reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-11. Disclaimer of Power Held in Fiduciary Capacity

(a) If a fiduciary disclaims a power held in a fiduciary capacity which has not been exercised, the disclaimer takes effect as of the time the instrument creating the power becomes irrevocable.
(b) If a fiduciary disclaims a power held in a fiduciary capacity which has been exercised, the disclaimer takes effect immediately after the last exercise of the power.
(c) A disclaimer under this section is effective as to another fiduciary if the disclaimer so provides and the fiduciary disclaiming has the authority to bind the estate, trust or other person for whom the fiduciary is acting.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-13. When Disclaimer Barred or Limited

(a) A disclaimer is barred by a written waiver of the right to disclaim.
(b) A disclaimer of an interest in property is barred if any of the following events occur before the disclaimer becomes effective:
(1) The disclaimant accepts the interest sought to be disclaimed;
(2) The disclaimant voluntarily assigns, conveys, encumbers, pledges or transfers the interest sought to be disclaimed or contracts to do so; or
(3) A judicial sale of the interest sought to be disclaimed occurs.
(c) A disclaimer, in whole or part, of the future exercise of a power held in a fiduciary capacity is not barred by its previous exercise.
(d) A disclaimer, in whole or part, of the future exercise of a power not held in a fiduciary capacity is not barred by its previous exercise unless the power is exercisable in favor of the disclaimant.
(e) A disclaimer of a power over property which is barred by this section is ineffective as a disclaimer: Provided, That a disclaimer of an interest in property which is barred by this section takes effect as a transfer or conveyance of the interest disclaimed to the persons who would have taken the interest under this article had the disclaimer not been barred.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-14. Tax Qualified Disclaimer

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, if as a result of a disclaimer or transfer the disclaimed or transferred interest is treated pursuant to the provisions of Title 26 of the United States Code, as now or hereafter amended, or any successor statute thereto, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, as never having been transferred to the disclaimant, then the disclaimer or transfer is effective as a disclaimer under this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-15. Recording of Disclaimers; Failure to Record

(a) A duly executed and acknowledged original or duplicate of the disclaimer may be recorded with the office of the clerk of county commission having jurisdiction to appoint the personal representative of the decedent, in which the trust is located or the trustee resides, in which the person making the beneficiary designation resides, in which the person obligated to distribute the interest resides or in which any of the property or interest disclaimed is located, as the case may be.
(b) If real property or an interest therein is disclaimed, in addition to delivery or filing as provided in section twelve of this article, a fully executed and acknowledged original or duplicate of the disclaimer shall be recorded in the deed books in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county in which the real property or interest therein disclaimed is located.
(c) Failure to record a disclaimer does not affect its validity as between the disclaimant and persons to whom the property interest or power passes by reason of the disclaimer.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-16. Application to Existing Relationships

Except as otherwise provided in section thirteen of this article, an interest in or power over property existing on the effective date of this article as to which the time for delivering, filing or recording a disclaimer under law superseded by this article has not expired may be disclaimed after the effective date of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-18. Severability Clause

If any provision of this article or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this article are severable.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 43. Dower and Valuation of Life Estates › Article 1. Dower › §43-1-2. Notice of Conveyance

(a) For purposes of this section, "conveyance" means a dispositive act intended to create a property interest in land and includes the creation of a security interest in real estate.
(b) Any married person who conveys an interest in real estate shall notify his or her spouse prior to or within thirty days of the time of the conveyance if the conveyance involves an interest in real estate to which dower would have attached if the conveyance had been made prior to the date of enactment of this statute.
(c) A person making a conveyance described in the previous sections shall have the burden of proof to show compliance with this section. Such burden shall be met either by:
(1) The signature of the spouse of the conveying party on the conveyance instrument; or
(2) Such other forms of competent evidence as are admissible in a court of general jurisdiction in this state under the rules of evidence.
(d) When a married person fails to comply with the notification requirements of this section, then in the event of a subsequent divorce within five years of said conveyance, the value of the real estate conveyed, as determined at the time of the conveyance, shall be deemed a part of the conveyancer's marital property for purposes of determining equitable distribution or awards of support, notwithstanding that any consideration for said interest in the real estate may already be included in the marital property.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a lien or claim against the interest in real estate conveyed in violations of this provision.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 43. Dower and Valuation of Life Estates › Article 2. Valuation of Life Estates › §43-2-2. Rule of Calculation

Calculate the interest at five and six-tenths percent upon the sum to the income of which or upon the value of the property to the use of which the person is entitled. Multiply this interest by the present value of an annuity of $1 as set opposite the person's age in the table and the product is the gross value of the life estate of such person therein.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 43. Dower and Valuation of Life Estates › Article 2. Valuation of Life Estates › §43-2-3. Examples

Suppose a person whose age is fifty is tenant for life in the whole of an estate worth $18,000. The annual interest on that sum at five and six-tenths percent is $1,008. The present value of an annuity of $1 at the age of fifty, as appears by the table in the annuity column, is $13.3158, which multiplied by $1,008, the amount of the annual interest, gives $13,422.33 as the gross value of such life estate in the premises or the proceeds thereof.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-1. Executor Has No Powers Before Qualifying

A person appointed to be the executor of a will shall not have the powers of executor until he or she qualifies by taking an oath and giving bond, unless not required to post bond by 44-1-8 of this code, which shall then be admitted to the records of the clerk of the county in which the will, or an authenticated copy thereof, is admitted to record, except that he or she may provide for the burial of the testator, pay reasonable funeral expenses, and preserve the estate from waste.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-2. Administration With Will Annexed

If there be no executor appointed by the will, or if all the executors therein named refuse the executorship, or fail when required to give such bond, which shall amount to such refusal, or have died, such court, or clerk thereof during the recess of the regular sessions of such court, may grant administration, with the will annexed, to the person who would have been entitled to administration if there had been no will, and he shall take such oath and give such bond.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-3. Oath of Executor or Administrator With Will Annexed

The oath of an executor, or of an administrator with the will annexed, shall be in substantially the following form: The writing admitted to record contains the true last will and testament of the deceased, as far as he or she knows or believes, and that he or she will faithfully perform the duties of his or her office to the best of his or her skill and judgment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-5. When Curator May Be Appointed; His Duties

The county court, or clerk thereof during the recess of the regular sessions of such court, may appoint a curator of the estate of a decedent, during a contest about his will, or during the infancy or in the absence of an executor, or until administration of the estate be granted, taking from him a bond in a reasonable penalty. The curator shall take care that the estate is not wasted before the qualification of an executor or administrator, or before such estate shall lawfully come into possession of such executor or administrator. He may demand, sue for, recover, and receive all debts due to the decedent, and all his other personal estate, and when there is a will may, or if a will be in contest shall, with respect to any real estate whereof the decedent or testator may have died seized or possessed, exercise such rights as the executor or administrator with the will annexed could exercise, including the collection of any rents and profits of such real estate and the leasing of the same for a term not exceeding the period of the curator’s incumbency. Upon the qualification of an executor or administrator, such curator shall account with the executor or administrator for, and pay over to him such estate as came into such curator’s hands or for which he is liable.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-6. Bond and Oath; Termination of Grant in Certain Cases

At the time of the grant of administration upon the estate of any intestate, the person to whom it is granted shall, in the county commission or before the clerk granting it, give bond, unless not required to post bond by 44-1-8 of this code, and take an oath in substantially the following form: The deceased has left no will so far as he or she knows, and that he or she will faithfully perform the duties of the office to the best of his or her judgment. If a will of the deceased be afterwards admitted to record, or if, after administration is granted to a creditor or other person than a distributee, any distributee who shall not have before refused shall apply for administration, there may be a grant of probate or administration, after reasonable notice to such creditor or other person theretofore appointed, in like manner as if the former grant had not been made, and such former grant shall thereupon cease.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-7. Penalty of Bond

(a) Every bond required to be given by an executor or administrator shall be in a penalty equal, at the least, to the full value of the personal estate of the deceased to be administered; and where there is a will which authorizes the executor or administrator to sell real estate, or receive the rents and profits thereof, the bond shall be in a penalty equal, at the least, to the full value both of such personal estate and of such real estate, or of such personal estate and of such rents and profits, as the case may be.
(b) If on the filing of the appraisement of the estate it shall appear that the penalty of the bond does not comply as to amount with the foregoing requirements, the county commission in which, or the clerk before whom, such bond was given, shall immediately notify such executor or administrator of such fact and require of him or her a new or additional bond, and the failure of such executor or administrator to give the same within a reasonable time shall be sufficient cause for his or her removal.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-8. When Executor or Administrator Not to Give Bond; When Surety Not Required

(a) Subject to the provisions of section three, article five of this chapter governing the appointment of a nonresident of this state as an executor, where the will directs that an executor shall not give bond, it shall not be required of him or her, unless at the time the will is admitted to probate or at any time subsequently, on the application of any person interested, and after a hearing, it is required by the county commission that bond ought to be given.
(b) No surety shall be required on the bond of the executor if he or she is also the sole beneficiary of the decedent, unless the will directs otherwise, and no surety shall be required on the bond of the administrator if he or she is the sole distributee of the decedent, unless at the time the will is admitted to probate or the administrator is appointed or at any time thereafter, on the application of any person interested, and after a hearing, it is required by the county commission that surety ought to be given.
(c) In all such cases where no surety is required of the executor or administrator, the executor or administrator shall nevertheless be liable upon his or her bond upon his or her own personal recognizance in the event of default, failure or misadministration by the executor or administrator.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-9. Administration De Bonis Non Upon Death, Resignation or Removal of Sole Surviving Executor or Administrator; Executor or Administrator of Executor or Administrator Not Authorized to Administer Estate of First Testator or Intestate

In any estate in which there is a will, on the death, resignation or removal of the sole surviving executor of any such will or of an administrator with the will annexed, administration of the estate of the testator, not already administered, may be granted with the will annexed; and in any estate in which there is no will, on the death, resignation or removal of the administrator of such estate, administration of the estate, not already administered, may be granted, to such person as the court shall find it proper to appoint; and no executor or administrator of an executor or administrator shall have authority as such to administer the estate of the first testator or the first intestate.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-11. When Sheriff to Administer Estate

If at any time two months elapse without there being an executor or administrator of the estate of a decedent (except during a contest about the decedent’s will, or during the infancy or absence of the executor), the court or clerk before whom the will was admitted to probate, or having jurisdiction to grant administration, shall on motion of any person order the sheriff of the county to take into his or her possession the estate of such decedent and administer the same; whereupon such sheriff, without taking any other oath of office, or giving any other bond or security than he or she may have before taken or given, shall be the administrator or administrator de bonis non of the decedent, with his or her will annexed if there be a will, and shall be entitled to all the rights and bound to perform all the duties of the administrator. For his or her services as administrator of an estate, the sheriff shall receive from the estate a fee of five percent of the estate subject to administration, which fee shall be deposited to the treasury of the county. Every sheriff shall, in the month of January in each year, make a written report to the county commission of his or her county, and if the court is not in session, then he or she shall file the report with the clerk of the court, of the receipts and disbursements of each estate so committed to him or her, and at the end of his or her term of office make a complete report and settlement of each estate so committed to him or her, and shall turn over to his or her successor in office all moneys or property in his or her hands remaining unadministered. The court or clerk may, however, at any time afterward revoke such order and allow any other person to qualify as the executor or administrator; and the court, or the clerk thereof, shall, at the expiration of the term of office of any sheriff, commit to his or her successor in office any and all estates which may appear, by the final report above required to be made by the sheriff at the end of his or her term, not to have been fully administered. Every sheriff to whom any estate shall have been committed, as aforesaid, who shall fail to render any report as required herein, or who shall fail to make such settlement within two months after the end of his or her term of office shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than $500.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-12. Letters of Administration

A copy of the order whereby certificate is granted to any personal representative for obtaining probate or letters of administration, shall be as effectual as the probate or letters made out in due form. Nevertheless, the clerk of the court, in which such order is made, shall, when required by any personal representative, make out such probate or letters in due form.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-13. Affidavit Showing Heirs, Distributees, Devisees and Legatees of Decedent

At the time of the qualification of an executor or administrator, the court or clerk before whom he qualifies shall require such executor or administrator to file his own affidavit, or the affidavit of some credible person, showing the names and, as far as possible, the addresses of the persons who would take any part of the estate of the decedent as heirs or distributees in cases of the intestacy of the decedent and of the persons who are devisees and legatees under the will, if any, of the decedent, and their relationship to decedent, and the clerk of the court shall record such affidavit in the fiduciary record, which affidavit and the record thereof shall be prima facie evidence of what is contained therein. The personal representative shall not receive any compensation for his services until such names and addresses be furnished by affidavit as aforesaid, unless he shows by affidavit that such heirs, distributees, devisees and legatees and their addresses are unknown to him and that after diligent inquiry he has been unable to ascertain their names and addresses.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-16. When Administrator De Bonis Non May Administer Assets for Which Former Personal Representative Liable

When the powers of a personal representative have ceased and an administrator de bonis non of the decedent’s estate has been appointed and qualified, it shall be lawful for the personal representative whose powers have ceased, or his personal representative if he shall have died, to pay and deliver to such administrator de bonis non, or for him to demand, receive, and recover the assets of his decedent, whether converted or not, for which such former personal representative is responsible: Provided, however, That the administrator de bonis non shall have given, or shall give, a bond sufficient to cover the additional assets, so to be paid or delivered to him or so to be demanded and received by him The administrator de bonis non shall administer the same as assets received in due course of administration, and his receipt therefor shall be a voucher in the settlement of the accounts of the former personal representative, and shall exempt such former personal representative from all liability for any of such assets paid over and delivered to such administrator de bonis non. But this section shall not be construed as exempting such former personal representative and his sureties from liability for any breach of duty, with respect to such assets, committed by him before they were paid over and delivered by him as aforesaid.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-17. Food and Fuel for Family

The provisions and fuel (or so much thereof as may be necessary) which, at the death of any person, shall have been laid in for consumption in his family, shall remain for the use of such family, if the same be desired by any member of it, without account thereof being made. Any livestock necessary for the food of the family may be killed for that use before the sale or distribution of the estate.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-19. Sale of Goods Likely to Be Impaired in Value

Of the goods not mentioned in the preceding section, other than such as are exempt by any provision of law, the personal representative shall, as soon as convenient, sell at public auction such as are likely to be impaired in value by keeping, giving a reasonable credit (except for small sums), and taking bond with good security.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-20. When to Sell Other Goods

If the goods so sold be not sufficient to pay the funeral expenses, charges of administration, debts and legacies, the personal representative shall sell so much of the other goods and chattels as may be necessary to pay the same, having regard to the privilege of specific legacies.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-23. Actions for Goods Carried Away, Waste or Damage to Estate of or by Decedent

A civil action may be maintained by or against a personal representative for the taking or carrying away of any goods, or for the waste or destruction of, or damage to, any estate of or by his decedent.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-25. Administrator De Bonis Non May Have Scire Facias

Where a suit is pending or a judgment or decree has been rendered in this state in favor of a personal representative, upon a contract made or for a cause of action which accrued in the lifetime of the decedent, the administrator de bonis non of such decedent may sue forth a scire facias to have execution upon such judgment or decree, or to revive and prosecute to judgment or decree the suit so pending, if the personal representative who brought it could have maintained the same.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-27. Not Chargeable Beyond Assets; Pleas Allowed

No personal representative or any surety of his shall be chargeable beyond the assets of the decedent by reason of any omission or mistake in pleading or false pleading of such representative. And in the action allowed by the preceding section the defendants may plead any pleas and offer any evidence which would be admissible in an action against a personal representative suggesting a devastavit.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-29. Authority of Personal Representative Concerning Conservation and Preservation Easements

(a) Subject to the requirements and conditions of subsection (b) of this section, a personal representative, trustee, administrator, or executor of a decedent or a decedents estate is hereby granted the authority to:
(1) Sell a conservation or preservation easement under 8A-12-1
et seq
. of this code or 20-20-1
et seq.
of this code;
(2) Donate a conservation or preservation easement under 8A-12-1
et seq
. of this code or 20-20-1
et seq.
of this code; or
(3) Amend a conservation or preservation easement created prior to the decedents death under 8A-12-1
et seq
. of this code or 20-20-1
et seq.
of this code and recorded on the decedents real property as may be permitted by applicable law and the conservation or preservation easement.
(b) The personal representative, trustee, administrator, or executor shall ensure that the sale, donation, amendment, or transfer, of a conservation or preservation easement complies with the following:
(1) The proposed sale, donation, transfer or amendment satisfies the requirements set forth in the provisions of 20-12-8a of this code, as applicable to the particular easement;
(2) The proposed sale, donation, transfer, or amendment is to a qualified conservation organization or holder and the organization or holder agrees to accept the conservation or preservation easement; and
(3) The sale, donation, transfer, or amendment must meet one of the following conditions:
(A) In the case of an administrator of a decedents intestate estate, all heirs with interests in the real estate affected provide written consent which shall be recorded with the easement; or
(B) In the case of a personal representative or executor of a decedents testate estate, or the trustee of a trust, the will, trust, or other governing instrument authorizes or directs the personal representative, executor, or trustee to sell or donate a conservation or preservation easement; or
(C) The sale, donation, transfer, or amendment of the conservation or preservation easement is authorized pursuant to a legal proceeding in a court of law with jurisdiction over the property.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1. Personal Representatives › §44-1-31. Administration of Oath; Execution of Bond

An oath required in this chapter may be taken before any person authorized to administer oaths under the laws of this state or any other state. A bond may be executed, if not in person before the county clerk, before any person authorized to administer oaths under the laws of this state or any other state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1A. West Virginia Small Estate Act › §44-1A-4. Discharge and Release of Payor; Treatment of Real Estate in a Small Estate

(a) Any person paying or delivering a small asset pursuant to the provisions of this article is discharged and released to the same extent as if that person dealt with the personal representative of the decedent. That person is not required to see the application of the small asset or to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit or the certificate and authorization of a small estate presented under this article.
(b) If any person to whom the certificate and authorization of small estate is presented refuses to pay or deliver any small asset to the authorized successor, the small asset may be recovered, or its payment or delivery compelled, and damages may be recovered, on proof of rightful claim in a proceeding brought for that purpose by or on behalf of the person entitled to the small asset in the magistrate court or circuit court of this state having jurisdiction.
(c) For any real estate or interest in real property of the decedent which is reported on the recorded affidavit provided in this article, the provisions of 44-8-5, 41-5-19 and 41-5-20 of this code shall apply, and any will attached to and tendered with the affidavit shall be deemed to be duly admitted to probate. The authorized successor or a successor or creditor of a decedent in a small estate may within six months of the issuance of the certificate and authorization of small estate commence a proceeding in equity before the circuit court under the provisions of 44-8-7 of this code to subject real estate to the payment of debts when the small assets are insufficient for the payment thereof.
(d) Nothing in this article releases or discharges any claim which a creditor may have against the decedent, the decedents estate, or the assets of the decedent, and creditors of a small estate have the same rights provided under the provisions of 44-2-27 and 44-3A-33 of this code as against distributees and legatees.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 1A. West Virginia Small Estate Act › §44-1A-5. Construction of Article

(a) The remedies provided by this article are in addition to, and not in exclusion of, any other remedies provided by the laws of this state.
(b) For any will attached to and tendered with the affidavit provided in this article, the provisions of 41-5-11 of this code apply in like manner as if the will had been probated by an order of the county commission entered on the date of the issuance of the certificate and authorization of a small estate by the county clerk or fiduciary supervisor.
(c) Nothing in this article may be construed to affect or limit the right of a surviving spouse of a decedent who dies domiciled in this state to his or her elective share as provided in 42-3-1 et seq. of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-4. Mailing of Notice to Creditors, Distributees and Legatees

When the fiduciary commissioner has fixed the time for presentation of claims, the personal representative shall file with such fiduciary commissioner a list of the names and post- office addresses of all known creditors of the estate and of all distributees and legatees, to each of whom the fiduciary commissioner shall cause a copy of such notice to be forwarded by United States mail, addressed according to such list. But failure to mail, or to receive, such notice shall not relieve any creditor, distributee or legatee of the duty to present and prove his claim as required by such notice, nor in any way affect the proceedings pursuant to such notice.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-5. Claims to Be Proved by Vouchers and Affidavits in First Instance

Every claim against the estate of a decedent shall be itemized, verified by affidavit, accompanied by proper vouchers and shall state the character of the claim, whether open account, note, bond, bill, writing obligatory, judgment, decree or other evidence of debt and the amount thereof and from what date and on what items interest runs and at what percent per annum and stating further that the claim is just and true and that the creditor, or any prior owner of the claim, if there was one, has not received any part of the money stated to be due or any security or satisfaction for the same, except what is credited. The voucher for a judgment or decree shall be an abstract thereof; for a specialty, bond, note, bill of exchange, writing obligatory or other instrument, shall be the instrument itself, or a true copy thereof, or proof of the same in case the instrument be lost; and for an open account, an itemized copy of the account. This section does not apply to taxes.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-6. Claims Taken to Be Proved; Objections to Claims; Hearings; Funeral Expenses

Every claim so itemized, so accompanied by proper vouchers, and so verified, shall be taken to be proved, and shall be allowed, unless before the commissioner shall make up his report of claims the personal representative or a distributee, or a legatee, or, in the case of estates that appear to be insolvent, a creditor, shall file before the commissioner a counter affidavit, denying the claim in whole or in part; and when said counter affidavit is so filed the commissioner shall fix a time and place for hearing evidence for and against such claim and give reasonable notice of such time and place to the claimant, the party objecting, and the personal representative. If the commissioner, having held such hearing, does not allow any such claim, the claimant shall pay the expense of having the testimony adduced at such hearing recorded and/or transcribed. The commissioner, in the exercise of his sound discretion, may require that the claimant post a bond or other security sufficient to pay the estimated cost of having such testimony recorded and transcribed as a condition precedent to holding such hearing. If such claim, having been disallowed by the commissioner, subsequently shall be allowed as a claim against the estate, the claimant shall be entitled to recover from the estate the expenses so paid. Claims for funeral expenses shall be made and determined in the same manner as any other claims.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-7. Claims May Be Presented Before Publication of Notice

Claims against any decedent’s estate may be filed with or presented to the fiduciary commissioner to whom the estate has been referred, at any time following the qualification of the personal representative, notwithstanding the notice to creditors shall not have been published previously to such filing or presentation.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-8. Proof of Contingent or Unliquidated Claims

Whenever at the death of any person there shall be a contingent or unliquidated claim against his estate, or an outstanding bond, recognizance or undertaking upon which the deceased shall have been principal or surety or indemnitor, and on which at the time of his death the liability is still contingent or unliquidated, the claimant or the surety shall have the right to file with the fiduciary commissioner or personal representative, as the case may be, at the time provided for in the notice, proof of his claim in the same manner as other claims, stating in his affidavit the facts upon which such contingent or unliquidated liability is based and the probable amount thereof. When so filed there shall be no distribution of the assets of the estate, except as otherwise provided in this article, without the reservation of sufficient moneys to pay, when the amount is finally determined, such contingent or unliquidated claim, or a proportion thereof equal to what is paid to other creditors of the same class. If such liability becomes fixed before a fiduciary commissioner completes his report, then evidence of the same may be filed with the fiduciary commissioner in lieu of the contingent claim herein provided for, and such claim as fixed shall be a debt of the estate.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-9. Continuances Until All Claims and Objections Passed On

The commissioner may adjourn from time to time the hearing for the presentation of claims as well as the hearings for proof of disputed claims until all the presented claims and the objections to any claims be fully heard and passed on.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-10. Personal Representative to Exhibit Offsets to Claims

When a creditor against whom the deceased had any claim or claims shall present a claim the personal representative may exhibit any offset, if the same be such as has survived, that he may have to such claim, and the commissioner shall ascertain and allow the balance against or in favor of the estate.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-11. How Heir or Devisee May Protect Himself Against Lien on Property

Any heir or devisee entitled to have any lien on the real estate that descended or was devised to him discharged out of the personal estate, or any legatee entitled to have a lien on specific personalty discharged out of the other personalty, may, if the creditor holding any such lien fails to present and prove his claim, present and prove such claim, and have the same allowed or provided for, within the same time, to the same extent, and by the same means as such creditor.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-13. Effect of Presenting Claim as to Statute of Limitations

The filing with or presentation to the fiduciary commissioner or to the county clerk of any claim against the estate of a decedent shall, so far as the running of any statute of limitations is involved, have the same effect as the institution of a civil action or suit on such claim.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-14. Advance Payment of Certain Claims

The fiduciary commissioner may authorize, and the personal representative may make, payment of funeral expenses, claims of physicians and nurses for services rendered during the last illness of the decedent, and accounts of druggists, hospitals and sanitariums for articles furnished and services rendered during the same period, to the extent that any of the same are preferred; also of debts due the United States, debts due the State of West Virginia, and taxes, in advance of the determination of other claims.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-15. Personal Representative Not Precluded From Commencing Action or Suit; Setoff in Such Actions or Suits

Nothing in this article contained shall be construed to prevent any personal representative, when he shall think it necessary, from commencing any action or suit against any person, or from prosecuting to final judgment or decree any action or suit commenced by the deceased in his lifetime, if the cause of such action or suit survives, for the recovery of any debt or claim, or from having execution on any judgment or decree. The defendant in any such action or suit shall, notwithstanding he may have already filed his claim before a fiduciary commissioner, set off any claim he may have against the deceased, if proper to be allowed as a setoff; and if final judgment or decree shall be rendered in favor of the defendant, the same shall be certified by the clerk of the court rendering it to the fiduciary commissioner before whom the estate of the deceased is pending, and the amount thereof shall be allowed in the same manner as other claims against such estate filed and proved before the fiduciary commissioner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-16. Fiduciary Commissioner to Report on Claims of Creditors, Assets and Shares of Distributees and Legatees

After the completion of the hearings for the presentation of claims and for reception of proof for and against disputed claims, but not later than five months from the qualification of the personal representative, the fiduciary commissioner may, and upon motion of any interested person, shall prepare a report of claims against the estate, showing in such report all the claims presented, or exhibited in offset, or certified to the fiduciary commissioner by any court, and stating as to each claim how much was allowed and how much disallowed, together with the final balance, whether in favor of the creditor or the estate. The fiduciary commissioner shall also show in such report what assets are in the hands of the personal representative, and shall designate how the same shall be applied to the payment of debts and claims; also in what order of priority the claims shall be paid and also what sum shall be reserved to pay contingent or unliquidated claims and claims not matured, or a proportion of any such claim equal to what is allowed to other creditors of the same class, when payment of such claims shall become proper. Such report shall also show what persons are entitled to share in the estate as legatees, and as such in what property or amounts; or as distributees, and as such in what proportions.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-17. How Contingent and Unliquidated Claims and Claims Not Matured May Be Provided For

The fiduciary commissioner in his report on claims shall direct the personal representative to withhold from distribution to beneficiaries sufficient assets to take care of such contingent and unliquidated claims and claims not matured as shall be presented to and proved before the fiduciary commissioner, or a proportion thereof equal to what is paid to other creditors of the same class, and such assets shall be so withheld until such contingent liability becomes fixed, or such unliquidated liability becomes liquidated, or until such claims not matured mature, as the case may be, at which time such assets shall be disbursed or distributed as the fiduciary commissioner in his report may have designated and the circumstances may require. But in any case where there are sufficient assets to pay all liquidated claims against any estate, any legatee or distributee of the estate shall be entitled to be paid his or her share of the full surplus of the estate, after payment of, or provision for, all liquidated claims, both those matured and those not matured has been made, upon such legatee’s or distributee’s giving to the personal representative a bond, executed by himself or some other person, with sufficient security, to be approved by the county commission, or the clerk thereof during the recess of the commission, conditioned to refund a due proportion of any unliquidated or contingent debts or demands which may afterwards appear against the decedent or become liquidated or have their liability fixed, and of the costs attending their recovery. Such bond shall be filed in the clerk’s office where probate of the will or administration of the estate was had, and recorded by such clerk in the record of bonds. After the giving of any such bond or bonds, creditors holding unliquidated or contingent debts and demands shall, as to the estate distributed by virtue of the giving of such bond or bonds, look only to such bond or bonds for the payment of such debts and demands.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-18. Exceptions to Fiduciary Commissioner’s Report; Return of Report

After preparing a report of claims as hereinafter provided, the fiduciary commissioner shall give notice thereof, either verbally or in writing, delivered personally or by mail, to all parties interested or their attorneys, and hold the report and the evidence taken in connection therewith in his office for ten days for the examination of parties interested. Any party may inspect such report and evidence and file exceptions thereto before said fiduciary commissioner; and the fiduciary commissioner, in all cases, shall return with his report all the evidence taken in connection with any claim listed in such report, and the exceptions, if any, taken to the report, and shall submit such remarks upon the exceptions as he may deem pertinent. After the expiration of such ten days the fiduciary commissioner shall return the report, evidence, exceptions and remarks to the county commission, and until the report is acted upon by the county commission it shall be subject to further exceptions by the same or other parties interested.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-19. Hearing on Report and Exceptions; Appeal; Effect of Confirmation

The hearing on the report of claims returned by a fiduciary commissioner shall be had at the first term of the county commission occurring not earlier than ten days after its return. If there be no exceptions to such report it shall be confirmed, but if excepted to, the county commission shall pass upon the exceptions and make its order thereon, without hearing or receiving any new evidence; but if good cause be shown for the introduction of further proof regarding any matter contained in such report, the report shall be referred back to the fiduciary commissioner for the taking of further proof and the making of a supplemental report. An appeal from the decision of such county commission on such report and exceptions and on the supplemental report and exceptions, if there be such supplemental report, may, without any formal bill of exceptions, be taken to the circuit court of the county. The appeal shall be tried and heard in the circuit court, or before the judge thereof in vacation, on the record made before the fiduciary commissioner and on order of the county commission. After the report of the fiduciary commissioner on the claims against the estate of any decedent has been confirmed by the county commission, or the circuit court on appeal, or corrected and confirmed after appeal, the same shall be forever binding and final.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 2. Proof and Allowance of Claims Against Estates of Decedents › §44-2-21. Order in Which Debts of Decedent Are to Be Paid

(a) If the applicable assets of the estate are insufficient to pay all claims against the estate in full, the personal representative shall make payment in the following order:
(1) Costs and expenses of administration;
(2) Reasonable funeral expenses;
(3) Debts and taxes with preference under federal law;
(4) Unpaid child support which is due and owing at the time of the decedent’s death;
(5) Debts and taxes with preference under other laws of the State of West Virginia;
(6) Reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness of the decedent, including compensation for persons attending the decedent during his or her last illness; and
(7) All other claims.
(b) If the applicable assets of the estate are insufficient to pay all claims within a class, those claims within that class shall be paid on a prorata basis. No preference shall be given in the payment of any claim over any other claim of the same class, and a claim due and payable shall not be entitled to a preference over claims not due.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, if the payment of all funeral expenses of the decedent is provided for by an irrevocable preneed funeral contract or trust, neither the decedent’s estate nor the decedent’s surviving spouse shall have any obligation for the payment of such funeral expenses.