West Virginia · probate and estate law
Probate in West Virginia: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs
West Virginia law decides whether an estate needs probate and what a lawyer may charge. Every fact links to its statute, with the date we read it. Not legal advice.
We do not endorse or recommend any attorney
Firms are listed by name with what they publish and what the bar roster says about them; you contact them yourself. A firm can never pay to move up a list.
Do I need a lawyer?
- Small-estate limit
- Estates under $50,000 can use a simpler process instead of full probate. In West Virginia this usually starts with a signed affidavit.
- Formal probate
- Required above $50,000. Independent administration: no. Uniform Probate Code: no.
- Typical duration
- About 9 months.
- Source
- W. Va. Code §44-1A-2 (small estate: personal property ≤ $50,000, real property ≤ $100,000) statute → · checked Sep 22, 2026
Settling an estate in West Virginia
What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.
- Filing the original will
In West Virginia, if you have the original will, you must deliver it within 30 days after you learn of the death to the clerk of the county commission where it would be probated, or to the executor named in it. Failing to do so without good reason is a misdemeanor.
- Which court handles probate
In West Virginia, wills are probated and estates are opened before the county commission, through its clerk, in the county where the person who died lived.
- Creditors' deadline to make claims
In West Virginia, a notice of the estate is published once a week for two weeks, and creditors must file claims within 60 days of the first publication. Claims not presented in time are generally barred against the executor or administrator.
- Estate inventory
In West Virginia, the executor or administrator must return an appraisement of the estate, with the nonprobate inventory form, to the clerk of the county commission or the fiduciary supervisor within 90 days of qualifying.
- The order estate debts are paid
In West Virginia, if the estate cannot pay every debt, the executor or administrator pays them in a set order: the costs of running the estate, then reasonable funeral costs, then federal debts and taxes, then unpaid child support, then state debts and taxes, then last-illness medical bills, and everything else last.
- State estate and inheritance tax
West Virginia has no inheritance tax, and its estate tax is only a share of the old federal state death tax credit, which no longer exists, so in practice no West Virginia estate tax is due.
- Closing an estate
In West Virginia, once the claim period has passed, the executor or administrator can usually close the estate with a short form settlement (an affidavit that no claims are unpaid, signed off by the beneficiaries) filed with the fiduciary supervisor, or by a recorded waiver of final settlement. Otherwise a final settlement of accounts is made.
What a probate lawyer may charge in West Virginia
Some states set the fee by statute, as a percentage of the estate. Others say "reasonable compensation", and you agree it with the firm.
No statutory fee schedule is recorded for West Virginia yet. Either the state leaves fees to "reasonable compensation", or we have not read the statute.
Firms in West Virginia
A metro is listed once three firms there have an attorney active on the West Virginia bar.
No West Virginia metro has three listed firms yet (4 firms so far). Firms come from the state bar's own roster and certification lists, not a directory, so this fills in as attorneys are checked. Where we have firms →
Every West Virginia firm with a credentialed attorney, by city →
The estate letter · West Virginia
Settling an estate in West Virginia, one month at a time
Twelve months of steps with West Virginia's own numbers and deadlines. Read the checklist now, or sign up there for one email a month.
Get the estate letter- Month 1The first things to gather
- Month 2Work out what the estate is
- Month 3Get the authority to act
- 9 more months
Compare more
Estate checklist for West Virginia
What the executor does, month by month, with West Virginia's numbers and deadlines.
Funeral and cremation law in West Virginia
1 checked facts: who decides, waiting periods, permits.
Before probate
Look a lawyer up yourself
Every attorney we name is checked against the West Virginia bar roster. You can too: wvbar.org →