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West Virginia source record

Every source behind the West Virginia guide

5 primary records, quoted verbatim and checked against 17 named presence or absence conditions that must pass against the live government text. Open the record, read the words the publishing body actually used, and confirm the current rule for yourself.

Last full re-fetch September 15, 2026

What each source establishes

The West Virginia guide rests on the source-backed rules this site can verify for the state: which simplified procedure exists and what it limits, what the court charges, how the person administering the estate may be paid, and the statutory creditor-deadline clocks the official text states.Every published rule below is quoted in the publisher’s own words rather than summarised.

Simplified-procedure rule

W. Va. Code § 44-1A-2

West Virginia Legislature · Publisher states no currentness signal; manual session review required · Verified August 9, 2026

§44-1A-2. Administration of a small estate upon affidavit and without appointment. (a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary, the small estate of a decedent who dies domiciled in this state, without owning any probate real property or without owning any interest in probate real property, may be administered upon affidavit and without the appointment of a personal representative, and the small assets of the decedent may be paid or delivered to the authorized successor as provided in this article.

What was published from this source

  • WV W. Va. Code § 44-1A-2

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • WV affidavit threshold and waits
  • WV section identity
  • WV statutory model small-estate affidavit in subsection (e)
  • section identity

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Court cost rule

W. Va. Code § 59-1-10(a)

West Virginia Legislature · Publisher states no currentness signal; manual session review required · Verified August 9, 2026

§59-1-10. Fees to be charged by clerk of county commission. For the purpose of this section, the word "page" is defined as being a paper or electronic writing of not more than legal size, 8 1/2" x 14". (a) When a writing is admitted to the record, for receiving proof of acknowledgment of the writing, entering an order in connection with the writing, endorsing clerk's certificate of recordation on the writing and indexing in a proper index, the clerk of the county commission shall charge and collect the following fees: (1) Thirty dollars for a deed of conveyance (with or without a plat), trust deed, fixture filing, or security agreement concerning real estate lease. (2) Forty dollars for a trustee's report of sale for any property for which additional information and filing requirements are required by §38-1-8a of this code.

What was published from this source

  • WV W. Va. Code § 59-1-10(a)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • WV recording components
  • WV fee section identity
  • section identity

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Executor compensation rule

W. Va. Code § 44-4-12a

West Virginia Legislature · Publisher states no currentness signal; manual session review required · Verified August 9, 2026

§44-4-12a. Compensation and expenses of personal representatives. (a) Personal representatives, as defined in section one, article one, chapter forty-two of this code, shall be allowed any reasonable expenses incurred by the personal representative as such and commissions upon the amount of all the personal estate which is subject to administration, including the income from the personal estate, that is received and accounted for by them and upon the proceeds of real estate that is sold, as follows: (1) For the first $100,000, at the rate of five percent; (2) All above $100,000 and not exceeding $400,000, at the rate of four percent; (3) All above $400,000 and not exceeding $800,000, at the rate of three percent; and (4) All above $800,000, at the rate of two percent.

What was published from this source

  • WV W. Va. Code § 44-4-12a

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • WV commission tiers
  • WV compensation section identity
  • section identity

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Creditor deadline rule

W. Va. Code § 44-2-26

West Virginia Legislature · Publisher states no currentness signal; manual session review required · Verified August 9, 2026

§44-2-26. When claims not presented and proved barred of recovery from personal representative. Every person including the State Tax Commissioner, having a claim against a deceased person, whether due or not, who has not, after notice to creditors has been published as prescribed in this article, presented his claim on or before the time fixed in such notice, or before that time has not instituted a civil action or suit thereon, shall, notwithstanding the same be not barred by some other statute of limitations that is applicable thereto, be barred from recovering such claim of or from the personal representative, or from thereafter setting off the same against the personal representative in any action or suit whatever; except that if a surplus remain after providing for all claims presented in due time, or on which action or suit shall have been commenced in due time, and such surplus

What was published from this source

  • WV W. Va. Code § 44-2-26

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • WV publication-trigger bar
  • WV claims section identity
  • section identity

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Creditor deadline rule

W. Va. Code § 44-1-14a(a)(7)

West Virginia Legislature · Publisher states no currentness signal; manual session review required · Verified August 9, 2026

The date of first publication; (7) A statement that claims against the estate must be filed within sixty days of the date of first publication in accordance with article two or article three-a of this chapter

What was published from this source

  • WV W. Va. Code § 44-1-14a(a)(7)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • WV 60-day publication deadline
  • WV 60-day mailing duty
  • WV notice section identity
  • section identity

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West Virginia source decision map

How the West Virginia records fit together

The source record is most useful when each citation has a job. This map links the West Virginia procedure, cost, compensation, and deadline records to the decision each one can and cannot answer.

QuestionRecorded West Virginia answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Administration of a small estate upon affidavit and without appointmentConfirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?personal probate property only; gross value for this route.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$50,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; West Virginia publishes a 60-day claim deadline: W. Va. Code § 44-1-14a(a)(7) requires the clerk's published notice of administration to state that claims against the estate must be filed within sixty days of the date of first publication. Claims not presented by that date are barred against the personal representative under § 44-2-26, subject to the surplus exception in that section. The interval is published as a fixed period of days.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule.Ask the County Commission (with fiduciary supervisor/commissioner; Circuit Court review) about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?Commissions apply to personal estate received and accounted for, including income, plus proceeds of real estate sold: 5% through $100,000, 4% through $400,000, 3% through $800,000, and 2% above. Unsold real estate and certain estate-tax property receive a separate 1%; a will may expressly deviate. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Decision boundary

What the West Virginia source set does not silently decide

The West Virginia records establish the rules listed above, but they do not turn a source citation into advice about title, family priority, tax filing, contested proceedings, or the exact clerk practice in every county. Those questions stay with the official court or a qualified adviser. The useful next step is to match the question to the citation rather than treating the longest quote as the answer to every estate problem.

Arithmetic illustration

See the West Virginia amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded West Virginia ceiling is $50,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $37,500 sits below the West Virginia figure and $62,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what West Virginia counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the West Virginia ceilingWhat it does not decide
$37,500Below $50,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$62,500Above $50,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Open the quoted record for the row you rely on and check the publisher's current text before filing.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Probate is administered through county commissions, clerks, fiduciary supervisors, and fiduciary commissioners rather than a statewide judiciary probate-form portal; no judiciary/AOC resource returning HTTP 200 was identified.

West Virginia's official statewide small-estate form is the statutory model affidavit at W. Va. Code § 44-1A-2(e), which supplies a document 'substantially in the following form' for the affidavit administration under subsection (b); the completed affidavit is recorded with the county clerk or fiduciary supervisor.

Source trail

Records used by this West Virginia map

What West Virginia courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

  • Official formStatutory model small-estate affidavit, W. Va. Code § 44-1A-2(e)West Virginia Legislature

    West Virginia sets out its official statewide small-estate affidavit as a statutory model form: § 44-1A-2(e) provides a document 'substantially in the following form' that may be used as the affidavit under subsection (b). It is completed and recorded with the county clerk / fiduciary supervisor.

Limits on court material

  • Probate is administered through county commissions, clerks, fiduciary supervisors, and fiduciary commissioners rather than a statewide judiciary probate-form portal; no judiciary/AOC resource returning HTTP 200 was identified.
  • West Virginia's official statewide small-estate form is the statutory model affidavit at W. Va. Code § 44-1A-2(e), which supplies a document 'substantially in the following form' for the affidavit administration under subsection (b); the completed affidavit is recorded with the county clerk or fiduciary supervisor.

Checking these West Virginia records against the publishers

Every citation above links to the body that publishes it, and every quoted sentence is reproduced exactly, so a text search on the publisher’s own page should land on it. Where the publisher’s current wording differs from what is recorded here, the publisher governs and this page is wrong; naming the citation and the language you see maps the difference onto a specific condition rather than a general complaint. The full procedure, including how a source qualifies in the first place and what disqualifies one, is set out once on the methodology page instead of being restated on each of the254 state records.

These records cover the cost and route questions this site answers for West Virginia. They do not cover intestate succession shares, spousal and family allowances, creditor priority, tax filing obligations, real-property transfer mechanics, or contested proceedings. Where an answer would require one of those, the site says so rather than estimating.

Return to the West Virginia estate guide ·All 254 records ·Dataset overview and citation ·How sources are selected