Family Court SidekickYour next clear step
State guide · WV

West Virginia Family Court: Custody and Parenting-Time Guide

Plain-language West Virginia information for a custody or parenting-time route, including filing, official forms, free help, fee waivers, and legal-cost context.

Last reviewed:

This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. State law, court rules, forms, and local procedures can change. Confirm current requirements with the court handling the case.

State laws, court rules, and forms can change. Automated link checks will run every week once the monitoring job is deployed. Please check each cited source before relying on it. Report a broken link or changed law.

Find the right family court

The custody or parenting-time route described in this guide is handled through the West Virginia Family Courts. Other family-law matters can follow a different court or procedure.

Find the court for your area.

  • West Virginia Judiciary states that Family Courts have jurisdiction over child-custody and family-support proceedings, subject to the stated abuse-and-neglect exception.Sources:Family Court Jurisdiction

How West Virginia courts decide custody

West Virginia's permanent-parenting-plan statute requires a proposed parenting plan in a judicial allocation of custodial or decision-making responsibility.Sources:48-9-205 Permanent Parenting Plan

  • The statute describes a final parenting plan as including living arrangements, custodial responsibility, and allocation of significant decision-making responsibility.Sources:48-9-205 Permanent Parenting Plan

Key legal sources

Parenting time

West Virginia's parenting-plan statute requires a custodial schedule or enforceable method for determining the schedule in a court-ordered plan.Sources:48-9-205 Permanent Parenting Plan

  • The statute says a court-ordered plan includes a provision for resolving plan disputes and provisions for child financial support.Sources:48-9-205 Permanent Parenting Plan

Key legal sources

How to file

This draft is limited to an initial West Virginia Family Court petition for support and allocation of custodial responsibility, using the May 2024 SCA-FC-260 packet instructions. It excludes divorce, modification, enforcement, emergency, protection-order, nonparent, adoption, guardianship, child-abuse-and-neglect, relocation, and interstate matters.Sources:SCA-FC-260 Instructions for Petition for Support and Allocation of Custodial Responsibility, Family Court Jurisdiction

  1. Confirm the support and allocation route fits

    The official instructions describe a packet for seeking custodial responsibility for a child and or requiring another person to help support a child in Family Court. Confirm the listed exclusions and county-specific filing practice before using this narrow route.Sources:SCA-FC-260 Instructions for Petition for Support and Allocation of Custodial Responsibility

  2. Prepare the packet materials identified in the instructions

    The packet instructions identify a Petition, BCSE application and income-withholding form, Financial Statement, Civil Case Information Statement, and Certificate of Service. The instructions later identify a proposed parenting plan; retain every case-specific condition rather than treating the list as a complete local packet.Sources:SCA-FC-260 Instructions for Petition for Support and Allocation of Custodial Responsibility

  3. File with the Circuit Clerk and preserve service distinctions

    The instructions say to take completed forms to the Circuit Clerk's Office to file and arrange service. After service, they direct the petitioner to file the financial statement with supporting records and the proposed parenting plan, and say Parent Education must be completed. They describe sheriff, private-process-server, and certified-mail options; a private process server must be at least 18, cannot be a party, and must file a service affidavit without delay. Confirm local clerk logistics before filing.Sources:SCA-FC-260 Instructions for Petition for Support and Allocation of Custodial Responsibility

Official forms

Open the official forms portal.

  • The West Virginia Judiciary Family Court forms index currently lists SCA-FC-260 instructions, SCA-FC-261 Petition for Support and or Allocation of Custodial Responsibility, and SCA-FC-121 Parenting Plan. It is a statewide inventory, not proof of a complete county packet.Sources:Family Court Forms

Free court self-help

Find court self-help near you.

  • Legal Aid of West Virginia

    Area served: West Virginia

    Provides family and safety legal-information topics including child custody and parenting plans.Sources:Legal Aid WV

    Eligibility: Confirm current family-law eligibility, geographic coverage, and capacity directly with the provider.

  • Legal Aid WV Guided Self Help Forms

    Area served: West Virginia

    Provides guided self-help information for West Virginia divorce and custody forms and links to Supreme Court forms.Sources:Guided Self Help Forms

    Eligibility: The provider's guided tools do not establish representation or eligibility; confirm current availability directly.

Fee waivers

West Virginia Judiciary says its fee-waiver forms can be used in Family Court and links to guidelines effective January 1, 2025.Sources:Fee Waiver Forms

Who may qualify

What to do

  1. Ask the Circuit Clerk for the current fee-waiver affidavit if it applies

    The packet instructions direct a person who cannot afford fees to request an affidavit from a Deputy Circuit Clerk. The statewide fee-waiver index confirms that Family Court may use fee-waiver forms; confirm the current form and county procedure before filing.Sources:SCA-FC-260 Instructions for Petition for Support and Allocation of Custodial Responsibility, Fee Waiver Forms

Key statute or rule

Attorney cost benchmark

Lawyer fees vary by county, experience, services, and the facts of a case. This state benchmark is context for planning, not a quote.

State and local details to confirm

Part of Family Law in Your State.