West Virginia estate administration
Small-estate limit: $50,000
This guide explains probate in West Virginia: West Virginia’s county commission system uses the county clerk, fiduciary supervisor, and fiduciary commissioners to administer estates, with circuit-court involvement for review.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
A West Virginia domiciliary with no probate real-property interest may use the affidavit when all personal probate small assets have aggregate fair market value no more than $50,000. A will-nominated successor waits 30 days; another successor waits 60 days.
Administration of a small estate upon affidavit and without appointmentSimplified route
A West Virginia domiciliary with no probate real-property interest may use the affidavit when all personal probate small assets have aggregate fair market value no more than $50,000. A will-nominated successor waits 30 days; another successor waits 60 days.
Eligibility and caveatsCourt cost
The statewide recording base for an otherwise unlisted writing is $10, with $1 per page after five; oath and copy services can add charges, so no single opening total is stated.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
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.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
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.
W. Va. Code § 44-1-14a(a)(7) (West Virginia Legislature; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsWest Virginia decision map
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the West Virginia amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded West Virginia answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Administration of a small estate upon affidavit and without appointment | Confirm 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? | $50,000 | Use 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. |
Arithmetic illustration
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 amount | Comparison to the West Virginia ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $37,500 | Below $50,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $62,500 | Above $50,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
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
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
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.
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.
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Reviewed source note: §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.
Reviewed source note: §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.
Reviewed source note: §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.
Reviewed source note: §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
Reviewed source note: 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