Looking for West Virginia‘s rules on marriage, divorce, child custody, and child support? Want to find West Virginia’s state court forms and instructions and local court websites? Here’s where to start. For a wide range of other articles on family law in West Virginia, see the Resources by State section on this site.
Marriage Rules in West Virginia
Requirements: No blood test required. You must be of the age of consent, not be too closely related to your intended spouse, not be married to anyone else, and have sufficient mental capacity, meaning you understand what you are doing when you marry. You can marry immediately after your marriage license is issued, and your license is good for 60 days. For more details, check your county clerk’s office.
Common law marriage: No.
Community property: No.
Same-sex marriage: No.
West Virginia Divorce Rules
Grounds for divorce: Fault or no-fault grounds are allowed, or you can base your divorce on the fact that you’ve been separated from your spouse for at least one year.
Residency requirement: None.
How property is divided: Equitable division.
Child Custody Rules in West Virginia
Child custody guidelines: West Virginia courts begin with a presumption that it’s best for a child to have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a divorce. If possible, judges want to support joint custody arrangements.
West Virginia Child Support Rules
Child support guidelines: West Virginia requires all parents to support their children. The amount of child support depends primarily on each parent’s income and other resources and how much time each parent spends with the children.
Child support calculators to determine state guidelines: www.alllaw.com/calculators/childsupport/west_virginia.
State child support enforcement agency: Bureau for Child Support Enforcement, www.wvdhhr.org/bcse.
West Virginia Courts and Family Law Resources
West Virginia court information and family law forms: www.state.wv.us/wvsca/wvsystem.htm.
Family services section of West Virginia website: www.wvdhhr.org/bcf.
