Chapter 48, Chapter 48

(a) This article shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this article among states enacting it. (b) This article applies to premarital agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023.

As used in this article: (a) "Premarital agreement" means an agreement between prospective spouses made in contemplation of marriage and to be effective upon marriage and includes the definition of the term prenuptial agreement as set forth in §48-1-203 of this code. (b) "Propert…

(a) This chapter sets forth the "West Virginia Domestic Relations Act." (b) The recodification of this chapter during the regular session of the Legislature in the year 2001 is intended to embrace in a revised, consolidated, and codified form and arrangement the laws of the State…

In recodifying the domestic relations law of this state during the regular session of the Legislature in the year 2001 through the passage of House Bill 2199 it is intended by the Legislature that each specific reenactment of a substantively similar prior statutory provision will…

The amendment and reenactment of chapter forty-eight of this code and the repeal of chapters forty-eight-a, forty-eight-b and forty-eight-c of this code pursuant to the provisions of Enrolled Committee Substitute for House Bill No. 2199, as enacted by the Legislature during the r…

The Department of Human Services is not required to change any form or letter that contains a citation to this code that is changed or otherwise affected by the recodification of this chapter.

This article may be cited as the "Uniform Premarital Agreement Act."

For the purposes of this chapter the words or terms defined in this article, and any variation of those words or terms required by the context, have the meanings ascribed to them in this article. These definitions are applicable unless a different meaning clearly appears from the…

A premarital agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties and contain an acknowledgement that both parties have had an opportunity to consult with separate legal counsel. It is enforceable without consideration.

(a) "Adjusted gross income" means gross income less the payment of previously ordered child support, spousal support or separate maintenance. (b) A further deduction from gross income for additional dependents may be allowed by the court if the parent has legal dependents other t…

"Antenuptial agreement" or "prenuptial agreement" means an agreement between a man and woman before marriage, but in contemplation and generally in consideration of marriage, by which the property rights and interests of the prospective husband and wife, or both of them, are dete…

"Arrearages" or "past due support" means the total of any matured, unpaid installments of child support required to be paid by an order entered or modified by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by the order of a magistrate court of this state, and shall stand, by operation of …

(a) "Attributed income" means income not actually earned by a parent, but which may be attributed to the parent because he or she is unemployed, is not working full time, or is working below full earning capacity, or has nonperforming or underperforming assets. Income may be attr…

"Automatic data processing and retrieval system" means a computerized data processing system designed to do the following: (1) To control, account for and monitor all of the factors in the support enforcement collection and paternity determination process, including, but not limi…

"Basic child support obligation" means the base amount of child support due by both parents as determined by the table of basic child support obligations set forth in section 13-301 of this chapter, based upon the combined adjusted gross income of the parents and the number of ch…

"Bureau for child support enforcement" means the agency created under the provisions of article eighteen of this chapter, or any public or private entity or agency contracting to provide a service. The "Bureau for Child Support enforcement" is that agency intended by the Legislat…

"Bureau for child support enforcement attorney" means those persons or agencies or entities providing services under the direction of or pursuant to a contract with the Bureau for Child Support enforcement as provided in article eighteen of this chapter.

(a) "Caretaker" means a person who performs one or more caretaking functions for a child. The term "caretaking functions" means activities that involve interaction with a child and the care of a child. Caretaking functions also include the supervision and direction of interaction…

"Chief judge" means the circuit judge of the circuit court in a judicial circuit that has only one circuit judge, or the chief judge of the circuit court in a judicial circuit that has two or more circuit judges.

"Clergy" includes a minister, priest, rabbi or other clergy who has qualified as such before the county commission or the clerk of the county commission as provided for in section 2-402 of this chapter.

"Combined adjusted gross income" means the combined monthly adjusted gross incomes of both parents.

" Commissioner" means any person appointed pursuant to section 18-102, who directs all child support establishment and enforcement services for the Bureau for Child Support enforcement.

(a) "Contingent fee agreement" means a contract under which an attorney may be compensated for work in progress, dependent on the occurrence of some future event which is not certain and absolute. As such, a contingent fee agreement is not an asset, but is potential income or inc…

"Court" means a family court of this state unless the context in which such term is used clearly indicates that reference to some other court is intended.

"Court of competent jurisdiction" means a circuit court or family court within this state or a court or administrative agency of another state having jurisdiction and due legal authority to deal with the subject matter of the establishment and enforcement of support obligations. …

"Custodial parent" or "custodial parent of a child" means a parent who has been granted custody of a child by a court of competent jurisdiction. "Noncustodial parent" means a parent of a child with respect to whom custody has been adjudicated with the result that such parent has …

"Custodial responsibility" refers to physical custodianship and supervision of a child. It usually includes, but does not necessarily require, the exercise of residential or overnight responsibility.

“Decision-making responsibility” refers to authority for making significant life decisions on behalf of a child, including, but not limited to, the child’s education, spiritual guidance and health care: Provided, That with regard to healthcare, both parents in any shared parentin…

"Divorce" means the judicial termination of a marriage contract. The termination of a marriage contract must be based on misconduct or other statutory cause arising after the marriage. A divorce is established by the order of a family court or circuit court that changes the statu…

"Domestic relations action" means an action: (1) To obtain a divorce; (2) To have a marriage annulled; (3) To be granted separate maintenance; (4) To establish paternity; (5) To establish and enforce child or spousal support, including actions brought under the provisions of the …

"Earnings" means compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and includes periodic payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program. "Disposable earnings" means that part of the earnings of any ind…

"Employer" means any individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, association, public or private corporation, the United States or any federal agency, this state or any political subdivision of this state, any other state or a political subdivision of another state and any other…

"Extraordinary medical expenses" means uninsured medical expenses in excess of $250 per year per child which are recurring and can reasonably be predicted by the court at the time of establishment or modification of a child support order. Such expenses shall include, but not be l…

"Family court judge" means a family court judge appointed or elected and authorized to hear certain domestic relations actions as provided in article two-a, chapter fifty-one of this code.

"Final divorce order" or "final annulment order" means an order that grants or denies the judicial termination of a marriage contract.

(a) "Gross income" means all earned and unearned income. The word "income" means gross income unless the word is otherwise qualified or unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context. When determining whether an income source should be included in the child support c…

"Guardian of the property of a child" means a person lawfully invested with the power, and charged with the duty, of managing and controlling the estate of a child.

"Income" includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) Commissions, earnings, salaries, wages and other income due or to be due in the future to an individual from his or her employer and successor employers; (2) Any payment due or to be due in the future to an individual f…

(a) "Individual entitled to support enforcement services under the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act" means: (1) An individual who has applied for or is receiving services from the Bureau for Child Support enforcement a…

"Legal parent" means an individual defined as a parent, by law, on the basis of biological relationship, presumed biological relationship, legal adoption or other recognized grounds.

"Marital property" means: (1) All property and earnings acquired by either spouse during a marriage, including every valuable right and interest, corporeal or incorporeal, tangible or intangible, real or personal, regardless of the form of ownership, whether legal or beneficial, …

"Obligee" means: (1) An individual to whom a duty of support is or is alleged to be owed or in whose favor a support order has been issued or a judgment determining parentage has been rendered; (2) A state or political subdivision to which the rights under a duty of support or su…

"Obligor" means an individual or the estate of a decedent: (1) Who owes or is alleged to owe a duty of support; (2) Who is alleged, but has not been adjudicated, to be a parent of a child; or (3) Who is liable under a support order.

"Secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Human Services.

"Separate property" means: (1) Property acquired by a person before marriage; (2) Property acquired by a person during marriage in exchange for separate property which was acquired before the marriage; (3) Property acquired by a person during marriage, but excluded from treatment…

"Separation" or "separation of the parties" means the uninterrupted separation of a husband and wife for some continuous period of time during which they do not cohabit or otherwise live together as husband and wife. When a separation is required as a predicate for filing an acti…

(a) “Shared parenting” means either basic shared parenting or extended shared parenting. (b) “Basic shared parenting” means an arrangement under which one parent keeps a child or children overnight for less than 35 percent of the year and under which both parents contribute to th…

“Shared legal custody” means a continued mutual responsibility and involvement by both parents in major decisions regarding the child’s welfare including matters of education, medical care, and emotional, moral, and religious development consistent with the provisions of §48-9-20…

“Sole legal custody” means that one parent has the right and responsibility to make major decisions regarding the child’s welfare including matters of education, non-emergency medical care, and emotional, moral, and religious development.

"Source of income" means an employer or successor employer or any other person who owes or will owe income to an obligor.