West Virginia has no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the County Commission (or the county clerk during recess) — probate is administered by the county, not a court. After the court grants the petition, Clerk of the county commission (fiduciary supervisor), after the applicant qualifies and takes the oath issues your Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Along with the petition, West Virginia generally requires: Certified copy of the death certificate; Original will and any codicils, delivered to the clerk of the county commission within 30 days after the death is known to the custodian (W. Va. Code §41-5-1); Oath of executor (W. Va. Code §44-1-3) or oath of administrator (W. Va. Code §44-1-6), signed at qualification; Affidavit showing heirs, distributees, devisees, and legatees (W. Va. Code §44-1-13); Fiduciary bond unless waived (W. Va. Code §§ 44-1-6, 44-1-8); State Tax Department Appraisement (ET 6.01) and Nonprobate Inventory (ET 6.02), returned to the clerk of the county commission or the fiduciary supervisor within 90 days of the date of qualification (W. Va. Code §44-1-14).
Yes. West Virginia requires a bond by default before Letters issue. A will can waive it.
West Virginia permits self-represented filers to open an estate. The Self-File Probate Assessment compares self-filing and attorney costs for West Virginia.
Yes. A revocable living trust passes assets to beneficiaries without any court appointment in West Virginia — no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about 15 minutes.
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Getting Appointed in West VirginiaW. Va. Code §§ 44-1-1 to 44-1-14 (qualification, oath, bond, letters); § 44-1-31 (oath/bond may be taken before any officer authorized to administer oaths); §§ 41-5-1 et seq. (admission of wills to probate); § 44-1-4 (intestate administration & priority)Verified Jul 15, 2026View source
Personal Representative (executor if testate, administrator if intestate; "fiduciary" in ch. 44)
Where you file
County Commission (or the county clerk during recess) — probate is administered by the county, not a court
The form that opens the estate
No statewide fill-in form · County-issued form
What the court issues (with a will)
Letters Testamentaryissued by Clerk of the county commission (fiduciary supervisor), after the applicant qualifies and takes the oath
Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.
At a glance
UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filingSelf-represented filingLocal/county forms
No statewide probate e-filing. The applicant qualifies at the county clerk / fiduciary supervisor office, which supplies and takes the application, affidavit, and oath, and then issues Letters; counties ask that you schedule an appointment. The oath itself need not be sworn at the counter — W. Va. Code §44-1-31 allows any oath required by ch. 44 to be taken before any person authorized to administer oaths, and a bond to be executed before such a person "if not in person before the county clerk." Pro se qualification is the norm ("While an attorney is not required..." — Jefferson County Clerk).
Probate runs through the 55 county commissions / fiduciary supervisors, not a statewide court. The county clerk supplies the application, affidavit, and oath at qualification and publishes its own ancillary documents (e.g., "Probate Check List With Will" / "Without Will", "Appointment Checklist — Testate / Intestate", "Declination as Executor or Executrix"). The only numbered statewide form in the process is the State Tax Department Appraisement (ET 6.01) and Nonprobate Inventory (ET 6.02), filed AFTER qualification, within 90 days, not to obtain appointment.
BondW. Va. Code §§ 44-1-6, 44-1-7, 44-1-8; § 44-1-31 (bond may be executed before any officer authorized to administer oaths if not executed in person before the county clerk)Verified Jul 15, 2026View source
Required before Letters
Yes
Waivable by will
Yes
Waivable by beneficiaries
No
What to file with the petition
Certified copy of the death certificate
Original will and any codicils, delivered to the clerk of the county commission within 30 days after the death is known to the custodian (W. Va. Code §41-5-1)
Oath of executor (W. Va. Code §44-1-3) or oath of administrator (W. Va. Code §44-1-6), signed at qualification
Fiduciary bond unless waived (W. Va. Code §§ 44-1-6, 44-1-8)
State Tax Department Appraisement (ET 6.01) and Nonprobate Inventory (ET 6.02), returned to the clerk of the county commission or the fiduciary supervisor within 90 days of the date of qualification (W. Va. Code §44-1-14)
Small-estate alternative
Bypasses full Letters
Yes
Form name
Affidavit for Small Estate (statutory form, W. Va. Code §44-1A-2(e))
State-specific notes
Statutory references to the "county court" mean the county commission (renamed by the 1974 Judicial Reorganization Amendment); it sits as the probate authority. Intestate administration priority (W. Va. Code §44-1-4(a), verbatim): "Administration shall be granted to the distributees who apply therefor, preferring first the husband or wife, and then such of the others entitled to distribution as the county commission or clerk shall see fit. If no distributee apply for administration within 30 days from the death of the intestate, the county commission or clerk may grant administration to one or more of the creditors of the decedent, or to any other person who shall be fit." Small Estate Act thresholds (W. Va. Code §44-1A-1(b)): a "small asset" is probate personal property with a date-of-death FMV of "not more than $50,000" and "does not include real estate or an interest in real property"; a "small estate" additionally caps WV real estate at "$100,000" (real-estate FMV "presumed to be 167 percent of the current assessed value"), and §44-1A-2(a) makes the affidavit path available to a decedent "without owning any probate real property." Waiting period before the affidavit: 30 days if the successor is nominated as executor under the will, otherwise 60 days (§44-1A-2(b)(6)). The post-appointment path (appraisement, fiduciary commissioner referral, notice to creditors, final settlement) is handled in estate-settlement, not here. ET 6.01/6.02 are State Tax Department forms; a direct tax.wv.gov PDF URL still could not be confirmed on the live state host (2026-07-14) — the form is mirrored on county-clerk sites (e.g. kanawha.us) and is referenced, not asserted with a state source link.
A revocable living trust passes assets to your family without this court appointment process — no petition, no Letters, no bond.
This tool provides general information about how a personal representative is appointed and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state for guidance specific to your situation.Data verified 2026-07-15
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