West Virginia § 49-4-115 Emancipation

West Virginia Statutes

§ 49-4-115 — Emancipation

West Virginia § 49-4-115

Ch. 49CHILD WELFARE

Art. 4COURT ACTIONS

This text of West Virginia § 49-4-115 (Emancipation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

W. Va. Code § 49-4-115 (2026).

Text

(a)A child over the age of sixteen may petition a court to be declared emancipated. The parents or custodians shall be made respondents and, in addition to personal service thereon, there shall be publication as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code.

(b)Upon a showing that the child can provide for his or her physical and financial well-being and has the ability to make decisions for himself or herself, the court may for good cause shown declare the child emancipated. The child shall thereafter have full capacity to contract in his or her own right and the parents or custodians have no right to the custody and control of the child or duty to provide the child with care and financial support.

(c)A child over the age of sixteen

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(a) A child over the age of sixteen may petition a court to be declared emancipated. The parents or custodians shall be made respondents and, in addition to personal service thereon, there shall be publication as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code.

(b) Upon a showing that the child can provide for his or her physical and financial well-being and has the ability to make decisions for himself or herself, the court may for good cause shown declare the child emancipated. The child shall thereafter have full capacity to contract in his or her own right and the parents or custodians have no right to the custody and control of the child or duty to provide the child with care and financial support.

(c) A child over the age of sixteen years who marries is emancipated by operation of law. An emancipated child has all of the privileges, rights and duties of an adult, including the right of contract, except that the child remains a child as defined for the purposes of part ten, article two, or part seven, article four of this chapter.