reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-8. Appeal From Probate Order -- Other Testamentary Papers to Be Produced; Jury Trial if Desired

If there be more than one testamentary paper in question in any such proceeding, the circuit court shall order them all to be produced. The circuit court shall order a trial by jury, if demanded by any person interested, to ascertain whether the will in question, or if there be more than one, which of them, or what part or parts of either or any of them, is the true will of the decedent; and, if trial by jury be not asked, the circuit court shall proceed to try and decide the question of probate, and shall make and enter in relation thereto such final judgment or order as the law and the evidence may require. A copy of such judgment or order shall be returned to, filed and recorded in, the office of the clerk of the county court, and also any will established in such proceedings and admitted to probate in the circuit court shall be returned to, filed, and recorded (if not already of record) in such office.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-9. Order as Bar to Suit in Equity

Every such order or judgment of a county court not appealed from in proceedings for probate in solemn form, or in an ex parte proceeding which has been converted into a proceeding in solemn form by a contest therein, and every such order or judgment of a circuit court on appeal, shall be a bar to a bill in equity to impeach or establish such will, unless upon grounds which would give to a court of equity jurisdiction over other judgments at law.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-10. Ex Parte Procedure to Probate; Appeal

At, or at any time after, the production of a will, any person may move the county court having jurisdiction, or the clerk thereof in the vacation of the court, for the probate of such will, and the court or the clerk thereof, as the case may be, may, without notice to any party, proceed to hear and determine the motion and admit the will to probate, or reject the same. The probate of, or refusal to probate, any will, so made by the clerk, shall be reported by him to the court at its next regular session, and, if no objection be made thereto, and none appear to the court, the court shall confirm the same. If any person entitled to contest the probate of a will shall appear before the clerk of the court before a decision is made by him admitting or refusing to admit the will to probate, or before the county court at any time before it has made an order confirming the action of the clerk in admitting or refusing to admit such will to probate, or before such court in any ex parte proceeding to probate a will made in the court in the first instance before it has made an order admitting or refusing to admit the will to probate, and file a notice of contest of the probate of the will, stating distinctly the several grounds of objection, process on such notice shall be issued and the proceeding thereafter shall be heard before the county court only, and in all respects in the same manner as if the will had been offered for probate in solemn form; and any judgment entered by the county court on such proceeding shall have the same effect, and an appeal shall lie therefrom, as if the original proceeding to probate the will had been made in solemn form: Provided, That the only notice to the parties interested or process against them required in such case shall be upon the notice of contest. In all ex parte proceedings in which there is no contest, the action of the clerk in admitting the will to probate, when confirmed by the court, shall have the same effect in all respects as if the will had been admitted to probate and record by the county court in the first instance.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-11. Impeachment or Establishment of Will -- by Person Who Was Not Party to Prior Proceeding; Trial by Jury

After a judgment or order entered as aforesaid in a proceeding for probate ex parte, any person interested who was not a party to the proceeding, or any person who was not a party to a proceeding for probate in solemn form, may proceed by complaint to impeach or establish the will, on which complaint, if required by any party, a trial by jury shall be ordered, to ascertain whether any, and if any, how much, of what was so offered for probate, be the will of the decedent. The court may require all other testamentary papers of the decedent to be produced, and the inquiry shall then be which one of all, or how much of any, of the testamentary papers is the will of the decedent. If the judgment or order was entered by the circuit court on appeal from the county commission, such complaint shall be filed within six months from the date thereof, and if the judgment or order was entered by the county commission and there was no appeal therefrom, such complaint shall be filed within six months from the date of such order of the county commission. If no such complaint be filed within the time prescribed, the judgment or order shall be forever binding. Any complaint filed under this section shall be in the circuit court of the county wherein probate of the will was allowed or denied.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-12. Impeachment or Establishment in Court -- by Person Under Disability or Nonresident

Notwithstanding the two preceding sections, any person interested who, at the time of the judgment or order is under the age of eighteen years, or is a convict or a mentally incapacitated person, may file a complaint to impeach or establish the will, within one year after he becomes of age, or other disability ceases; and any person interested who, at that time, resided out of the state, or was proceeded against by publication, may, unless he actually appeared as a party or was personally summoned, file such complaint within one year after the entry of such judgment or order.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-14. When Depositions Admissible

The deposition of an attesting witness or other person may be read on the hearing of any proceeding to probate a will, when under the facts and circumstances the deposition of the witness would have been admissible on the trial of an action at law in the circuit court. In any proceeding in which there is no contest, the deposition may be taken at any time after the will is offered for probate, and without notice to any person. Any such deposition may be in the form of an affidavit. In any case in which there is a contest, depositions may be taken at any time after the service of process upon the notice of contest, and after notice to all parties adversely interested as prescribed for the taking of depositions in actions at law, and the depositions shall be taken and certified and returned as required in other cases. In any case in which the deposition of an attesting witness is required, the clerk of the county court shall transmit the original will by some safe method of conveyance to an officer authorized to take depositions at the place where the deposition is to be taken. A copy of the will shall be made and filed by the clerk in his office before the original is sent out for the purpose of taking depositions. In any case, with the consent of all parties appearing, or of their counsel, a photostatic copy of the original will may be used in taking the deposition of an attesting witness instead of the original document. Any party may have compulsory process to compel the attendance of a witness as in any suit in the circuit court. In any proceeding to probate or record an authenticated copy of a will that has been probated in another jurisdiction, depositions may be taken as in an original proceeding to probate.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-15. Proof of Will While Testator Living

Any or all of the attesting witnesses to any will, at the request of the testator, may make and subscribe an affidavit before any officer authorized to administer oaths, in or out of the state, stating such facts as would be required of them in testimony in court to establish and prove the will; and if the testator shall preserve such affidavits with the will, and the same are produced and offered in evidence when the will is offered for probate, they shall be admissible in evidence and have the same probative value as if the affiants had appeared in court or before the clerk thereof and testified to the facts stated in the affidavit: Provided, That such affidavits shall not be admissible in evidence in any case in which there is a contest over the will.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-16. Statements of Particulars in Will Contests

For the trial of any appeal under the provisions of sections seven and ten of this article, or for the trial of any issues to be submitted to a jury under the provisions of sections eight and eleven of this article, if good cause therefor be shown, and there be no unreasonable delay in applying for such order, the circuit court, or judge thereof in vacation, may order the contestants to file a particular statement of the facts expected to be proved by them at the trial, and may stay the proceedings until a reasonable time after such order is complied with; and in like manner after the contestants have filed such statement, if good cause therefor appear, and there be no unreasonable delay in applying for such order, such court, or judge thereof in vacation, may order the proponents of the will to file a particular statement of the facts expected to be proved by them at the trial; which statement, in either case, shall be made under the oath of the parties or their attorneys to the effect that the affiants believe the same will be supported by evidence at the trial. If either the contestants or the proponents fail to file any such statement when so required, or if any such statement after the same has been filed be adjudged insufficient in whole or in part, the court, or the judge thereof in vacation, may, as justice may require, grant further time for filing same, or permit the statement filed to be amended, or may, at the trial, exclude the evidence offered by the party in default as to any matter which he has so failed to state or has insufficiently stated. But no statement which is sufficient to inform the adverse parties of the nature and substance of the facts to be shown against or in support of the will shall be adjudged insufficient; nor shall any such statement in any manner affect the burden or order of proof imposed by law on the parties.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-17. Probated Wills to Be Recorded and Indexed

Every will or authenticated copy of a will, when admitted to probate under the provisions of this article, shall be recorded by the clerk of the county court, and indexed by him in a general index of wills, and every such will or copy when recorded shall remain in his office except when removed therefrom by the order of a court, or under a subpoena duces tecum, or otherwise as provided by law.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-18. Recording in Other Counties; Duty of Personal Representative or Devisee

A duly certified copy of such will when probated, or of an authenticated copy of a foreign will admitted to record as a will of real estate, may be recorded in any other county of the state wherein there is any real estate devised by such will. It is the duty of the personal representative of the testator to record an authenticated copy of such will in each county in which any real estate is located of which the personal representative under the powers conferred by the will may make sale and disposition, and the duty of the devisee or devisees, claiming title under the will to any real estate of which the personal representative may not by the powers conferred in the will make sale and disposition, to cause such copy to be recorded in each county in which any such real estate is located.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-19. Title of Bona Fide Purchasers of Real Estate From Heirs

The title of a bona fide purchaser without notice and for valuable consideration from the heir or heirs at law of a person who has died heretofore, or who may die hereafter, having title to any real estate of inheritance in this state, shall not be affected by a devise of such real estate made by the decedent, unless within one year after the testator's death the will devising the same, or if such will has been probated without this state, an authenticated copy thereof, shall be filed for probate before the court having jurisdiction for that purpose, or the clerk thereof, and shall afterwards be admitted to probate as a will of real estate and be recorded in the proper clerk's office: Provided, however, That if any devisee under such will mentioned in this section is at the time of the testator's death an infant, or insane, or a convict, the limitation created by this section shall not affect such infant, insane person or convict until after the expiration of one year from the removal of such disability.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 41. Wills › Article 5. Production, Probate and Record of Wills › §41-5-20. Title to Real Estate Devised by Wills; Rights of Devisees and Bona Fide Purchasers

The title of a bona fide purchaser of real estate, without notice and for valuable consideration, from the devisee or devisees of a testator, a will of whom has been duly admitted to probate devising such real estate, shall not be affected or impaired by any devise or other disposition of any such real estate by the testator by or in any other will or wills executed by him subsequent to the instrument already admitted to probate as his last will and testament, unless any such subsequently executed will (or if any such will has been probated without the state, an authenticated copy thereof) shall be filed for probate in the court having jurisdiction for that purpose, or with the clerk thereof, within one year next after the testator's death and shall afterwards be admitted to probate as the will of such real estate and entered of record in the proper clerk's office: Provided, however, That if any devisee under any such subsequently executed will is at the time of the testator's death an infant, or insane, or a convict, the limitation created by this section shall not affect the rights of any such infant, insane person or convict until after the expiration of one year from the removal of such disability.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-2. Intestate Estate

(a) Any part of a decedent's estate not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession to the decedent's heirs as prescribed in this code, except as modified by the decedent's will.
(b) A decedent by will may expressly exclude or limit the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent passing by intestate succession. If that individual or a member of that class survives the decedent, the share of the decedent's intestate estate to which that individual or class would have succeeded passes as if that individual or each member of that class had disclaimed his or her intestate share.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-3. Share of Spouse

The intestate share of a decedent's surviving spouse is:
(a) The entire intestate estate if:
(1) No descendant of the decedent survives the decedent; or
(2) All of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and there is no other descendant of the surviving spouse who survives the decedent;
(b) Three fifths of the intestate estate, if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has one or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent;
(c) One half of the intestate estate, if one or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-3a. Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse

Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the decedent's surviving spouse under section three of this article, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order to the individuals designated below who survive the decedent:
(a) To the decedent's descendants by representation;
(b) If there is no surviving descendant, to the decedent's parents equally if both survive, or to the surviving parent;
(c) If there is no surviving descendant or parent, to the descendants of the decedent's parents or either of them by representation;
(d) If there is no surviving descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent, but the decedent is survived by one or more grandparents or descendants of grandparents, half of the estate passes to the decedent's paternal grandparents equally if both survive, or to the surviving paternal grandparent, or to the descendants of the decedent's paternal grandparents or either of them if both are deceased, the descendants taking by representation; and the other half passes to the decedent's maternal relatives in the same manner; but, if there is no surviving grandparent or descendant of a grandparent on either the paternal or the maternal side, the entire estate passes to the decedent's relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-3b. Requirement That Heir Survive Decedent for One Hundred Twenty Hours

An individual who fails to survive the decedent by one hundred twenty hours is deemed to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of intestate succession, and the decedent's heirs are determined accordingly. If the time of death of a decedent or of an individual who would otherwise be an heir, or the times of death of both, cannot be determined, and it is not established that the individual who would otherwise be an heir survived the decedent by one hundred twenty hours, it is deemed that the individual failed to survive for the required period. This section is not to be applied if its application would result in a taking of intestate estate by the state under section three-c of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-3c. No Taker

If there is no taker under the provisions of this article, the intestate estate passes to the state. Any real property shall pass to the State Auditor. Any personal property shall pass to the State Treasurer for disposition by public sale in accordance with the provisions of section twelve, article eight, chapter thirty-six of this code. The proceeds of the sale of any such real property shall be deposited to the credit of the general school fund. The proceeds of the sale of any such personal property shall be deposited to the credit of the General Revenue Fund.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-3d. Representation

(a) In this section:
(1) "Deceased descendant," "deceased parent," or "deceased grandparent" means a descendant, parent, or grandparent who either predeceased the decedent or is deemed to have predeceased the decedent under section three-b of this article.
(2) "Surviving descendant" means a descendant who neither predeceased the decedent nor is deemed to have predeceased the decedent under section three-b of this article.
(b) If, under section three-a of this article, a decedent's intestate estate or a part thereof passes "by representation" to the decedent's descendants, the estate or part thereof is divided into as many equal shares as there are: (i) Surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the decedent which contains one or more surviving descendants; and (ii) deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. The remaining shares, if any, are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allocated a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent.
(c) If, under section three-a of this article, a decedent's intestate estate or a part thereof passes "by representation" to the descendants of the decedent's deceased parents or either of them or to the descendants of the decedent's deceased paternal or maternal grandparents or either of them, the estate or part thereof is divided into as many equal shares as there are: (i) Surviving descendants in the generation nearest the deceased parents or either of them, or the deceased grandparents or either of them, that contains one or more surviving descendants; and (ii) deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. The remaining shares, if any, are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allotted a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-3g. Advancements

(a) If an individual dies intestate as to all or a portion of his or her estate, property the decedent gave during the decedent's lifetime to an individual who, at the decedent's death, is an heir is treated as an advancement against the heir's intestate share only if (i) the decedent declared in a contemporaneous writing or the heir acknowledged in writing that the gift is an advancement or (ii) the decedent's contemporaneous writing or the heir's written acknowledgement otherwise indicates that the gift is to be taken into account in computing the division and distribution of the decedent's intestate estate.
(b) For purposes of subsection (a), property advanced is valued as of the time the heir came into possession or enjoyment of the property or as of the time of the decedent's death, whichever first occurs.
(c) If the recipient of the property fails to survive the decedent, the property is not taken into account in computing the division and distribution of the decedent's intestate estate, unless the decedent's contemporaneous writing provides otherwise.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-5. From Whom Children Born Out of Wedlock Inherit

(a) Children born out of wedlock shall be capable of inheriting and transmitting inheritance on the part of their mother and father.
(b) Prior to the death of the father, paternity shall be established by:
(1) Acknowledgment that he is the child's father;
(2) Adjudication on the merits pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-four, chapter forty-eight of this code; or
(3) By order of a court of competent jurisdiction issued in another state.
(c) After the death of the father, paternity shall be established if, after a hearing on the merits, the court shall find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the man is the father of the child. The civil action shall be filed in the family court of the county where the administration of the decedent's estate has been filed or could be filed:
(1) Within six months of the date of the final order of the county commission admitting the decedent's will to probate or commencing intestate administration of the estate; or
(2) If none of the above apply, within six months from the date of decedent's death.
(d) Any putative child who at the time of the decedent's death is under the age of eighteen years, a convict or a mentally incapacitated person may file such civil action within six months after he or she becomes of age or the disability ceases.
(e) The provisions of this section do not apply where the putative child has been lawfully adopted by another man and stands to inherit property or assets through his adopted father.
(f) The provisions of this section do not apply where the father or putative father has expressly disinherited the child in a provision of his will.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-11. When a Parent May Not Inherit From a Child

(a) A parent is barred from inheriting from or through a child of the parent if: (1) The parents parental rights were terminated by court order and the parent-child relationship has not been judicially reestablished; or (2) the child died before reaching 18 years of age and there is clear and convincing evidence that immediately before the childs death the parental rights of the parent could have been terminated under the law of this state other than this article on the basis of nonsupport, abandonment, abuse, neglect, or other actions or inactions of the parent toward the child.
(b) For the purpose of intestate succession from or through the deceased child, a parent who is barred from inheriting under this section is treated as if the parent predeceased the child.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 1. Descent › §42-1-12. When a Child May Inherit From a Parent Who Has Been Barred From Inheritance

If a parent is barred from inheriting under the provisions of W.Va. Code §42-1-11, the child may still inherit from or through the barred parent as long as a parent-child relationship does not exist between the child as an adoptee with another person as the adoptees adoptive parent.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 3. Provisions Relating to Husband or Wife of Decedent › §42-3-1. Right to Elective Share

(a) The surviving spouse of a decedent who dies domiciled in this state has a right of election, against either the will or the intestate share, under the limitations and conditions stated in this part, to take the elective-share percentage of the augmented estate, determined by the length of time the spouse and the decedent were married to each other, in accordance with the following schedule:
If the decedent and the spouse The elective-share
were married to each other percentage is:
Less than 1 year Supplemental Amount Only
1 year but less than 2 years 3% of the augmented estate.
2 years but less than 3 years 6% of the augmented estate.
3 years but less than 4 years 9% of the augmented estate.
4 years but less than 5 years 12% of the augmented estate.
5 years but less than 6 years 15% of the augmented estate.
6 years but less than 7 years 18% of the augmented estate.
7 years but less than 8 years 21% of the augmented estate.
8 years but less than 9 years 24% of the augmented estate.
9 years but less than 10 years27% of the augmented estate.
10 years but less than 11 years30% of the augmented estate.
11 years but less than 12 years34% of the augmented estate.
12 years but less than 13 years38% of the augmented estate.
13 years but less than 14 years42% of the augmented estate.
14 years but less than 15 years46% of the augmented estate.
15 years or more50% of the augmented estate.
(b) If the sum of the amounts described in subdivisions (3) and (4), subsection (b), section two of this article, and subdivisions (1) and (3), subsection (a), section six of this article, and that part of the elective-share amount payable from the decedent's probate and reclaimable estates under subsections (b) and (c), section six of this article, is less than $25,000, the surviving spouse is entitled to a supplemental elective-share amount equal to $25,000, minus the sum of the amounts described in said sections. The supplemental elective-share amount is payable from the decedent's probate estate and from recipients of the decedent's reclaimable estate in the order of priority set forth in subsections (b) and (c), section six of this article.
(c) The right, if any, of the surviving spouse of a decedent who dies domiciled outside this state to take an elective share in property in this state is governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 3. Provisions Relating to Husband or Wife of Decedent › §42-3-3. Right of Election Personal to Surviving Spouse

(a) The right of election may be exercised only by a surviving spouse who is living when the petition for the elective share is filed in the court under subsection (a), section four of this article. If the election is not exercised by the surviving spouse personally, it may be exercised on the surviving spouse's behalf by his or her conservator, guardian, or agent under the authority of a power of attorney.
(b) If the election is exercised on behalf of a surviving spouse who is an incapacitated person, the court must set aside that portion of the elective-share and supplemental elective-share amounts due from the decedent's probate estate and recipients of the decedent's reclaimable estate under subsections (b) and (c), section six of this article and must appoint a trustee to administer that property for the support of the surviving spouse. For the purposes of this subsection, an election on behalf of a surviving spouse by an agent under a durable power of attorney is presumed to be on behalf of a surviving spouse who is an incapacitated person. The trustee must administer the trust in accordance with the following terms and such additional terms as the court determines appropriate:
(1) Expenditures of income and principal may be made in the manner, when, and to the extent that the trustee determines suitable and proper for the surviving spouse's support, without court order but with regard to other support, income, and property of the surviving spouse and benefits of medical or other forms of assistance from any state or federal government or governmental agency for which the surviving spouse must qualify on the basis of need;
(2) During the surviving spouse's incapacity, neither the surviving spouse nor anyone acting on behalf of the surviving spouse has a power to terminate the trust; but if the surviving spouse regains capacity, the surviving spouse then acquires the power to terminate the trust and acquire full ownership of the trust property free of trust, by delivering to the trustee a writing signed by the surviving spouse declaring the termination;
(3) Upon the surviving spouse's death, the trustee shall transfer the unexpended trust property under the residuary clause, if any, of the will of the predeceased spouse against whom the elective share was taken, as if that predeceased spouse died immediately after the surviving spouse, or, if there was no residuary clause or no will of that predeceased spouse, to the persons and in such shares as would succeed to that predeceased spouse's intestate estate as if that predeceased spouse died immediately after the surviving spouse.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 3. Provisions Relating to Husband or Wife of Decedent › §42-3-3a. Waiver of Right to Elect; Other Rights

(a) The right of election of a surviving spouse may be waived, wholly or partially, before or after marriage, by a written contract, agreement, or waiver signed by the surviving spouse.
(b) A surviving spouse's waiver is not enforceable if the surviving spouse proves that:
(1) He or she did not execute the waiver voluntarily; or
(2) The waiver was unconscionable when it was executed and, before execution of the waiver, he or she:
(i) Was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the decedent;
(ii) Did not voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing, any right to disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the decedent beyond the disclosure provided; and
(iii) Did not have, or reasonably could not have had, an adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the decedent.
(c) An issue of unconscionability of a waiver is for decision by the court as a matter of law.
(d) Unless it provides to the contrary, a waiver of "all rights," or equivalent language, in the property or estate of a present or prospective spouse or a complete property settlement entered into after or in anticipation of separation or divorce is a waiver of all rights of elective share by each spouse in the property of the other and renunciation by each of all benefits that would otherwise pass to him or her from the other by intestate succession or by virtue of any will executed before the waiver or property settlement.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 3. Provisions Relating to Husband or Wife of Decedent › §42-3-7. Entitlement of Spouse; Premarital Will

(a) If a testator's surviving spouse married the testator after the testator executed his or her will, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive, as an intestate share no less than the value of the share of the estate he or she would have received if the testator had died intestate as to that portion of the testator's estate, if any, that neither is devised to a child of the testator who was born before the testator married the surviving spouse and who is not a child of the surviving spouse nor is devised or passes to a descendant of such a child, unless:
(1) It appears from the will or other evidence that the will was made in contemplation of the testator's marriage to the surviving spouse;
(2) The will expresses the intention that it is to be effective notwithstanding any subsequent marriage; or
(3) The testator provided for the spouse by transfer outside the will and the intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision is shown by the testator's statements or is reasonably inferred from the amount of the transfer or other evidence.
(b) In satisfying the share provided by this section, devises made by the will to the testator's surviving spouse, if any, are applied first, and other devises, other than a devise to a child of the testator who was born before the testator married the surviving spouse and who is not a child of the surviving spouse or a devise or substitute gift to a descendant of such a child, abate.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 4. General Provisions › §42-4-2. Homicide Bars Acquisition of Estate or Insurance Money

(a) A person who has been convicted of feloniously killing another, or of conspiracy in the killing of another, may not take or acquire any money or property, real or personal, or interest in the money or property, from the one killed or conspired against, either by descent and distribution, or by will, or by any policy or certificate of insurance, or otherwise; but the money or the property to which the convicted person would otherwise have been entitled shall go to the person or persons who would have taken the money or property if the convicted person had been dead at the date of the death of the one killed or conspired against, unless by some rule of law or equity the money or the property would pass to some other person or persons.
(b) A person who has been convicted of an offense causing the death of an incapacitated adult set forth in section twenty-nine-a, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code, or convicted of a similar provision of law of another state or the United States, may not take or acquire any money or property, real or personal, or interest in the money or property, from the victim decedent, either by descent and distribution, or by will, or by any policy or certificate of insurance, or otherwise; but the money or the property to which the convicted person would otherwise have been entitled shall go to the person or persons who would have taken the money or property if the convicted person had been dead at the date of the death of the decedent, unless by law the money or the property would pass to some other person or persons.
(c) A person who has been convicted of an offense of abuse or neglect of an incapacitated adult pursuant to section twenty-nine, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code, a felony offense of financial exploitation of an elderly person, protected person or incapacitated adult pursuant to section twenty-nine–b, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code, or convicted of a similar provision of law of another state or the United States, may not take or acquire any money or property, real or personal, or any interest in the money or property, from the victim of the offense, either by descent and distribution, or by will, or by any policy or certificate of insurance, or otherwise. The money or the property to which the convicted person would otherwise have been entitled shall go to the person or persons who would have taken the money or property if the convicted person had been dead at the date of the death of the victim, unless by law the money or the property would pass to some other person or persons. This subsection does not apply if, after the conviction, the victim of the offense, if competent, executes a recordable instrument, sworn to, notarized and witnessed by two persons that would be competent witnesses to a will of the victim, expresses a specific intent to allow the convicted person to inherit or otherwise receive the money, estate or other property of the victim of the offense.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 5. Uniform Simultaneous Death Act › §42-5-2. Beneficiaries of Another Person's Disposition of Property

Where two or more beneficiaries are designated to take successively by reason of survivorship under another person's disposition of property and there is no sufficient evidence that these beneficiaries have died otherwise than simultaneously the property thus disposed of shall be divided into as many equal portions as there are successive beneficiaries and these portions shall be distributed respectively to those who would have taken in the event that each designated beneficiary had survived.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 5. Uniform Simultaneous Death Act › §42-5-3. Joint Tenants or Tenants by the Entirety

Where there is no sufficient evidence that two joint tenants or tenants by the entirety have died otherwise than simultaneously the property so held shall be distributed one half as if one had survived and one half as if the other had survived. If there are more than two joint tenants and all of them have so died the property thus distributed shall be in the proportion that one bears to the whole number of joint tenants.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-2. Definitions

In this article:
(1) "Disclaimant" means the person to whom a disclaimed interest or power would have passed had the disclaimer not been made.
(2) "Disclaimed interest" means the interest that would have passed to the disclaimant had the disclaimer not been made.
(3) "Disclaimer" means the refusal to accept an interest in or power over property.
(4) "Fiduciary" means a personal representative, trustee, agent acting under a power of attorney or other person authorized to act as a fiduciary with respect to the property of another person.
(5) "Jointly held property with right of survivorship" means property held in the name of two or more persons under an arrangement in which all holders have concurrent interests and under which the last surviving holder is entitled to the whole of the property.
(6) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government; governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality; public corporation or any other legal or commercial entity.
(7) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes an Indian tribe or band, or Alaskan native village, recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state.
(8) "Trust" means:
(A) An express trust, charitable or noncharitable, with additions thereto, whenever and however created; and
(B) A trust created pursuant to a statute, judgment or decree which requires the trust to be administered in the manner of an express trust.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-4. Article Supplemented by Other Law

(a) Unless displaced by a provision of this article, the principles of law and equity supplement this article.
(b) This article does not limit any right of a person to waive, release, disclaim or renounce an interest in or power over property under a law other than this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-5. Power to Disclaim; General Requirements; When Irrevocable

(a) A person may disclaim, in whole or part, any interest in or power over property, including a power of appointment. A person may disclaim the interest or power even if its creator imposed a spendthrift provision or similar restriction on transfer or a restriction or limitation on the right to disclaim.
(b) Except to the extent a fiduciary's right to disclaim is expressly restricted or limited by another statute of this state or by the instrument creating the fiduciary relationship, a fiduciary may disclaim, in whole or part, any interest in or power over property, including a power of appointment, whether acting in a personal or representative capacity. A fiduciary may disclaim the interest or power even if its creator imposed a spendthrift provision or similar restriction on transfer or a restriction or limitation on the right to disclaim, or an instrument other than the instrument that created the fiduciary relationship imposed a restriction or limitation on the right to disclaim.
(c) To be effective, a disclaimer must be in writing, declare the disclaimer, describe the interest or power disclaimed, be signed by the person making the disclaimer, be acknowledged in such a manner as would authorize a deed to be admitted of record and be delivered or filed in the manner provided in section twelve of this article.
(d) A partial disclaimer may be expressed as a fraction, percentage, monetary amount, term of years, limitation of a power or any other interest or estate in the property.
(e) A disclaimer becomes irrevocable when it is delivered, filed or recorded pursuant to the provisions of section twelve of this article or when it becomes effective as provided in sections six through eleven, inclusive, of this article, whichever occurs later.
(f) A disclaimer made under this article is not a transfer, assignment or release and relates back for all purposes to the time the disclaimer takes effect pursuant to the provisions of section six of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-6. Disclaimer of Interest Property

(a) In this section:
(1) "Time of distribution" means the time when a disclaimed interest would have taken effect in possession or enjoyment.
(2) "Future interest" means an interest that takes effect in possession or enjoyment, if at all, later than the time of its creation.
(b) Except for a disclaimer governed by section seven or eight of this article, the following rules apply to a disclaimer of an interest in property:
(1) The disclaimer takes effect as of the time the instrument creating the interest becomes irrevocable or, if the interest arose under the law of intestate succession, as of the time of the intestate's death.
(2) The disclaimed interest passes according to any provision in the instrument creating the interest providing for the disposition of the interest, should it be disclaimed, or of disclaimed interests in general.
(3) If the instrument does not contain a provision described in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the following rules apply:
(A) If the disclaimant is an individual, the disclaimed interest passes as if the disclaimant had died immediately before the time of distribution. However, if, by law or under the instrument, the descendants of the disclaimant would share in the disclaimed interest by any method of representation had the disclaimant died before the time of distribution, the disclaimed interest passes only to the descendants of the disclaimant who survive the time of distribution.
(B) If the disclaimant is not an individual, the disclaimed interest passes as if the disclaimant did not exist.
(4) Upon the disclaimer of a preceding interest, a future interest held by a person other than the disclaimant takes effect as if the disclaimant had died or ceased to exist immediately before the time of distribution, but a future interest held by the disclaimant is not accelerated in possession or enjoyment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-7. Disclaimer of Right of Survivorship in Jointly Held Property With Right of Survivorship

(a) Upon the death of a holder of jointly held property with right of survivorship, a surviving holder may disclaim, in whole or part, the greater of:
(1) A fractional share of the property determined by dividing the number one by the number of joint holders alive immediately before the death of the holder to whose death the disclaimer relates; or
(2) All of the property except that part of the value of the entire interest attributable to the contribution furnished by the disclaimant.
(b) A disclaimer under subsection (a) of this section takes effect as of the death of the holder of jointly held property to whose death the disclaimer relates.
(c) An interest in jointly held property with right of survivorship disclaimed by a surviving holder of the property passes as if the disclaimant predeceased the holder to whose death the disclaimer relates.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-9. Disclaimer of Power of Appointment or Other Power Not Held in Fiduciary Capacity

If a holder disclaims a power of appointment or other power not held in a fiduciary capacity, the following rules apply:
(1) If the holder has not exercised the power, the disclaimer takes effect as of the time the instrument creating the power becomes irrevocable.
(2) If the holder has exercised the power and the disclaimer is of a power other than a presently exercisable general power of appointment, the disclaimer takes effect immediately after the last exercise of the power.
(3) The instrument creating the power is construed as if the power expired when the disclaimer became effective.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 42. Descent and Distribution › Article 6. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act › §42-6-10. Disclaimer by Appointee, Object or Taker in Default of Exercise of Power of Appointment

(a) A disclaimer of an interest in property by an appointee of a power of appointment takes effect as of the time the instrument by which the holder exercises the power becomes irrevocable.
(b) A disclaimer of an interest in property by an object or taker in default of an exercise of a power of appointment takes effect as of the time the instrument creating the power becomes irrevocable.