⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.
The figures on this page are general estimates. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for West Virginia with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.
This page is built to print. Use your browser's Print command and choose "Save as PDF" for a one-page West Virginia reference. Every figure below is compiled from the statutes and state authorities listed at the bottom — the same sources cited on our West Virginia probate pages.
West Virginia probate fees
| Item | West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Court filing fee | §44-3A-42(a) lets the county commission, "[w]hen necessary solely for the purpose of financing the cost of settling estates", authorise the fiduciary supervisor to charge at qualification a fee NOT TO EXCEED $25 where gross assets do not exceed $10,000, $100 where they are more than $10,000 and do not exceed $50,000, and $175 where they exceed $50,000. These are statutory maximums a county may authorise, not fees every county charges. §44-3A-42(a) adds a $10 fee where the supervisor must prepare a statement of deficiencies, and recording fees are separate. |
| Attorney fees | Not statutory. Simple estates settled through the county clerk often use little or no attorney help. |
| Executor / personal representative fees | The personal representative's commission is statutory under W.Va. Code §44-4-12a(a): 5% of the first $100,000, 4% above $100,000 and not exceeding $400,000, 3% above $400,000 and not exceeding $800,000, and 2% above $800,000. The base is "all the personal estate which is subject to administration, including the income from the personal estate, that is received and accounted for" plus "the proceeds of real estate that is sold". §44-4-12a(b) adds 1% on the value of real estate that is NOT sold and 1% on property not subject to administration that is includable for federal estate tax, and allows no commission on joint and survivorship property. §44-4-12a(d) lets the county commission reduce the commission for a representative who has not faithfully discharged their duties, or increase it for extraordinary services; §44-4-12a(e) bars a lawyer-representative from being paid for professional services in addition to the commission; and §44-4-12a(f) lets a testator deviate from the schedule by express language in the will. |
| Fee basis | statutory |
| Appraisal / referee | Not used. West Virginia does not appoint a state appraiser, but the personal representative must file an appraisement of estate assets with the county clerk. |
Worked example
On a $400,000 West Virginia estate consisting of personal property, the statutory commission is $17,000 (5% of the first $100,000 = $5,000, plus 4% of the next $300,000 = $12,000). On a $500,000 estate it would be $20,000 (adding 3% of the next $100,000).
West Virginia thresholds and deadlines
| Item | West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Small-estate threshold | West Virginia's Small Estate Act defines the threshold in W. Va. Code §44-1A-1(b)(5): a “small estate” is the probate estate of a decedent domiciled in the state in which (A) the total aggregate fair market value at death of all probate personal property and assets does not exceed $50,000, AND (B) the total aggregate fair market value at death of all real estate or interests in real property situate in the state does not exceed $100,000, excluding real estate held in any nonprobate form. Two rules in the same definition change who qualifies. The fair market value of real estate “shall be PRESUMED to be 167 percent of the current assessed value of the real estate on the land books as reported by the assessor of the county in which the real estate is situate” — so the $100,000 test is run against 1.67 times the assessed value, not the assessed value. And a testate estate whose will “provides for real estate devised to be sold and not a mere power to sell” is expressly not a small estate. §44-1A-1(b)(4) separately defines a “small asset” as probate personal property worth not more than $50,000 and states that it “does not include real estate or an interest in real property”. §44-1A-2(a) then allows administration upon affidavit and without appointment for a decedent who died domiciled in the state “without owning any probate real property or without owning any interest in probate real property”, with §44-1A-2(b)(5) requiring the affidavit to state that the entire personal probate estate consists only of small assets whose aggregate fair market value does not exceed $50,000. |
| Creditor claim period | Claims against the estate must be filed within sixty days of the date of first publication of the notice of administration (W. Va. Code §44-1-14a(a)(7)). The notice is published by the clerk of the county commission, not by the personal representative, once a week for two successive weeks, within thirty days of the filing of the appraisement or within one hundred twenty days of the personal representative's qualification where no appraisement is filed (§44-1-14a(a)). Claims may also be filed with or presented to the fiduciary commissioner at any time following qualification, before the notice is published at all (§44-2-7). Where the appraisement shows $200,000 or less exclusive of real estate specifically devised and nonprobate assets, or there is a single competent beneficiary, settlement proceeds without reference to a fiduciary commissioner unless within sixty days of first publication a party in interest requests a reference or an unpaid creditor files a claim (§44-1-14a(a)(10)). |
| Statutory floor (creditor period) | Claims against the estate must be filed within sixty days of the date of first publication of the notice of administration (W. Va. Code §44-1-14a(a)(7)). The notice is published by the clerk of the county commission, not by the personal representative, once a week for two successive weeks, within thirty days of the filing of the appraisement or within one hundred twenty days of the personal representative's qualification where no appraisement is filed (§44-1-14a(a)). Claims may also be filed with or presented to the fiduciary commissioner at any time following qualification, before the notice is published at all (§44-2-7). Where the appraisement shows $200,000 or less exclusive of real estate specifically devised and nonprobate assets, or there is a single competent beneficiary, settlement proceeds without reference to a fiduciary commissioner unless within sixty days of first publication a party in interest requests a reference or an unpaid creditor files a claim (§44-1-14a(a)(10)). |
| Simplified real-property transfer | Real property is inside the small-estate definition rather than a separate procedure: W. Va. Code §44-1A-1(b)(5)(B) caps the total aggregate fair market value of all the decedent’s real estate or interests in real property situate in the state at $100,000, excluding real estate held in any nonprobate form, and presumes that fair market value to be 167 percent of the current assessed value on the land books. §44-1A-4(c) provides that for any real estate or interest in real property reported on the recorded affidavit, §§44-8-5, 41-5-19 and 41-5-20 apply, and any will attached to and tendered with the affidavit “shall be deemed to be duly admitted to probate”. |
| Transfer-on-death deed | West Virginia allows a transfer-on-death deed under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, W.Va. Code §36-12 (see §36-12-5). Owners can record a TOD deed naming a beneficiary; the property passes to the beneficiary at death without probate. |
Note on the creditor-claim clock. The period above does not start on the same event in every state — depending on the statute it can run from the date of death, from the date letters are issued to the personal representative, or from first publication of notice. The West Virginia trigger is stated in the row above, as written in the statute.
What passes outside West Virginia probate
These transfers are not part of the estate the fees above are calculated on:
- Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death accounts.
- Joint ownership with right of survivorship.
- Transfer-on-death deed — West Virginia allows a transfer-on-death deed under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, W.Va. Code §36-12 (see §36-12-5). Owners can record a TOD deed naming a beneficiary; the property passes to the beneficiary at death without probate.
- Assets titled into a funded living trust.
Sources for this sheet
- Statutes: W. Va. Code §36-12-5; W. Va. Code §44-1-14a; W. Va. Code §44-1A-1 et seq.; W. Va. Code §44-2-4; W. Va. Code §44-2-7; W. Va. Code §44-2-23; W. Va. Code §44-2-26; W. Va. Code §44-3A-42; W. Va. Code §44-4-12A
- State authority: West Virginia Legislature (code.wvlegislature.gov)
- Executor fees: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/44-4-12A/
- Court filing fees: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/44-3A-42/
- Small-estate procedure: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/44-1A-1/
- Transfer-on-death deed: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/36-12-5/
- Creditor claim period: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/44-1-14A/
- Simplified real-property transfer: https://code.wvlegislature.gov/44-1A-4/
Compiled August 15, 2026 from the sources listed above. Fee schedules, thresholds, and court costs are amended by legislatures and courts — confirm each figure against the cited statute or the West Virginia court before relying on it.
The full West Virginia guides
- How Much Does Probate Cost in West Virginia? — the full cost breakdown.
- How Much Does an Executor Get Paid in West Virginia? — the fee rule in detail.
- How Long Does Probate Take in West Virginia? — the timeline and its statutory floor.
- Executor Deadlines in West Virginia — inventory deadline, creditor-claim period and outer bar, each quoted from the statute.
- How to Avoid Probate in West Virginia — the transfers that pass outside it.
- How Much Does a Will Cost in West Virginia? — execution requirements and pricing.
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This sheet sets out West Virginia probate figures as published at the time of compilation. It is not legal advice. Figures and statutes change and their application depends on the specific estate. Confirm current figures with the West Virginia courts or a licensed West Virginia attorney.