Serves Ohio County from Main Street in Wheeling and practices across Hancock, Brooke, Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler, Monongalia and Harrison counties. Guides executors and administrators through West Virginia probate, from filing the will and appointment through inventory, debts and distribution, and handles will contests, executor disputes and trust litigation. Founded in Wheeling in 1925.
Probate in Hancock County
Probate Court Record
Hancock County Circuit Court
Hancock County · First Judicial Circuit
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
Hancock County Courthouse, 102 Court Street, New Cumberland, WV 26047
Website
Filing in person
Appointment required
Self-represented filing
Allowed
How to file probate in Hancock County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Hancock County? →Settling an estate in Hancock County →
Probate Firms Serving Hancock County
Serves Monongalia County from Morgantown, with additional offices in Charleston and Wheeling. Guides executors and trustees through probate filings, trust administration and distribution, and represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in will contests, trust disputes and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Counsel Richard R. Marsh focuses on trust and estate planning, administration and litigation.
Serves northern West Virginia and east central Ohio from Fourteenth Street in Wheeling. Handles probate and estate administration, trust administration and contested estates, with trial lawyers who take disputes in the administration or probate process to court, alongside wills, trusts and powers of attorney.
Serves Ohio County from Main Street in Wheeling, where David R. Croft, co-chair of the firm's Wills, Estates & Trusts group, runs the office. Handles the probate of decedents' estates and the administration of trusts, represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in estate and trust litigation, and plans estate and gift tax.
Serves Kanawha County and clients statewide from Charleston. Guides executors and trustees through probating a will, notifying creditors and distributing assets, drafts wills, trusts and transfer-on-death deeds, and represents clients in will contests and fiduciary-duty disputes. Managing member Christopher J. Winton was appointed Chair of the West Virginia State Bar Probate Committee in 2019.
Serves Kanawha County from Charleston, with offices in Beckley and Lewisburg. Drafts wills and trusts, guides trustees and families through trust administration, and litigates will contests, trust contests, fiduciary-duty claims and probate and trust accountings. Represents both beneficiaries and fiduciaries in estate disputes.
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in West Virginia
Free West Virginia forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for West Virginia.
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Revocable Living Trust
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Last Will and Testament
In West Virginia, a will is signed before 2W.Va. Code § 41-1-3Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and the witnesses sign an affidavit at probate instead of a self-proving affidavitW.Va. Code § 41-1-3Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in West Virginia
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in West Virginia: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in West Virginia costs an estimated $30,331W.Va. Code § 44-4-12 (attorney fees as reasonable expenses of the fiduciary, allowed by the fiduciary commissioner; no statutory schedule); § 44-3A-42(c) (fee vouchers); § 44-2-1(a) ($300 ceiling)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.6%Modeled estimate under W.Va. Code § 44-4-12 (attorney fees as reasonable expenses of the fiduciary, allowed by the fiduciary commissioner; no statutory schedule); § 44-3A-42(c) (fee vouchers); § 44-2-1(a) ($300 ceiling): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source to 2.6%Modeled estimate under W.Va. Code § 44-4-12 (attorney fees as reasonable expenses of the fiduciary, allowed by the fiduciary commissioner; no statutory schedule); § 44-3A-42(c) (fee vouchers); § 44-2-1(a) ($300 ceiling): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
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How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in West Virginia: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysW. Va. Code § 44-1-14Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 2 monthsW. Va. Code §§ 44-1-14a, 44-2-4, 44-2-21, 44-2-26Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
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How Much Can an Executor Charge?
West Virginia sets executor compensation by statute — about $20,000 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 4.0%W.Va. Code § 44-4-12a(a) (5% first $100K, 4% to $400K, 3% to $800K, 2% above $800K, on personal estate and real estate sold); §§ 44-4-12a(b) (unsold real estate 1%), 44-4-12a(d), 44-4-12a(f)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source.
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Do I Need Probate?
In West Virginia, estates with personal property of $50,000W.Va. Code § 44-1A-2Verified Sep 9, 2026View source or less use the Small Estate AffidavitW.Va. Code § 44-1A-2Verified Sep 9, 2026View source, 60 daysW.Va. Code § 44-1A-2Verified Sep 9, 2026View source after death, a court filing short of full probate.
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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?
In West Virginia, the 2 monthsW.Va. Code § 44-1-14a(a)(7) (sixty days from the date of first publication); § 44-3A-4(b) (the same sixty days in fiduciary-supervisor counties)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source period after first publication of the creditor notice protects a representative who distributes after it; late claims can still reach undistributed assets.
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Can I Self-File Probate?
West Virginia has no statewide fill-in probate petition, so the opening petition is drafted as a legal pleading, and informal probate is availableW.Va. Code § 44-12-1 (clerk of the county commission admits wills and qualifies executors and administrators in vacation, ex parte); § 44-1-4(a) (the county commission or its clerk during recess)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source.
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