West Virginia Marriage Law for Minor

[lilith renee]

My question involves marriage law for the State of: west virgnia
can a 16 year old that is about to be 17 in 2 months with a baby on the way get married to the father of the child with out parent consent?

[jk]

while several sites alluded to some exception for a minor female that is pregnant to be allowed to be issued a license without parental consents, I found nothing in the actual statutes allowing such an exception.

I would suggest contacting your local clerk of the county commission (the person that issues licenses) and inquire there. If there is such an exception, I am nearly certain it would require the approval of the courts.

[Dogmatique]

A quick google suggests that all OP needs to do is provide a doctor's note confirming the pregnancy - but yes, this might vary by county.

[cbg]

I did a search on this question a couple of years ago. The laws are tightening up her, precisely to prevent what the OP wants to do from happening. At that time, in NO state could a minor, pregnant or not, marry without the express permission of her parent/legal guardian, the courts, or both. So at MINIMUM she would need court approval.

[Dogmatique]

I'm not seeing that for WV - all I'm seeing is that if the pregnancy is documented, parental consent isn't required. I can't find anything that actually says the court must approve absent the parent's consent.

I'll keep searching though!

[jk]

A quick google suggests that all OP needs to do is provide a doctor's note confirming the pregnancy - but yes, this might vary by county.

I saw nothing in the statutes allowing for any exception of the parents permission being required.

[Dogmatique]

This is just one of many sites saying the same thing:

clicky clicky

another one here

I can't find anything in the code either, though.

[jk]

The exception to parental consent is when a minor is pregnant. The pregnancy must be verified in a written statement by a licensed physician.

An exception exists for pregnant minors, who do not need parental consent as long as the pregnancy is verified with a written statement by a licensed physician.

Yes, exactly the same types of statements I have been finding as well but none have provided any support nor have I found any statutory support for the claims. Maybe WV has amended their laws since those sites posted their information.

[cbg]

I can't remember which web site I was using but I'll see if I can find it again. The laws could have changed in the intervening time.

But there is a very definite tendency on the part of state legislatures to close up the loopholes that were allowing teens to use pregnancy as a bargaining chip.