Family court reform
West Virginia
Where West Virginia stands on each reform BMD tracks. General information, not legal advice.
Equal parenting time presumption
Passed
Makes an equal, or approximately equal, parenting-time schedule the legal starting point in a custody case. The presumption is rebuttable, and a court that orders something else has to say why.
Bill: SB 463 (2022)
Statute: W. Va. Code 48-9-206(a)
Equal (50-50) allocation of custodial time is presumed unless the parents agree otherwise or the family court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that it would be harmful to the child.
Source: official bill or statute page
Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Deployed-parent custody protection
Passed
Enacts the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act: a military deployment by itself is not a reason to change custody, orders made for the deployment are temporary and end with it, and a deploying parent may delegate parenting time.
Bill: HB 2479 (2017), Chapter 66 of the Acts of the 2017 Regular Session
Statute: W. Va. Code 48-31-101 et seq.
Added article 48-31-101 through 48-31-503 adopting the uniform act. Confirmed against the enrolled bill, not only the summary list.
Source: official bill or statute page
Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Parenting time interference remedies
No bill yet
Gives a parent denied court-ordered parenting time a real remedy - make-up or compensatory time, costs, or a penalty - rather than leaving contempt as the only route.
No bill of this kind is cited for West Virginia at the last review.
Reviewed 2026-10-13.