                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

LEGAL EFFECTS OF ADOPTION (§ 63.2-1215)

A. The birth parents, and the parents by previous adoption, if any, other than
any such parent who is the husband or wife of one of the petitioners, shall, by
final order of adoption, be divested of all legal rights and obligations in
respect to the child including the right to petition any court for visitation
with the child. Except where a final order of adoption is entered pursuant to
&#xA7; 63.2-1241, any person whose interest in the child derives from or through
the birth parent or previous adoptive parent, including but not limited to
grandparents, stepparents, former stepparents, blood relatives, and family
members, shall, by final order of adoption, be divested of all legal rights and
obligations in respect to the child including the right to petition any court
for visitation with the child. In all cases the child shall be free from all
legal obligations of obedience and maintenance in respect to such persons
divested of legal rights. Any child adopted under the provisions of this chapter
shall, from and after the entry of the interlocutory order or from and after the
entry of the final order where no such interlocutory order is entered, be, to
all intents and purposes, the child of the person or persons so adopting him
and, unless and until such interlocutory order or final order is subsequently
revoked, shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges, and subject to all
the obligations, of a child of such person or persons born in lawful wedlock. An
adopted person is the child of an adopting parent, and as such, the adopting
parent shall be entitled to testify in all cases civil and criminal, as if the
adopted child was born of the adopting parent in lawful wedlock.

B. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any child of a
deceased person from receiving an award of damages in an action for death by
wrongful act in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 (&#xA7; 8.01-50 et
seq.) of Chapter 3 of Title 8.01 if such child is adopted after the death of the
deceased person, provided that the parental rights of such deceased person were
not terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction prior to his death. The
provisions of this subsection shall apply to any adoption finalized on or after
July 1, 2024.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 63-357; 1968, c. 578, § 63.1-233; 1995, cc. 772, 826;
1997, c. 690; 2000, c. 830, § 63.1-219.22; 2002, c. 747; 2003, c. 229; 2024,
cc. 69, 70.