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WV Code § 48-5-102 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-102. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

§48-5-102. Subject matter jurisdiction.(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it has the authority to establish, by general law, the jurisdiction of circuit courts and family courts over domestic relations matters.(b) The circuit courts and family courts of this state, by act of the Legislature, are vested with concurrent jurisdiction over the subject matter of divorce. Generally, a family court has the right and authority to adjudicate actions for divorce and the power to carry its judgment and order into execution. Circuit courts have limited jurisdiction in divorce actions, as provided in section two, article two-a, chapter fifty-one of this code and as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter. Jurisdiction of the subject matter of divorce embraces the power to determine every issue or controverted question in an action for divorce, according to the court's view of the law and the evidence.
WV Code § 48-5-103 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-103. Jurisdiction of Parties; Service of Process

(a) In an action for divorce, it is immaterial where the marriage was celebrated, where the parties were domiciled at the time the grounds for divorce arose or where the marital offense was committed. If one or both of the parties is domiciled in this state at the time the action is commenced, the circuit courts and family courts of this state have jurisdiction to grant a divorce for any grounds fixed by law in this state, without any reference to the law of the place where the marriage occurred or where the marital offense was committed.(b) A judgment order may be entered upon service of process in the manner specified in the rules of civil procedure for the service of process upon individuals.
WV Code § 48-5-104 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-104. Retention of Jurisdiction When Divorce Is Denied

If a divorce is denied, the court shall retain jurisdiction of the case and may order all or any portion of the relief provided for in this article that has been demanded in the pleadings.
WV Code § 48-5-105 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-105. Residency Requirements for Maintaining an Action for Divorce

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section:(1) If the marriage was entered into within this state, an action for divorce is maintainable if one of the parties is an actual bona fide resident of this state at the time of commencement of the action, without regard to the length of time residency has continued; or(2) If the marriage was not entered into within this state, an action for divorce is maintainable if:(A) One of the parties was an actual bona fide resident of this state at the time the cause of action arose, or has become a resident since that time; and(B) The residency has continued uninterrupted through the one-year period immediately preceding the filing of the action.(b) An action for divorce cannot be maintained if the cause for divorce is adultery, whether the cause of action arose in or out of this state, unless one of the parties, at the commencement of the action, is a bona fide resident of this state. In such case, if the respondent is a nonresident of this state and cannot be personally served with process within this state, the action is not maintainable unless the petitioner has been an actual bona fide resident of this state for at least one year next preceding the commencement of the action; or(c) When a divorce is granted in this state upon constructive service of process and personal jurisdiction is thereafter obtained of the respondent in the case, the court may order all or any portion of the relief that has been demanded in the pleadings.
WV Code § 48-5-106 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-106. Venue of Actions for Divorce

(a) If the respondent in an action for divorce is a resident of this state, the petitioner has an option to bring the action in the county in which the parties last cohabited or in the county where the respondent resides.(b) If the respondent in an action for divorce is not a resident of this state, the petitioner has an option to bring the action in the county in which the parties last cohabited or in the county where the petitioner resides.
WV Code § 48-5-107 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-107. Parties to a Divorce Action

(a) Either or both of the parties to a marriage may initiate an action for divorce.(b) A spouse who is under the age of majority has standing in a divorce action to sue, answer or plead by a next friend.(c) An incompetent or insane person shall sue, answer or plead by his or her committee. If a person has not been adjudicated incompetent or insane and has not been divested of the power to act on his or her own behalf, it is presumed that the person has the capacity to bring the action or be made a party respondent. This presumption may be rebutted by evidence which shows that the person cannot reasonably understand the nature and purpose of the action and the effect of his or her acts with reference to the action.(d) The appointment of a guardian ad litem for a minor, an incompetent or an insane party is not required unless specifically ordered by the judge hearing the action.(e) Anyone charged as a particeps criminis shall be made a party to a divorce action, upon his or her application to the court, subject to such terms and conditions as the court may prescribe.(f) In a divorce action where the interests of the minor children of the parties are or may be substantially different from those of either or both of the parents and the best interests of the children may be in conflict with the desires of either or both parents, the court may make the children parties respondent and appoint a guardian ad litem to advocate and protect their rights and welfare.
WV Code § 48-5-201 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-201. Grounds for Divorce; Irreconcilable Differences

§48-5-201. Grounds for divorce; irreconcilable differences.The court may order a divorce if the complaint alleges that irreconcilable differences exist between the parties and an answer is filed admitting that allegation. A complaint alleging irreconcilable differences shall set forth the names of any dependent children of either or both of the parties. A divorce on this ground does not require corroboration of the irreconcilable differences or of the issues of jurisdiction or venue. The court may approve, modify or reject any agreement of the parties and make orders concerning spousal support, custodial responsibility, child support, visitation rights or property interests.
WV Code § 48-5-202 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-202. Grounds for Divorce; Voluntary Separation

(a) A divorce may be ordered when the parties have lived separate and apart in separate places of abode without any cohabitation and without interruption for one year. The separation may occur as a result of the voluntary act of one of the parties or the mutual consent of both parties.(b) Allegations of res judicata or recrimination with respect to any other alleged grounds for divorce are not a bar to either party obtaining a divorce on the ground of voluntary separation.(c) When required by the circumstances of a particular case, the court may receive evidence bearing on alleged marital misconduct and may consider issues of fault for the limited purpose of deciding whether spousal support should be awarded. Establishment of fault does not affect the right of either party to obtain a divorce on the ground of voluntary separation.
WV Code § 48-5-203 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-203. Grounds for Divorce; Cruel or Inhuman Treatment

(a) A divorce may be ordered for cruel or inhuman treatment by either party against the other. Cruel or inhuman treatment includes, but is not limited to, the following:(1) Reasonable apprehension of bodily harm;(2) False accusation of adultery or homosexuality; or(3) Conduct or treatment which destroys or tends to destroy the mental or physical well-being, happiness and welfare of the other and render continued cohabitation unsafe or unendurable.(b) It is not necessary to allege or prove acts of physical violence in order to establish cruel and inhuman treatment as a ground for divorce.
WV Code § 48-5-204 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-204. Grounds for Divorce; Adultery

A divorce may be ordered for adultery. Adultery is the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married man or woman with a person other than the offender's wife or husband. The burden is on the party seeking the divorce to prove the alleged adultery by clear and convincing evidence.
WV Code § 48-5-205 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-205. Grounds for Divorce; Conviction of Crime

A divorce may be ordered when either of the parties subsequent to the marriage has, in or out of this state, been convicted for the commission of a crime that is a felony and, the conviction is final.
WV Code § 48-5-206 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-206. Grounds for Divorce; Permanent and Incurable Insanity

(a) A divorce may be ordered for permanent and incurable insanity, only if the person is permanently and incurably insane and has been confined in a mental hospital or other similar institution for a period of not less than three consecutive years next preceding the filing of the complaint and the court has heard competent medical testimony that such insanity is permanently incurable.(b) A court granting a divorce on this grounds may in its discretion order support and maintenance for the permanently incurably insane party by the other.(c) In an action for divorce or annulment, where the petitioner is permanently incurably insane, the respondent shall not enter a plea of recrimination based upon the insanity of the petitioner.
WV Code § 48-5-207 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-207. Grounds for Divorce; Habitual Drunkenness or Drug Addiction

(a) A divorce may be ordered for habitual drunkenness of either party subsequent to the marriage.(b) A divorce may be ordered for the addiction of either party, subsequent to the marriage, to the habitual use of any narcotic or dangerous drug defined in this code.
WV Code § 48-5-208 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-208. Grounds for Divorce; Desertion

A divorce may be ordered to the party abandoned, when either party willfully abandons or deserts the other for six months.
WV Code § 48-5-209 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-209. Grounds for Divorce; Abuse or Neglect of a Child

(a) A divorce may be ordered for abuse or neglect of a child of the parties or of one of the parties, "abuse" meaning any physical or mental injury inflicted on such child including, but not limited to, sexual molestation; and "neglect" is willful failure to provide, by a party who has legal responsibility for such child, the necessary support, education as required by law, or medical, surgical or other care necessary for the well-being of such child. (b) A divorce shall not be granted on this ground except upon clear and convincing evidence sufficient to justify permanently depriving the offending party of any allocation of custodial responsibility for the abused or neglected child.
WV Code § 48-5-301 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-301. When a Divorce Not to Be Granted

§48-5-301. When a divorce not to be granted.No divorce for adultery shall be granted on the uncorroborated testimony of a prostitute, or a particeps criminis, or when it appears that the parties voluntarily cohabited after the knowledge of the adultery, or that it occurred more than three years before the institution of the action; nor shall a divorce be granted for any cause when it appears that the offense charged has been condoned, or was committed by the procurement or connivance of the plaintiff, or that the plaintiff has, within three years before the institution of action, been guilty of adultery not condoned, but such exception shall not be applicable to causes of action brought pursuant to sections 5-201 and 5-202 of this chapter. The defense of collusion shall not be pleaded as a bar to a divorce.
WV Code § 48-5-401 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-401. Verification of Pleadings

§48-5-401. Verification of pleadings.All pleadings in a divorce action must be verified by the party in whose name they are filed.
WV Code § 48-5-402 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-402. Petition for Divorce

§48-5-402. Petition for divorce.(a) An action for divorce is instituted by a verified petition and the formal style and the caption for all pleadings is "In Re the marriage of ________ and ________". The parties shall be identified in all pleadings as "petitioner" and "respondent".(b) The petition must set forth the ground or grounds for divorce. It is not necessary to allege the facts constituting a ground relied on and a petition or counter-petition is sufficient if a ground for divorce is alleged in the language of the statute as set forth in this article. The court has the discretionary authority to grant a motion to require a more definite and certain statement, set forth in ordinary and concise language, alleging facts and not conclusions of law.(c) If the jurisdiction of the court to grant a divorce depends upon the existence of certain facts, including, but not limited to, facts showing domicil or domicil for a certain length of time, the petition must allege those facts. It is not necessary that allegations showing requisite domicil be in the language of the statute, but they should conform substantially thereto so that everything material to the fact of requisite domicil can be ascertained therefrom.(d) A petition shall not be taken for confessed and whether the respondent answers or not, the case shall be tried and heard independently of the admissions of either party in the pleadings or otherwise. No judgment order shall be granted on the uncorroborated testimony of the parties or either of them, except for a proceeding in which the grounds for divorce are irreconcilable differences.(e) The Supreme Court of Appeals shall develop and provide forms for petitions filed pursuant to this section and for answers filed pursuant to section 5-403. The forms shall be made available for distribution in the offices of the clerks of the circuit courts and in the offices of the secretary-clerks to the family court judges.
WV Code § 48-5-403 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-403. Answer to Petition

(a) The responsive pleading to a petition for divorce is denominated an answer. The form and requisites for an answer to a petition for divorce are governed by the rules of civil procedure.(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, an allegedly guilty party who relies upon an affirmative defense must assert such defense by both pleadings and proof. Affirmative defenses include, but are not limited to, condonation, connivance, collusion, recrimination, insanity and lapse of time.(c) In an action in which a party seeks a divorce based on an allegation that the parties have lived separate and apart in separate places of abode without any cohabitation and without interruption for one year, the affirmative defenses, including, but not limited to, condonation, connivance, collusion, recrimination, insanity and lapse of time, shall not be raised.
WV Code § 48-5-404 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-404. Advance Filing of Divorce Petition in Actions Alleging Abandonment or Voluntary Separation

(a) At any time after the parties to a marriage have lived separate and apart in separate places of abode without any cohabitation or after a party is abandoned or deserted, either party living separate and apart or the party abandoned may apply for temporary relief in accordance with the provisions of part 5 of this article by instituting an action for divorce alleging that the petitioner reasonably believes that the period of living separate and apart or of abandonment will continue for the periods prescribed by the applicable provisions of sections 5-202 and 5-208.(b) If the period of abandonment or living separate and apart continues for the period prescribed by the applicable provisions of sections 5-202 and 5-208, the divorce action may proceed to a final hearing without a new petition being filed.(c) The petitioner shall give the respondent at least twenty days' notice of the time, place and purpose of the final hearing, unless the respondent files a verified waiver of notice of further proceedings. If the notice is required to be served, it must be served in the same manner as original process under rule 4(d) of the rules of civil procedure, regardless of whether the respondent has appeared or answered.
WV Code § 48-5-405 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-405. Amendments to Pleadings

Amendments to pleadings in an action for divorce are permitted upon the same general considerations which govern the practice in other proceedings, and are properly allowed for the purpose of making the allegations of the pleading more definite and certain, of asserting an essential allegation which has been omitted, or of including allegations of misconduct committed subsequent to the commencement of the action.
WV Code § 48-5-501 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-501. Relief That May Be Included in Temporary Order of Divorce

OF ACTION FOR DIVORCE.§48-5-501. Relief that may be included in temporary order of divorce.At the time of the filing of the complaint or at any time after the commencement of an action for divorce under the provisions of this article and upon motion for temporary relief, notice of hearing and hearing, the court may order all or any portion of the following temporary relief described in this part 5, to govern the marital rights and obligations of the parties during the pendency of the action.
WV Code § 48-5-502 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-502. Temporary Spousal Support

The court may require either party to pay temporary spousal support in the form of periodic installments, or a lump sum, or both, for the maintenance of the other party.
WV Code § 48-5-503 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-503. Temporary Parenting Order; Child Support

(a) The court shall enter a temporary parenting order in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-203 and 9-204 of this chapter that incorporates a temporary parenting plan.(b) When the action involves a minor child or children, the court shall require either party to pay temporary child support in the form of periodic installments for the maintenance of the minor children of the parties.(c) When the action involves a minor child or children, the court shall provide for medical support for any minor children.
WV Code § 48-5-504 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-504. Attorney's Fees and Court Costs

(a) The court may compel either party to pay attorney's fees and court costs reasonably necessary to enable the other party to prosecute or defend the action. The question of whether or not a party is entitled to temporary spousal support is not decisive of that party's right to a reasonable allowance of attorney's fees and court costs.(b) An order for temporary relief awarding attorney fees and court costs may be modified at any time during the pendency of the action, as the exigencies of the case or equity and justice may require, including, but not limited to, a modification which would require full or partial repayment of fees and costs by a party to the action to whom or on whose behalf payment of fees and costs was previously ordered. If an appeal is taken or an intention to appeal is stated, the court may further order either party to pay attorney fees and costs on appeal.(c) If it appears to the court that a party has incurred attorney fees and costs unnecessarily because the opposing party has asserted unfounded claims or defenses for vexatious, wanton or oppressive purposes, thereby delaying or diverting attention from valid claims or defenses asserted in good faith, the court may order the offending party, or his or her attorney, or both, to pay reasonable attorney fees and costs to the other party.
WV Code § 48-5-505 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 48. Domestic Relations|Article 5. Divorce|§48-5-505. Costs of Health Care and Hospitalization

As an incident to requiring the payment of temporary spousal support, the court may order either party to continue in effect existing policies of insurance covering the costs of health care and hospitalization of the other party. If there is no such existing policy or policies, the court may order that such health care insurance coverage be paid for by a party if the court determines that such health care coverage is available to that party at a reasonable cost. Payments made to an insurer pursuant to this subdivision, either directly or by a deduction from wages, may be deemed to be temporary spousal support.