West Virginia Parenting Plan
West Virginia allocates custodial responsibility in rough proportion to the caretaking each parent performed before the separation, which makes an honest description of the previous routine important.
- Document
- Parenting plan
- Court
- Family Court
- Decision-making called
- Decision-making responsibility
- Parenting time called
- Custodial responsibility
Build your West Virginia residential schedule
Choose a pattern and get the exact overnight counts your parenting plan needs to state.
Schedule pattern
50/50Each parent keeps the same two weekdays every week and the weekends alternate, producing a repeating 2-2-5-5 night pattern.
January 2026
January 2026
- Parent A
- Parent B
Tap any night to switch parents.
A parenting plan is the written document that tells the Family Court, and, afterwards, both households, where your children are on each night of the year and who decides what. Once the court signs it, it is an order rather than an agreement.
West Virginia uses the term custodial responsibility for the time the children spend with each parent, and decision-making responsibility for the authority to make major decisions. Drafting in the state's own vocabulary avoids questions at filing and makes the plan easier for the court to read.
What a West Virginia plan needs to cover
Residential schedule
Which parent the children are with on every night of the year, including how the regular rotation works and when it starts.
Holidays and school breaks
How Thanksgiving, the winter holidays, spring break, summer and each child's birthday are divided, and how the rotation alternates between years.
Exchanges and transportation
Where exchanges happen, at what time, who does the driving, and what happens when someone is running late.
Decision-making
Who decides on education, medical care, religion and activities: jointly, or with one parent having the final say in specific areas.
Communication
How the parents contact each other, how each parent contacts the children during the other's time, and what counts as an emergency.
Changes and disputes
How the parenting plan gets changed later, notice periods for relocation, and what the parents will try before returning to court.
Filing in West Virginia
Custody and custodial responsibility matters in West Virginia are heard in the Family Court. Forms, filing fees, mediation requirements and local rules differ between counties, and they change, so confirm the current requirements with the court where you are filing before you prepare anything final.
Choosing a schedule that works in West Virginia
The schedule is the part of the plan you will actually live with, and the part every other section depends on. Start from your children's ages and the distance between the two homes, then pick the pattern that fits both.