West Virginia

All states

Luck of the Draw score: 75 out of 100

West Virginia presumes an equal split of marital property and bars fault from the property decision. Spousal support amount and length are left to the judge’s weighing of factors, and the judge must compare the spouses’ fault when deciding support. On the book’s scale, 0 is a contract you can read and 100 is one that mostly says “ask the judge.” West Virginia ranks 25 of 51, counting from the state that leaves the least to the judge. How the index works, and every state’s score.

Part	Score	The rule, and where it comes from
Property	5 / 20	The court presumes that marital property is divided equally but may alter the division after considering listed contribution factors. W. Va. Code §§ 48-7-101, 48-7-103
Alimony	20 / 20	The court sets the amount and duration of permanent, rehabilitative, or lump-sum spousal support after considering twenty listed factors, with no formula or cap. W. Va. Code §§ 48-6-301(b), 48-8-101(b)
Fault	10 / 20	Fault may not be considered in dividing marital property except for the economic effect of dissipation, but the court must consider and compare the fault of both parties in deciding whether and how much spousal support to award. W. Va. Code §§ 48-7-103, 48-8-104
Lawyers’ fees	20 / 20	The court may compel either party to pay the attorney’s fees and court costs reasonably necessary to enable the other party to prosecute or defend the action. W. Va. Code § 48-5-611(b)
Second opinion	20 / 20	Divorce cases are heard by a family court judge, and no provision was found that allows a jury or removal of the judge without cause. W. Va. Code § 51-2A-2 (family court jurisdiction); no peremptory or jury provision found (not yet checked against the source)

Getting in

No waiting period. Apply to a county commission clerk in any county, regardless of residence. Both applicants sign under oath and show proof of age. The former waiting period section was repealed in 2023, so there is no wait. The license is void if not used within 60 days. A four-hour premarital course lowers the fee from $55 to $35.
W. Va. Code §§ 48-2-102, 48-2-103 (repealed), 48-2-105, 48-2-106, 48-2-202(c), 48-2-701, 59-1-10(c)

Who can marry you. A registered religious representative, a family court or circuit judge, a Supreme Court justice, or a resident federal judge may officiate. A religious representative must be 18, authorized by their religious body and in regular communion with it, and listed with the Secretary of State. The statute does not address online ordination and requires no witnesses.
W. Va. Code §§ 48-2-401, 48-2-402, 48-2-404, 48-2-406

Common-law marriage: Not available here. A couple cannot form a common-law marriage in West Virginia, and a ceremony without a license is void. Courts do honor one validly formed in another jurisdiction, applying that jurisdiction’s law. Separately, a court may divide property between unmarried cohabitants who held themselves out as married, based on contract or constructive trust.
W. Va. Code § 48-2-101; Goode v. Goode, 183 W. Va. 468, 396 S.E.2d 430 (1990); In re Estate of Foster, 180 W. Va. 250, 376 S.E.2d 144 (1988)

Chapter 5 of the book covers getting in, and whether you are in at all.

The property system

West Virginia is one of forty-one equitable distribution jurisdictions. Equitable distribution. Each of you owns what’s in your own name during the marriage. At a divorce a judge divides the marital property as the judge finds equitable, which is not a promise of half. Chapter 11 of the book covers what that means, and Chapter 22 covers what happens to it when you move.

What counts as marital. Marital property is what either spouse acquires during the marriage, however titled. Premarital property, gifts, inheritances and property acquired after separation are separate. Growth of separate property from inflation or market conditions stays separate. Growth from marital funds or from either spouse’s work during the marriage is marital. The judge starts from an equal division.
W. Va. Code §§ 48-1-233, 48-1-237, 48-7-101

An inheritance that touches a joint account

Putting it in joint names usually makes it marital. Separate money deposited in a joint account is presumed marital, and its source does not decide the question. Retitling property jointly is presumed a gift to the marriage, rebuttable only by clear, cogent and convincing evidence of no intent to give, coercion, duress or deception. Inherited money entrusted to a more knowledgeable spouse, titled jointly and not used for marital purposes, stayed separate in Charlton (1991).
Whiting v. Whiting, 183 W. Va. 451, 396 S.E.2d 413 (1990); Charlton v. Charlton, 186 W. Va. 670, 413 S.E.2d 911 (1991); Burnside v. Burnside, 194 W. Va. 263, 460 S.E.2d 264 (1995); W. Va. Code § 31A-4-33(b)

Chapter 12 explains how mine becomes ours.

Your spouse’s medical bills (Article 5)

Both of you can be liable from the first dollar. A husband and wife are both liable for reasonable and necessary physician services rendered to either while they reside together, for the rent of the family residence, for articles purchased by either for the support of the family or the joint benefit of both, and for the support of a spouse and child while abandoned by the other.
W. Va. Code § 48-29-303

Chapter 8 of the book explains the three ways states handle this.

If one of you dies (Article 9)

The surviving spouse may elect a percentage of the augmented estate (probate estate plus the ‘reclaimable estate’ of non-probate transfers, and the survivor’s own assets) that rises with the length of the marriage, from 3 percent after one year to 50 percent after 15 years, with a $25,000 supplemental amount.
W. Va. Code §§ 42-3-1, 42-3-2

Chapter 9 covers what a will can and can’t take away from a spouse.

Prenups and postnups (Article 12)

Two looks, under UPAA (1983) as enacted in 2023 with UPMAA-style additions, W. Va. Code §§ 48-1A-101 to 48-1A-1101; case law (Gant v. Gant) for agreements signed before July 1, 2023. An agreement signed on or after July 1, 2023 is unenforceable if not signed voluntarily, if either party was under 18 at marriage, or if unconscionable when signed with inadequate disclosure; in addition a court may refuse to enforce a term that was unconscionable at signing or whose enforcement would cause substantial hardship because of a material change in circumstances after signing. Older agreements are presumptively valid under Gant; the challenger must prove a problem in how the agreement was procured, and independent counsel is not required if the terms are understandable and both parties had the opportunity to consult counsel.
W. Va. Code §§ 48-1A-601, 48-1A-1001(b); Gant v. Gant, 174 W. Va. 740, 329 S.E.2d 106 (1985); Ware v. Ware, 224 W. Va. 599, 687 S.E.2d 382 (2009)

What an agreement needs. A premarital agreement must be in writing, signed by both parties, and contain an acknowledgment that both parties had an opportunity to consult separate legal counsel; it needs no consideration. Adequate disclosure means a reasonably accurate description and good-faith estimate of property, liabilities and income, a separate signed waiver, or adequate knowledge. If a spousal support waiver would make a party eligible for public assistance at separation or divorce, the family court may order support to avoid that eligibility; terms that affect child support, limit domestic-violence remedies, change divorce grounds or penalize filing for divorce are unenforceable.
W. Va. Code §§ 48-1A-201, 48-1A-601(b)-(c), 48-1A-701

Chapter 29 explains one look and two, and what makes agreements stick.

Children (Article 8)

Child support: income shares. Support comes from a table of both parents’ combined gross income and is divided in proportion to income. It ends at 18, or continues up to 20 for an unmarried child living with a parent and enrolled full time in a secondary or vocational program. Court-ordered college support was withdrawn in 1994; a parent’s voluntary agreement remains enforceable.
W. Va. Code §§ 48-13-201, 48-13-301, 48-11-103; Shortt v. Damron, 220 W. Va. 710, 649 S.E.2d 283 (2007); Enr. Com. Sub. for S.B. 228 (W. Va. 1994)

Moving away with a child. A parent planning to move must file a petition at least 90 days before the move and serve the other parent at least 60 days before, unless that was impracticable. At a hearing, the moving parent must prove a legitimate, good-faith reason, that the move serves the child’s best interests, and that no less disruptive alternative exists.
W. Va. Code § 48-9-403(b), (d)

Chapter 17 covers the children.

Getting out (Article 2)

How long you must live here before filing: one year. If the marriage took place outside West Virginia, one spouse must have lived there continuously for the year before filing. If the marriage took place in West Virginia, one spouse need only be a genuine resident at filing, with no minimum period. An adultery claim has its own rule when the other spouse cannot be served in the state.
W. Va. Code § 48-5-105

How long it takes. Without the other spouse’s cooperation, a no-fault divorce requires one year living separate and apart without cohabitation, and one spouse’s voluntary act can start that year. The irreconcilable differences route requires the other spouse to file an answer admitting the allegation. The divorce article sets no general waiting period after filing.
W. Va. Code §§ 48-5-201, 48-5-202, 48-5-404, 48-1-238

The legal minimum for a spouse who moves here alone and files as soon as allowed, with no minor children and the other spouse objecting, is about 365 days from arrival to a final decree (365 days apart and 365 days of residence overlap; no statutory wait). Courts often take longer.

Chapter 22 covers what changes when you move.

Each entry on this page comes from the statute, rule or case it cites, read in September or November 2026, except where the entry says it has not been checked. A rule can change after that, and a rule on paper can play out differently in a particular courthouse. No lawyer reviews these pages.

If you practice family law in West Virginia and would like to correct or contribute to this page, write to me.

Meanwhile

• The default contract, with the options states choose among. Read it with a West Virginia lawyer, or paste it into a chatbot along with “I live in West Virginia” and treat what comes back as a list of questions, not answers.
• Three contracts you could sign instead.
• A worksheet for reading it together, and every state’s Luck of the Draw score.
• Corrections, including changes in the law since the book went to press.
• About the book.