Letters Testamentary in West Virginia

In West Virginia, wills are probated and personal representatives qualify before the county commission or its clerk in the county with jurisdiction. With a will, the named executor qualifies; without one, administration is granted to the distributees who apply, preferring the surviving spouse and then the others the commission or clerk chooses, and if no distributee applies within 30 days after death, to a creditor or other fit person. The representative takes the oath and gives bond unless excused (for example, when the will waives bond, unless the commission requires it). A named executor may live outside the state; nonresidents generally must give bond with corporate surety, with exceptions for close family and sole beneficiaries. The West Virginia DMV requires a certified copy of the court appointment as proof of authority.

An individual named as executor by a resident decedent may serve even if he or she lives outside West Virginia. A nonresident may also be appointed administrator of a resident decedent's estate under the normal priority rules (surviving spouse first, then other distributees; after 30 days without an application, creditors or other fit persons). Nonresidents generally must give bond with a corporate surety, though a nonresident who is the decedent's spouse, parent, sibling, descendant or sole beneficiary may give bond in the amount set under the ordinary rules, and a will can waive or limit bond for a nonresident executor unless the clerk or commission requires more. For residents, bond is not required if the will waives it, unless the county commission requires it; no surety is required of an executor who is the sole beneficiary or an administrator who is the sole distributee unless ordered.