reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-5. Evidence on Such Application; Record Thereof

At the hearing in either of the cases provided for in the preceding two sections, the county commission shall receive all legal evidence as may be offered, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the presumption of death is established; or it may refer the matter to a fiduciary commissioner to take such evidence, and report his findings thereon. No person shall be disqualified as a witness by reason of relationship to the supposed decedent or interests in his estate. All the evidence shall be reduced to writing and preserved in the files of the commission with the record of the case.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-6. Order Declaring Presumption Established; Probate of Will; Letters Testamentary or of Administration; Their Effect; Death Certificate Issued Upon Order

If the commission is satisfied, upon the hearing or from the report of the fiduciary commissioner, that the legal presumption of death is established, the commission shall so declare by order, shall then proceed to hear, and to grant, if proper, the application for probate of the will of such supposed decedent, if such there be, and to grant letters testamentary or of administration, as the case may require, to the party entitled thereto, who shall qualify and give bonds as in cases of persons known to be dead. The probate of any such will and such letters, until revoked, and all acts done in pursuance thereof and in reliance thereupon, shall be as valid as if the supposed decedent were in fact dead.
Immediately upon the entry of such order declaring that the legal presumption of death is established, the commission shall direct the clerk thereof forthwith to make and deliver to the state registrar of vital statistics the order and such personal data and other information from the records of the proceedings as may enable the state registrar of vital statistics to issue a death certificate. Upon receipt of the order, personal data and other information, the registrar of vital statistics shall forthwith issue and deliver by mail unto the clerk of the county commission wherein such order was entered, a death certificate in the form prescribed by law, except that no medical certification shall be required. The clerk shall record such death certificate in the manner set forth in section nineteen, article five, chapter sixteen of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-8. Personal Representative to Institute Suit to Settle Such Estate

The personal representative of the estate of such supposed decedent shall, after qualifying, institute a suit in equity in the circuit court of the county in which such personal representative qualified, for the settlement of the estate of such supposed decedent. To such suit the surviving wife or husband, heirs, distributees, devisees, legatees, and all known creditors of the supposed decedent, shall be made parties defendant, and there shall be filed with the bill of complaint therein an attested copy of the complete record of the county court relating to the appointment and qualification of such personal representative, including a copy of the evidence taken to establish the presumption of death.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-9. Publication in Such Suit

Such personal representative, upon the institution of such suit, shall cause notice to the supposed decedent to be issued by the clerk of the circuit court, that such suit has been instituted and that such supposed decedent, if alive, is required to appear on a certain day of a regular or special term of said court not less than three nor more than six months from the date of the first publication of such notice as hereinafter required. Such notice shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty- nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county where the suit is brought. When practicable, such notice shall also be published once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper published at or near the place where such supposed decedent was last known to reside beyond this state, or in this state, if the supposed decedent was not known to have left the same and such place is in a county other than the one where the suit is pending.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-10. Procedure When Supposed Decedent Fails to Appear

If such supposed decedent shall not appear, or satisfactory evidence that he is alive shall not be offered, on or before such date, the circuit court shall review the record from the county court filed in such suit, and, if satisfied that the county court improperly ruled on the facts before it with reference to the presumption of death, may call for and take further proof, and, when satisfied that the presumption of death is properly established, shall then refer the cause to a commissioner in chancery to convene the creditors of such supposed decedent, by publishing notice therefor in the manner provided in proceedings for subjection of a decedent’s real estate to the payment of his debts, and to take proof of the claims of creditors, the amount and nature of the estate of such supposed decedent and the persons entitled thereto; and the cause shall thenceforth be proceeded with as other causes in chancery of a similar nature.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-11. Distribution of Estate; Refunding Bonds

When the commissioner in chancery has rendered his report, and all exceptions thereto have been disposed of, the court may enter a decree authorizing the payment of creditors and assigning and transferring such estate to the persons entitled thereto, or directing sale thereof and distribution of the proceeds of sale among the creditors and persons entitled thereto. But before such assignment of the estate or distribution of the proceeds thereof the court shall require the persons, other than creditors, entitled to receive the same, to enter into a joint or separate bond before the clerk of the court, in a penalty to be fixed by the court, with sureties to be approved by the clerk, with condition that, if the supposed decedent shall at any time within fifteen years thereafter appear, they will refund the amounts received, on demand. If the persons entitled thereto are jointly or separately unable to give such security, then such estate may be sold and the proceeds thereof paid into the hands of the general receiver of the court until such security is given or until the further order of the court, but the interest arising therefrom shall be paid annually to the person or persons appearing to be entitled thereto, without the giving of any refunding bond.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-12. Vacation of Prior Proceedings on Reappearance of Supposed Decedent

The circuit court may at any time, on satisfactory proof that the supposed decedent is in fact alive, set aside and vacate all proceedings theretofore had in such suit, including the decree of distribution, if such has been entered, and any order or decree entered by it or the county court establishing the presumption of death, and upon doing so shall certify that fact to the county court. The county court shall thereupon revoke the probate of any will of such supposed decedent and the grant of letters testamentary or of administration on his estate: Provided, That in no case shall the supposed decedent file his petition or suit to set aside and vacate such adjudication after the lapse of fifteen years from the date of such adjudication.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-13. Final Accounting of Personal Representative; Effect of His Acts; Title of Purchasers and Distributees

The circuit court shall, when the prior proceedings have been vacated as provided in the preceding section, require a final settlement of the personal representative, and direct the transfer of all assets in the hands of such personal representative, and, if any property or proceeds thereof have been distributed, the retransfer or refunding thereof to the supposed decedent, or his duly authorized agent, attorney or representative. All acts of such personal representative while his letters were in force, and the title of bona fide purchasers to property under sales made by him shall remain as valid as if such letters were unrevoked. But nothing in this section shall validate the title of any person to any money or property received as surviving wife or husband, next of kin, heir, legatee or devisee of such supposed decedent, but the same may be recovered from such person in like manner as if there had been no proceedings under the provisions of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-14. Substitution of Supposed Decedent in Pending Actions; Opening Judgments; Effect of Judgment After Substitution

After revocation of the letters and vacation of the order or orders declaring the presumption of death established, the person erroneously supposed to be dead may, on suggestion filed of record of the proper fact, be substituted as plaintiff in all actions, suits, or proceedings brought by the personal representative, whether prosecuted to judgment or decree, or otherwise. He may, in all actions, suits or proceedings previously brought against the personal representative, be substituted as defendant, on proper suggestion filed by himself or of the plaintiff therein, but shall not be compelled to go to trial in less than three months from the time of such suggestion filed. Judgments or decrees, recovered against the personal representative before revocation of the letters and vacation of such order or orders, may be opened on application by the supposed decedent, made within three months from such revocation of the letters and vacation of such order or orders, and supported by affidavit denying specifically, on the knowledge of the affiant, the cause of action, in whole or in part, or specifically alleging the existence of facts which would be a valid defense; but, if within such three months, such application shall not be made, or, being made, the facts exhibited shall be adjudged an insufficient defense, the judgment or decree shall be conclusive to all intents, saving the defendant’s right to have it reviewed as in other cases in the manner provided by law. After the substitution of the supposed decedent as defendant in any judgment or decree, as aforesaid, it shall have the same force and effect as if taken against him originally, and shall so continue as other judgments or decrees, unless and until it shall be set aside by the court below or reversed in the Supreme Court of Appeals.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-15. When Laws Relating to Wills and Estates Generally to Govern

As to matters not specially provided for in this article, the provisions of law relating to the probate of wills and the administration of estates of actual decedents shall govern, so far as applicable.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 9. Persons Presumed to Be Dead and Their Estates › §44-9-16. Costs, by Whom Payable

The costs attending the issuance of letters testamentary or of administration, or their revocation, and the probate of any will, and of the suit for the settlement of the estate, shall be paid out of the estate of the supposed decedent; and costs arising upon an application for letters which shall not be granted shall be paid by the applicant.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-1. Testamentary Guardians

Every father or mother, may, by last will and testament, appoint a guardian for his or her child, born or to be born, and for such time during its infancy as he or she may direct. Where both father and mother have so appointed guardians, only that guardian who is the appointee of the parent last living shall be entitled to the custody of the person of such child.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-2. Appointment Void for Renunciation or Failure to Qualify

If any person so appointed shall renounce the trust, or fail to appear before the county court before whom such will shall be proved, within six months after the probate thereof, and declare his acceptance of the trust, and give bond as provided in this article, such appointment shall be void.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-4. Right of Minor to Nominate Guardian

(a) If the minor is above the age of fourteen years, he or she may in the presence of the circuit or family court, or in writing acknowledged before any officer authorized to take the acknowledgment of a deed, nominate his or her own guardian, who, if approved by the court, shall be appointed accordingly.
(b) If the minor is below the age of fourteen years and, if the court determines it is in the best interests of the minor, the court may consider the firm and reasonable preferences of a minor who, in the discretion of the court, is sufficiently matured that he or she can intelligently express a preference. He or she may in the presence of the circuit or family court, or in writing acknowledged before any officer authorized to take the acknowledgment of a deed, nominate his or her own guardian, who, if approved by the court, after giving that preference the weight warranted by the circumstances, shall be appointed accordingly.
(c) If the guardian nominated by the minor is not appointed by the court, or if the minor resides outside the state, or if, after being summoned, the minor neglects to nominate a suitable person, the court may appoint the guardian in the same manner as if the minor were under the age of fourteen years.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-5. Bond of Guardian

(a) Every guardian, except in the case of a testamentary guardian where the will otherwise directs and the court in which the will is recorded deems it unnecessary for the safety of the ward, shall give bond with security to be approved by the court by whom he or she is appointed, or before whom he or she accepts the trust, in such penalty as shall be prescribed by the court.
(b) The bond shall be given before the clerk of the court in which the petition is filed.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-6. Curator; Bond; Powers and Duties

Until a guardian gives bond, or while there is no guardian, the circuit or family court, may, from time to time, appoint a curator, who shall give bond, and during the continuance of his or her trust, have all the powers and perform all the duties of a guardian, and be responsible in the same way.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-8. Disbursements and Expenditures by Guardians From Income and Corpus of Estates of Infant Wards

No disbursements, beyond the annual income of the ward’s estate, shall be allowed to any guardian where the deed or will, under which the estate is derived, does not authorize it, unless the same shall have been authorized by the circuit court of the county in which the guardian was appointed or qualified. Any guardian, who may desire to spend more than the annual income of his ward’s estate for any purpose, shall file in such circuit court a petition, verified by his oath, setting forth the reasons why it is necessary to make such expenditures, to which petition the ward shall be made defendant. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the ward, who shall answer such petition, be present at the hearing, and represent the infant. Five days’ notice shall be given to the defendant before such petition can be heard. At the hearing the evidence may be taken orally, and the court, if satisfied that such expenditure would be judicious and proper, may grant the prayer of the petition. Such petition may be filed and heard before the judge of such court in vacation as well as in term time. In the settlement of the guardian’s accounts no credit shall be allowed him by the fiduciary commissioner or the court for expenditures for his ward, except for expenditures of the annual income of his ward’s estate and for expenditures of such amounts of the principal of the ward’s personal estate as are authorized by the court as provided by this section: Provided, That if the personal estate in the hands of the guardian does not exceed in amount the sum of $3,000, disbursement may be made by the guardian from the corpus of such personal estate for the ward’s maintenance and education, after first securing the written approval so to do of and from the fiduciary commissioner to whom the settlement of the ward’s estate was referred.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-9. Sale of Personal Estate to Pay Excess Beyond Income

When any such disbursements shall be so allowed, the court shall, if necessary, order the sale of such portions of the personal estate of the ward as may be necessary to pay the balance of such expenditures over and above the income of his estate.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-10. When Guardian to Pay Interest

If any balance, whether of profits received or estimated, or of interest or principal, be due by any guardian, or other person acting as guardian, at the end of any year, which ought to be invested or loaned out within a reasonable time for the benefit of the ward, and the same remain in the hands of such guardian or other person, he shall be charged with interest thereon from the end of the year in which such balance arose, and so on, as often as such shall be the fact, during the continuance of the trust.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-11. Compound Interest Recoverable

Any person acting as guardian shall have the right to demand and recover of any obligor in any bond or the maker of any other instrument in writing, payable to him as guardian, and held by him for the benefit of his ward, not only the principal sum due, with interest thereon after the rate prescribed by law; but also, when the interest on the principal sum is not paid punctually at the time stipulated in such bond or writing, to demand and recover interest upon the interest so due and unpaid.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-12. Time Allowed Guardian for Investment of Funds

Whenever a guardian shall collect any principal or interest belonging to his ward, he shall have sixty days to invest or loan the same, and shall not be charged with interest thereon until the expiration of such time, unless he shall have made the investment previous thereto, in which case he shall be charged with interest from the time the investment or loan was made: Provided, That if by due diligence any guardian is unable to loan any principal or interest belonging to his ward within the time aforesaid, and it becomes necessary for him to apply to the circuit court for authority or direction concerning such funds, such guardian shall not, pending a hearing of the matter, be chargeable with interest on the funds in his hands uninvested, unless the court or judge otherwise order.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-13. Powers of Chancery Courts Over Guardians; When and How Real Estate May Be Sold for Maintenance and Education of Wards

The circuit court, in chancery, may hear and determine all matters between guardians and their wards, require settlement of the guardianship accounts, remove any guardian for neglect or breach of trust, and appoint another, or order another to be appointed, in his stead, and make any orders for the custody and tuition of an infant, and the management, preservation and investment of his estate; and when it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of a circuit court on a bill in chancery, or by petition in a summary way, filed for the purpose by the guardian, that the proper maintenance and education, or other interests of an infant, require that the proceeds of his real estate, beyond the annual income thereof, should be applied to the use of such infant, it shall be lawful for the court to order the sale of, or to authorize a loan upon, his real estate, or such part thereof as may be necessary for the purpose, and, from time to time, make such decrees and orders as may be proper to secure the due application of the proceeds of such sale or loan; and to the extent that such proceeds may be so applied they shall be deemed personal estate, but no further. Every bill or petition filed under this section, and the proceedings thereon, shall conform to the procedure provided by law for authority to sell the real estate of an infant.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 10. Guardians and Wards Generally › §44-10-16. Settlement of Derivative Claims

(a) Nothing contained in this article may limit the derivative rights of a parent or guardian to compromise and settle any claim they may personally have for damages arising out of injury to their minor child or ward for whom they are responsible. This authority to compromise and settle derivative claims includes, without limitation, the authority to compromise and settle claims for the costs of medical or other care for the child or ward attributable to the bodily injury.
(b) The separate settlement of a derivative claim by a parent or guardian does not limit any person, including the parent or guardian, from seeking damages for the minor child or ward.
(c) Any release or waiver of a right to bring a legal action to assert a derivative claim, made and executed prior to the commencement of a civil action, shall be in writing and shall be binding against the person who accepts valuable consideration in exchange for the release or waiver of right to bring the legal action: Provided, That in the event a parent or guardian fully repays the consideration received in exchange for a release or waiver of a right to bring a derivative claim or action to the appropriate entity within ninety days after the commencement of a civil action brought on behalf of the child or ward who was injured, the parent or guardian may fully assert the derivative claim in conjunction with the child or ward's claim: Provided, however, That if more than a year has elapsed since the payment of the consideration, full repayment shall include, in addition to the principal sum paid, legal interest on the principal sum calculated in accordance with section thirty-one, article six, chapter fifty-six of this code.
(d) Nothing contained in this section may be construed to reduce the limitation period for filing any civil action for damages arising out of the bodily injury of a minor child.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-1. Transfer of Securities of Nonresident Decedent

Any bonds or other securities issued by this state or any political subdivision or municipality thereof, or any stocks, bonds or other securities issued by any corporation created by this state, or by any national banking association having its principal office in this state, standing in the name of a decedent, domiciled at the time of his death out of this state, and who is not known, by the officer or agent charged with the duty of transferring such stocks, bonds, or other securities, to have a personal representative qualified as such within this state, may be transferred by the executor or administrator of such decedent qualified according to the laws of the domicile, when affidavit shall have been filed as prescribed in the next section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-2. Affidavit as to Publication of Notice

There shall be filed, with such officer or agent as is mentioned in the preceding section, the affidavit of some credible person that notice of the proposed transfer has been published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county in which are kept the books upon which the transfer is proposed to be made. But if, before such transfer be actually made, a notice in writing forbidding the same be served on such officer or agent, such transfer only shall be made as would have been lawful if this and the preceding section had not been enacted.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-3. Transfer of Property of Nonresident Infant or Insane Person to Foreign Guardian or Committee

When any infant or insane person, entitled to property or money in this state, resides out of it, a petition to remove such property or money to the domicile of such infant or insane person may be filed by his guardian or his committee lawfully appointed or qualified in the state or country of his domicile, in the circuit court of the county wherein the guardian or committee in this state was appointed or qualified, or if there be none, in which the property or money, or some part thereof, is. To such petition the guardian of such infant or the committee of such insane person appointed or qualified in this state, if there be one, shall be made a party defendant. Upon a hearing of the case on its merits, the court may order the guardian or committee in this state, if there be one, to pay and deliver to such foreign guardian or committee, or his agent or attorney, all personal property and money in his hands belonging to such infant or insane person, and authorize such foreign guardian or committee to sue for, recover and receive all money or personal property which belongs to the infant or insane person, including the accruing rents of his real estate, in like manner as if he were appointed a guardian or committee of such infant or insane person in this state, and to remove the same to the state or country in which such foreign guardian or committee was appointed or qualified.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-4. How Proceeds of Sale of Real Estate of Nonresident Infant, Insane Person, or Cestui Que Trust Transferred to Foreign Guardian, Committee or Trustee

When the proceeds of sale of real estate of an infant, insane person or cestui que trust, under the laws now in force, are invested, or required to be invested, under the direction of a court, and such infant, insane person or cestui que trust resides out of this state, on the petition of a guardian, committee or trustee, lawfully appointed or qualified in the state or country of the domicile of such infant, insane person or cestui que trust, the court under whose directions such proceeds are so invested, or required to be invested, may, with the consent of the persons residing in this state who would be the heirs of such infant, insane person or cestui que trust, if he were dead, order such proceeds to be paid and delivered to such foreign guardian, committee or trustee, or his agent or attorney, and the same may be removed by him to the state or country in which he was appointed or qualified: Provided, That whenever, in the judgment of the court, the removal of the trust subject will defeat or conflict with the provisions of the deed, will or other instrument creating the trust, the court may refuse to grant the prayer of the petition.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-5. Notice of Application and Evidence Required Before Order of Transfer Made

No such order as is mentioned in the two preceding sections shall be made until notice of the application shall have been published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county in which the petition is filed; nor until it shall be shown by authentic documentary evidence that such foreign guardian, committee or trustee has, where he qualified, given bond, with surety sufficient to insure his accountability for the whole amount of the estate of such infant, insane person, or cestui que trust in his hands, or which will probably be received by him as such guardian, committee or trustee; nor until the court shall be satisfied that the removal of such money or property from this state will not impair the rights or be prejudicial to the interests of such infant, insane person or cestui que trust or of any other person.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-6. How Personal Estate in Hands of Resident Trustee, Belonging to Nonresident Beneficiaries, Transferred

When any personal estate in this state is vested in a trustee resident therein, or who acts by virtue of a deed, will, or other instrument, recorded or probated therein, or when any administrator or executor in this state has assets in his hands of a decedent who at the time of his death was domiciled in another state, and those having the beneficial interests in such estate or assets are nonresidents of this state, the circuit court of the county in which such trustee, administrator, or executor may reside, or in which such estate may be, may, upon petition or bill in equity filed for that purpose, order such trustee or his personal representative, or such administrator or executor, to pay, transfer and deliver such estate or assets, or any part thereof to a nonresident trustee, administrator or executor, appointed by some court of record in the state in which such beneficiaries reside.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-7. What Notice and Evidence Required Before Such Transfer Made

No such order as is mentioned in the preceding section shall, when applied for by petition, be made until notice of the application shall have been given to all persons interested in such trust estate, either by personal service or by publication of such notice as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county wherein the petition is filed. Whether the application be by petition or bill in equity, such order shall not be made until the court shall be satisfied by authentic documentary evidence that the nonresident trustee, administrator, or executor, appointed as aforesaid, has given bond with sufficient security for the faithful execution of the trust, nor until it is satisfied that the payment and removal of such estate out of the state will not prejudice the right of any person interested or to become interested therein.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-8. Court May Order Sale of Property

If, in any proceeding or suit under the third or sixth sections of this article, it shall appear to the court to be proper, it may order the property, or any part of it, to be sold and the proceeds to be paid to the nonresident guardian, committee, trustee, administrator or executor.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-8a. Removal of Property of Resident Infant, Incompetent or Insane Person From This State by Nonresident Testamentary Guardian or Nonresident Committee

(a) No property or money in this state belonging to a resident infant, incompetent or insane person may be removed from this state by a nonresident testamentary guardian or nonresident committee appointed or qualified in this state unless:
(1) Such nonresident testamentary guardian or nonresident committee files a petition to remove such property or money in the circuit court of the county wherein such guardian or committee was appointed or qualified, or in which the property or money, or some part thereof, is located;
(2) The infant, incompetent or insane person is made a party defendant to such petition;
(3) Notice of the petition is filed as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication is the county in which the petition is filed; and
(4) The court determines, after a hearing, that the removal of such property or money will not impair the rights of or be prejudicial to the interests of such infant, incompetent or insane person, or of any other person.
(b) If any nonresident testamentary guardian or nonresident committee removes from this state property or money belonging to a resident infant, incompetent or insane person without obtaining an order entered pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the same shall work a forfeiture of his bond, and the liability of such nonresident guardian or committee and of his surety shall be joint and several, and a civil action on any such bond may be instituted and maintained against the surety, notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, even though no civil action has been instituted against the nonresident testamentary guardian or nonresident committee.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of section nine of this article to the contrary, any nonresident testamentary guardian or nonresident committee who obtains an order described in subsection (a) of this section shall remain accountable to the county commission of the county in which he was appointed or qualified.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 11. Transfer of Property of Nonresidents and Residents › §44-11-9. Discharge of Guardian, Committee, or Trustee Making Transfer

When any guardian, committee, trustee, or other person in this state shall pay over, transfer or deliver any estate in his hands or vested in him as directed by any order or decree made in pursuance of this article, he shall be discharged from all responsibility therefor.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 12. Powers of Clerk in Vacation of County Court › §44-12-1. What Clerk May Do in Vacation of County Court

The clerk of any county court in the vacation of such court, may appoint appraisers of estates of decedents, admit wills to record, appoint and qualify executors, administrators, guardians, curators and committees, and require and take from them the necessary bonds, upon the same procedure and proof, and in the same manner and with like effect for the time being, as such county court could do if in session; but no contest as to such probate or appointment shall be heard or determined by such clerk, and when notice of contests is given the matter shall stand continued until the next regular session of the county court.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 12. Powers of Clerk in Vacation of County Court › §44-12-2. Report by Clerk to County Court; Hearing on Same

The probate of every will and the appointment of every appraiser of the estate of a decedent, executor, administrator, guardian, curator and committee so made by such clerk, shall be reported by him to the next regular session of the county court, when, if no objection be made thereto and none appears to the court, the court shall confirm the same. But if objection be made by any person interested, the county court shall hear and determine the same, and shall proceed in relation thereto in the same manner as if the application for the probate of such will, or for the appointment of such appraiser of the estate of a decedent, executor, administrator, guardian, curator or committee had been made to such court in the first instance. And the court may make from time to time, pending such proceedings, such orders as it may deem necessary for the protection and safekeeping of the estate of the testator, intestate or ward.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 12. Powers of Clerk in Vacation of County Court › §44-12-3. Confirmation of Action of Clerk

When the probate of such will, or the appointment of such appraisers of estate of decedents, or the appointment of such executor, administrator, guardian, curator or committee is confirmed by the court, with or without contest, the same shall be held and treated in all respects as if the will had been probated and admitted to record, or the appointment had been made, by the county court in the first instance.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 13. Powers and Duties of Clerks of County Courts in Counties Having Separate Tribunal for Police and Fiscal Purposes › §44-13-1. Powers of Clerk of County Court Where Separate Tribunal for Police and Fiscal Purposes

In every county in which now exists a tribunal for police and fiscal purposes heretofore established under section 34 of article VIII of the Constitution of eighteen hundred and seventy- two, the clerk mentioned in the twenty-sixth section of the amendment of eighteen hundred and eighty to the Constitution shall exercise any powers and discharge any duties conferred on or required of the court or tribunal heretofore established for judicial purposes in such county, or the clerk thereof, before the adoption of such amendment, and also any powers and duties now or hereafter conferred on or required of county courts in other counties, or the clerks thereof, except as it may be otherwise provided, respecting the recording and preservation of deeds and other papers presented for record, respecting matters of probate, the appointment and qualification of personal representatives, guardians, committees, curators, and the settlement of their accounts, and respecting all matters relating to apprentices.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 13. Powers and Duties of Clerks of County Courts in Counties Having Separate Tribunal for Police and Fiscal Purposes › §44-13-2. Who Shall Act When Such Clerk Interested

In any matter with respect to which such clerk shall have power to act but in which he shall be interested, so that it will be improper for him to act therein, such powers and duties other than such as are judicial in their nature, may be exercised and discharged, in the office of the last-mentioned clerk, by the clerk of the circuit court of the same county, and such powers and duties, so far as the same are judicial in their nature, may be exercised and discharged by any judge of the circuit court of the same county, in the office of the clerk of the county court.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 13. Powers and Duties of Clerks of County Courts in Counties Having Separate Tribunal for Police and Fiscal Purposes › §44-13-4. Record and Order Books to Be Kept by Such Clerk

Such clerk shall, respecting the matters of which he is given jurisdiction by this article, keep such record and order books as a county court is required by law to keep, and shall enter therein all proceedings before him
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 13. Powers and Duties of Clerks of County Courts in Counties Having Separate Tribunal for Police and Fiscal Purposes › §44-13-4a. Reporting of Foreclosure Statistics

Beginning with the third quarter of 2010, the clerk of each county commission shall file quarterly with the West Virginia Housing Development Fund established in article eighteen, chapter thirty-one of this code the disclosure forms of deed of trust foreclosure sales that were recorded in that county for the preceding calendar year quarter. Up until that time, through the second quarter of 2010, such quarterly reports shall be filed with the Division of Banking. The reports shall be filed within fifteen days of the last day of September, December, March and June of each year. The reports shall be filed in electronic format, where possible.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 13. Powers and Duties of Clerks of County Courts in Counties Having Separate Tribunal for Police and Fiscal Purposes › §44-13-5. Duties of Such Clerk as to Acts to Be Performed at Stated Times

When any act is required to be done by clerks of county courts of other counties on the first day of the term of the county courts, such clerk of the county court in every county in which such special tribunal for police and fiscal purposes was established as aforesaid, shall perform such act, under the same regulations and penalties, on the first Monday of the month.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 13. Powers and Duties of Clerks of County Courts in Counties Having Separate Tribunal for Police and Fiscal Purposes › §44-13-6. How Decisions and Orders of Such Clerk Reviewed

Appeals from the decision rendered and orders made by such clerk may be had to the circuit court of his county at the instance of the same persons, in the same manner, by the same procedure, and within the same time, as from decisions and final orders of a county court; and when carried into the circuit court such cases shall be heard and proceeded with there in the same manner as is provided by law for similar cases appealed from a county court.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 15. Veterans’ Guardianship and Commitment › §44-15-1. Scope of Article

Whenever, pursuant to any law of the United States or regulation of any bureau or agency thereof, the appointment of a guardian or committee to act in a fiduciary capacity for any person is required prior to payment of benefits, pensions, compensation for service or for any other reason for which payments are due to such person from the government of the United States or any bureau or agency thereof, the United States, or the chief officer of any such bureau or agency of the government, shall be a party in interest in any proceeding for the appointment or removal of a committee or of a guardian or for the removal of the disability of minority or mental incapacity of a ward, or in any suit or other proceeding affecting in any manner the administration by the committee or the guardian of the estate of any ward whose estate includes assets derived, in whole or in part, from benefits heretofore or hereafter paid by the United States, or any bureau or agency thereof. Not less than fifteen days prior to the hearing in such matter notice in writing of the time and place thereof shall be given by mail (unless waived in writing) to the office of the United States, or any bureau or agency thereof having jurisdiction in such matters over the area in which any such suit or proceeding is pending.
Whenever, pursuant to any law of the United States or regulation of any bureau or agency thereof, it is necessary, prior to the payment of benefits, that a committee or guardian be appointed, the appointment may be made in the manner hereinafter provided.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 15. Veterans’ Guardianship and Commitment › §44-15-2. When Unlawful for Person to Accept Appointment as Guardian; Removal

Except as hereinafter provided, it shall be unlawful for any person to accept appointment as guardian of any ward if such proposed guardian shall at that time be acting as guardian for five wards. In any case, upon presentation of a petition alleging that a guardian is acting in a fiduciary capacity for more than five wards and requesting his discharge for that reason, the court, upon proof substantiating the petition, shall require a final accounting forthwith from such guardian and shall discharge such guardian in such case, upon his delivering to a successor, properly qualified, the property with which he was chargeable: Provided, That the limitations of this section shall not apply where the guardian is a bank or trust company acting for the wards’ estates only: Provided further, That an individual may be guardian of more than five wards if they are all members of the same family.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 15. Veterans’ Guardianship and Commitment › §44-15-3. Petition for Appointment

A petition for the appointment of a guardian may be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction by or on behalf of any person who under existing law is entitled to priority of appointment. If there be no person so entitled, or if the person so entitled, shall neglect or refuse to file such petition within thirty days after mailing of notice by the bureau or other agency of the government of the United States directly interested in the payment of the sums due the person or persons to the last known address of such person indicating the necessity for the same, a petition for such appointment may be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction by or on behalf of any responsible person residing in this state.
The petition for appointment shall set forth the name, age and place of residence of the ward, the name and place of residence of the nearest relative, if known, and the fact that such ward is entitled to receive moneys payable from the government of the United States, and shall set forth the amount of moneys then due and the amount of probable future payments.
The petition shall also set forth the name and address of the person or institution, if any, having actual custody of the ward.
In the case of a mentally incompetent ward the petition shall show that such ward has been rated incompetent on examination by an examining board employed or convened by the government of the United States in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the bureau or agency of the government from which payments are to be made.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 44. Administration of Estates and Trusts › Article 15. Veterans’ Guardianship and Commitment › §44-15-4. Evidence of Necessity for Appointment of Guardian of Minor Ward

Where a petition is filed for the appointment of a guardian of a minor ward, a certificate setting forth the age of such minor as shown by the records and the fact that the appointment of a guardian is a condition precedent to the payment of any moneys due the minor by the government of the United States shall be prima facie evidence of the necessity for such appointment.