The figures on this page are the ones a statute or a named, dated publisher sets. 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.
What a will costs in West Virginia
We found no published source for this figure as of September 2026. The West Virginia will prices that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them. None is an independent publisher, so none is cited here.
No West Virginia statute sets what a will costs to draft. West Virginia law sets how a will must be executed to be valid, and what the court charges to probate it — neither fixes a drafting fee.
What the court charges
The deadline the fee buys into
What makes a will valid in West Virginia
A standard West Virginia will must be in writing and signed by the testator (or by another at the testator's direction); unless wholly handwritten, the signature must be made or acknowledged before at least two competent witnesses present at the same time, who then sign in the testator's presence (W. Va. Code §41-1-3).
EPTL §3-2.1(a)(1)(C) provides that a person who signs the testator’s name for the testator must sign their own name and affix their address, and is not counted as one of the necessary attesting witnesses.
Can you write your own will by hand in West Virginia?
West Virginia recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills — valid with no witnesses if the will is wholly in the testator's own handwriting and signed by the testator (W. Va. Code §41-1-3). If a handwritten document is not entirely in the testator's hand, it needs two witnesses like a typed will.
EPTL §3-2.2(a)(2) defines a holographic will as one written entirely in the testator’s handwriting and not executed and attested under the §3-2.1 formalities.
The self-proving affidavit
West Virginia allows a self-proving affidavit under W. Va. Code §41-5-15: witnesses swear before a notary to the facts they would testify to, so probate can proceed without contacting them — though such affidavits are not admissible where the will is contested.
Without it, the attesting witnesses may be called to testify to the execution when the will is offered for probate. SCPA §1406(1) is what removes that step, by letting the court accept their sworn affidavit instead.
What a will does not do in West Virginia
A will directs an estate through probate; it does not remove assets from it. A will tells the West Virginia probate court who receives what and who administers the estate. Property governed by the will still passes through probate — the court-supervised, public process.
The cost of the document and the cost of probate are therefore separate figures. For what probate itself costs in West Virginia, see How Much Does Probate Cost in West Virginia?.
What passes outside probate in West Virginia
Assets transfer outside probate only by operation of law or contract, regardless of what a will says. The recognised mechanisms are:
- Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary.
- Joint ownership with right of survivorship — passes to the surviving owner.
- Transfer-on-death instruments, where West Virginia authorises them.
- Assets titled into a funded living trust.
A will has no effect on any asset transferred by these routes. For the West Virginia figures on the trust alternative, see How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in West Virginia?, and for the documented differences between the two instruments, Will vs. Trust: How They Differ.
What affects the price in West Virginia
We found no published source for West Virginia will-drafting prices as of September 2026, so this page states no range and no price drivers. The prices on this page that are fixed by law are the court’s, above, with the statute that fixes them cited there.
What the record shows
| Item | West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Price of a will | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 |
| Governing statutes | W. Va. Code §41-1-3 (execution of wills; holographic wills); W. Va. Code §41-5-15 (self-proving affidavit) |
| State authority | West Virginia Legislature (code.wvlegislature.gov) |
A will directs an estate through probate and does not remove assets from it. Execution requirements, the treatment of handwritten wills, the self-proving affidavit, the court’s own fee schedule and the claim period are set out above with their statutory citations. No figure is published here for what a will costs to draft: we found no independent published source as of September 2026.
Will costs in other states
Compare West Virginia with what a will costs in other states:
- How Much Does a Will Cost in California?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Texas?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Florida?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in New York?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Pennsylvania?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Illinois?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Ohio?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Georgia?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in North Carolina?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Michigan?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Connecticut?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Arkansas?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Indiana?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Alabama?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Alaska?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Arizona?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Colorado?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Delaware?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Hawaii?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Idaho?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Iowa?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Kansas?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Kentucky?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Louisiana?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Maine?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Maryland?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Massachusetts?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Minnesota?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Mississippi?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Missouri?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Montana?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Nebraska?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Nevada?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in New Hampshire?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in New Jersey?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in New Mexico?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in North Dakota?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Oklahoma?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Oregon?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Rhode Island?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in South Carolina?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in South Dakota?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Tennessee?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Utah?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Vermont?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Virginia?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Washington?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Wisconsin?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Wyoming?
Related reading
- How to Write a Will (and What Makes It Valid) — the full step-by-step.
- Do I Need a Will? — what happens under intestacy when there is none.
- How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer? — the national cost picture.
- How Much Does Probate Cost in West Virginia? — the separate cost of probate itself.
- How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in West Virginia? — the instrument that holds assets outside probate.
This page sets out what West Virginia law fixes about making a will and probating it, as of September 2026. It is not legal advice; statutes and figures change and depend on your situation. Confirm current rules with a licensed West Virginia attorney. It states no drafting price, because we found no independent published source for one. Sources: West Virginia Legislature (code.wvlegislature.gov); W. Va. Code §41-1-3 (execution of wills; holographic wills), W. Va. Code §41-5-15 (self-proving affidavit).