Divorces end valid marriages; annulments end a marriage that should never have been valid from the beginning. However, the court can still adjudicate issues, such as child custody, visitation, child support, alimony, and property division, and children from annulled marriages still have the right to financial support and inheritance.

The West Virginia Code 48-2-301-302 and 48-3-101-107 describes the state’s laws on annulment.

A party must prove a legal ground to annul a marriage in West Virginia. The grounds for annulment include:

These conditions apply to these legal grounds:

The filing spouse is the plaintiff or petitioner; the other spouse is the defendant or respondent. The petitioner needs to have lived in West Virginia for at least one year or have married in the state.

The petitioner files a Complaint for Annulment in the county family court where one or the other of the spouses lives, or where they last lived together.

The petition includes the spouses’ names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, the names of any children, their dates of birth, and residence, the place and date of marriage, and the last place they resided together. It also lists the grounds for annulment, and it includes any desired relief, such as child custody, visitation, child support, alimony, and property division.

After filing the complaint, the respondent must be served a copy of the annulment papers. The court clerk’s office knows the options for service, which may be done even if respondent lives out of state or cannot be found.

After service, the family court schedules a hearing to hear the plaintiff’s argument for annulment. At the hearing, he or she can bring any evidence and witnesses to prove the argument. If the judge agrees, he or she grants the annulment.