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Legal Publication: Within our constitutionally based legal system, in order for substantial personal rights (like parental rights), of constitutionally protected individuals (like birthparents), to be terminated or destroyed in a legal proceeding (like an adoption), the affected individuals must be given adequate notice of the legal proceeding, and a reasonable opportunity to present evidence and witnesses in their own defense. The law requires that the most reasonably effective means of providing that notice under the circumstances be used to give this required notice to the party whose rights are in jeopardy of being lost or destroyed. Personal service is the preferred means of providing this notice. When personal service is not possible because the affected individual cannot be located, especially when that is the result of this individual hiding, the law allows the required notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation that services the last know location of that individual. If this is done correctly, this publication will constitute valid legal notice.

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The definition of this term has been taken from the "Adoption Glossary," which contains definitions of a wide variety of words that relate to adoption and infertility. The entire Adoption Glossary is located at http://glossary.adoption.com.

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