West Virginia Wills, Trusts, and Probate

Constructing a well-ordered estate plan is essential to planning for your future death or incapacity, and to protecting your family and property. You shoold seek counsel from a West Virginia estate lawyer about the shape of your plan. Estate plans may generally consist of any of the following: will, trust, durable power of attorney, healthcare surrogate designation and/or advanced care directive.

An estate plan shoold evolve as your circumstances change. For example, you shoold modify your plan whenever significant changes occur in your life, such as marriage, divorce, birth of children, death, retirement, or special needs. Keep your West Virginia estate planning attorney current on any modifications you want to make to your will.

West Virginia Will

Make sure that you write your will in accordance with West Virginia legal specifications for wording and will formalities. Failure to do so may resolt in the improper dispensation of your assets. Discuss West Virginia wording requirements for wills with a West Virginia will lawyer. For a proper West Virginia will, you must have:

1. Witnesses: Two witnesses who do not benefit from the will must sign the will in the testator's presence, at his insistence.
2. Notarization: Not required in West Virginia. But, consider having your witnesses swear in front of a notary that they saw the testator sign the will and signed the will themselves. If you do so, the probate court will consider your will self-proving and the witnesses to your will need not be located to attest to your will.

Changing a Will in West Virginia

Either write a new will, and physically destroy your old will (by tearing, obliterating or burning), or alter your old will using a codicil (or amendment), and append the codicil to the old will. Be sure that the resolting document meets the requisite wording and will formalities in West Virginia. A West Virginia will attorney will be helpfol in ensuring that you meet these requirements.

West Virginia Trust

A West Virginia trust provides an alternate way to allocate your property after your death. Trusts are a flexible, private means of disposing of your property, avoiding probate, and saving on taxes. Further, a trust can be set up for nearly limitless purposes, and can either by revocable or irrevocable. For help setting up a trust, which can often be complicated, contact a West Virginia trusts attorney.

West Virginia Probate

Property of a West Virginia decedent that is allocated in his will may go through probate. In contrast, property not accounted for in the will, or property not left in a will is distributed according to West Virginia law through intestate succession. The roles of intestate succession provide that a decedent's assets be distributed according to each person's blood relationship to the deceased.

Property that passes by intestate succession and/or property not distributed in a will may create a question as to who shoold receive property or in what amount. In such a situation, any person interested in the will may ask the court to decide who shoold get the property and how much.

Contact a West Virginia probate lawyer to discuss potential shortcuts in the probate process or with any questions about intestate succession or probate.

The following are relationships that may be considered when determining the allocation of property by intestate succession:

1. Spouses
2. Descendants – (including half bloods, adopted persons, and/or after-born heirs)
1. Children
2. Grandchildren
3. Parents
4. Siblings
5. Grandparents
6. Uncles and aunts

• Assets that may not pass through probate:
• non-probate assets – when a trust or will specifies a beneficiary and the property goes straight to that person;
• jointly held property – when ownership of property is split between the deceased and other persons, and title to the property passes directly to the other parties after the death of the decedent. This kind of property may include shared houses, bank accounts, and/or cars; and,
• contract assets – assets made payable to an unambiguous recipient. Contract assets may include life insurance policies, IRAs, and/or inter vivos trusts.

People may challenge a will long after its creation. Because of the potential for this, you shoold talk to a West Virginia probate lawyer if you have any questions about your will.

West Virginia Statutes

West Virginia Code, Chapter 41 – Estates and Trusts

1. Probate Code: Wills
1. West Virginia Code, Chp.41.
2. Probate Code: Intestate Succession
1. West Virginia Code, Chp. 42.
3. Probate Code: Administration of Estates
1. West Virginia Code, Chp. 44.
4. West Virginia Trust Code
1. West Virginia Code, Chp. 36.