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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>60825</law_id><section_number>20-124.1</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>16.1-278.15</reference><reference>16.1-353</reference><reference>18.2-356.1</reference><reference>2.2-441</reference><reference>20-103</reference><reference>20-107.2</reference><reference>20-166</reference><reference>20-79</reference><reference>63.2-1241</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="20">Domestic Relations</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="6.1">Custody and Visitation Arrangements for Minor Children</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this chapter:
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Joint custody</span>&#x201D; means (i) joint legal custody where both parents retain joint responsibility for the care and control of the child and joint authority to make decisions concerning the child even though the child&#x2019;s primary residence may be with only one parent, (ii) joint physical custody where both parents share physical and custodial care of the child, or (iii) any combination of joint legal and joint physical custody which the court deems to be in the best interest of the child.
		&#x201C;Person with a legitimate interest&#x201D; shall be broadly construed and includes, but is not limited to, grandparents, step-grandparents, stepparents, former stepparents, blood relatives and family members provided any such <span class="dictionary">party</span> has intervened in the suit or is otherwise properly before the court. The term shall be broadly construed to accommodate the best interest of the child. A <span class="dictionary">party</span> with a legitimate interest shall not include any person (i) whose parental rights have been terminated by <span class="dictionary">court order</span>, either voluntarily or involuntarily, except for purposes of this title, as otherwise provided by this definition: (ii) whose interest in the child derives from or through a person whose parental rights have been terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily, or whose interest in the child derives from or through a person pursuant to clause (iii), including but not limited to grandparents, stepparents, former stepparents, blood relatives and family members, if the child subsequently has been legally adopted, except where a <span class="dictionary">final order</span> of adoption is entered pursuant to &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Adoption of child by spouse of birth or adoptive parent or other person with legitimate interest" href="/63.2-1241/">63.2-1241</a>; or (iii) who has been convicted of a violation of subsection A of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Rape" href="/18.2-61/">18.2-61</a>, &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Carnal knowledge of child between thirteen and fifteen years of age" href="/18.2-63/">18.2-63</a>, subsection B of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Sexual intercourse by persons forbidden to marry; incest; penalties" href="/18.2-366/">18.2-366</a>, or an equivalent <span class="dictionary">offense</span> of another state, the United States, or any foreign <span class="dictionary">jurisdiction</span>, or who has been found by clear and convincing <span class="dictionary">evidence</span> to have engaged in the conduct prohibited by subsection A of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Rape" href="/18.2-61/">18.2-61</a>, &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Carnal knowledge of child between thirteen and fifteen years of age" href="/18.2-63/">18.2-63</a>, or subsection B of &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Sexual intercourse by persons forbidden to marry; incest; penalties" href="/18.2-366/">18.2-366</a>, whether or not the person has been charged with or convicted of the alleged violation, when the child who is the subject of the <span class="dictionary">petition</span> was conceived as a result of such violation or conduct. For purposes of this title, a &#x201C;person with a legitimate interest&#x201D; shall also include a parent whose rights previously had been terminated, provided that the child whose custody or visitation is at <span class="dictionary">issue</span> (a) is at least 14 years of age; (b) has had a permanency goal previously achieved by adoption; (c) has had his adoptive parents die or, pursuant to &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="(Effective January 1, 2026) Petition for relief of care and custody" href="/16.1-277.02/">16.1-277.02</a>, each of such child&#x2019;s adoptive parents has permanently been relieved of custody of such child and each adoptive parent has had his parental rights terminated; and (d) is in the custody of a local board of social services, and provided that the parent whose rights had previously been terminated has (1) complied with the terms of any written post-adoption contact and communication agreement entered into pursuant to Article 1.1 (&#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Authority to enter into post-adoption contact and communication agreements" href="/63.2-1220.2/">63.2-1220.2</a> et seq.) of Chapter 12 of Title 63.2 and (2) maintained a positive, continuous relationship with the child since termination.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Sole custody</span>&#x201D; means that one person retains responsibility for the care and control of a child and has primary authority to make decisions concerning the child.</p></section></text><history>1994, c. 769; 1997, c. 690; 1999, c. 1028; 2000, c. 830; 2003, c. 229; 2005, c. 890; 2014, c. 653; 2025, cc. 143, 547.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
