{"data":{"id":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-48-9-102","jurisdiction":"us-wv","citation":"W. Va. Code § 48-9-102","heading":"Objectives; best interests of the child.","body":"(a) The primary objective of this article is to serve the child’s best interests, by facilitating:\n(1) Stability of the child;\n(2) Parental planning and agreement about the child’s custodial arrangements and upbringing;\n(3) Continuity of existing parent-child attachments;\n(4) Meaningful contact between a child and each parent;\n(5) Caretaking and parenting relationships by adults who love the child, know how to provide for the child’s needs, and who place a high priority on doing so;\n(6) Security from exposure to physical or emotional harm;\n(7) Expeditious, predictable decisionmaking, and avoidance of prolonged uncertainty respecting arrangements for the child’s care and control; and\n(8) Meaningful contact between a child and his or her siblings, including half-siblings and step-siblings when the child has an established bond with the step-sibling and the step-sibling lives at least part-time with the biological parent.\n(b) A secondary objective of this article is to achieve fairness between the parents.","path":["CHAPTER 48. DOMESTIC RELATIONS.","ARTICLE 9. ALLOCATION OF CUSTODIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND DECISION-MAKING RESPONSIBILITY OF CHILDREN."],"source_url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-9-102/","current_through":"as of 2026-08-03; contains at least the enactments of the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-06T00:30:22Z","sha256":"0d882dc368c3b6f294ea3c0ceb23754ca83c8525a758111bc0aa6724e5e6b1fd","source_id":"us-wv","stale":true,"prev":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-48-9-101","next":"us-wv/w.-va.-code-48-9-102a"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}