The Standards of Proof which a Court must consider in granting an Adoption without the Consent of a birth parent includes standard "catch all" language.
The Catch All Language
The Detriment Requirement
When Section 63.2-1205 was enacted in 1995, it included language requiring the trial court to consider whether failure to grant the Petition for Adoption would be detrimental to the child. In 2006, the General Assembly removed this language from the statute, and substituted for it the requirement that the court determine whether consent is withheld contrary to the best interests of the child.
