Any person who is not the mother of the child but who has physical or legal custody of the child;
(5) The guardian or committee of the child;
(6) The next friend of the child when the child is a minor;
(7) By the child in his or her own right at any time after the child's eighteenth birthday but prior to the child's twenty-first birthday; or
(8) A man who believes he is the father of a child born out of wedlock when there has been no prior judicial determination of paternity.
(f) If a paternity proceeding is brought that names the father of the child as being someone other than the person whose name appears on the child's birth certificate, then the person bringing the action shall cause a copy of the verified complaint to be served on the person named as the father on the birth certificate. Service must be in accordance with rule 4 of the rules of civil procedure.
(g) Blood or tissue samples taken pursuant to the provisions of this article may be ordered to be taken in such locations as may be convenient for the parties so long as the integrity of the chain of custody of the samples can be preserved.
(h) A person who has sexual intercourse in this state submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state for a proceeding brought under this article with respect to a child who may have been conceived by that act of intercourse. Service of process may be perfected according to the rules of civil procedure.
(i) When the person against whom the proceeding is brought has failed to plead or otherwise defend the action after proper service has been obtained, judgment by default shall be issued by the court as provided by the rules of civil procedure.