West Virginia Code 16-5-36 – Registration of divorces and annulments of marriages
(a) On and after July 1, 2006, a record of each divorce or annulment ordered by any court of competent jurisdiction in this state shall be filed by the clerk of the court with the section of vital statistics, and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section. The record shall be prepared by the petitioner or his or her legal representative in the form prescribed or furnished by the state Registrar and shall be presented to the clerk of the court with the petition.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5-36
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Vital statistics: means the data derived from certificates and reports of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, annulment and related records and reports. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
(b) The clerk of the court shall complete and certify each record. On or before the tenth day of each calendar month, the clerk shall forward to the section of vital statistics the records of each divorce or annulment order entered during the preceding calendar month.
(c) Failure of the clerk of the court to comply with the provisions of this section does not affect the validity of any order of divorce or annulment of marriage.
(d) The State Registrar shall preserve and index all records received under provisions of this section and shall upon request issue certified copies of the records, which shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated in the certified copies in all courts in this state.