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West Virginia Legal Requirements for Divorce
Explanation of Chart and More Information on Requirements for Divorce
| Code Section | 48-5-101 et seq. |
| Residency Requirements | If cause is adultery, one party must be resident at time action brought; if defendant is nonresident and service cannot be effected within the state, the plaintiff must have been a resident for 1 yr. prior to commencement of action. If ground other than adultery, one party must be resident at time the cause arose or since then has become a resident and lived in state 1 yr. before action; if parties married in West Virginia, then only one must be resident upon filing-no specified length of time. |
| Waiting Period | - |
| 'No Fault' Grounds for Divorce | Separation (1 yr.) §48-5-202; irreconcilable differences §48-5-201. |
| Defenses to a Divorce Filing | Condonation; connivance; plaintiff's own misconduct; offense occurred more than 3 yrs. prior to divorce action; collusion is not a bar §48-5-301; adultery: voluntary cohabitation after knowledge. |
| Other Grounds for Divorce | Adultery; cruelty or violence; drug/alcohol addiction; insanity (confined for 3 yrs. prior to complaint); conviction of crime subsequent to the marriage; neglect or abuse of child; abandonment or desertion for 6 mos.; irreconcilable differences if other party admits. §48-5-201; also lived apart without cohabitation and without interruption for one year. |
Note: State laws are constantly changing -- contact an attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.
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