West Virginia Code § 44-1-14a

Notice of administration of estate; time limits for filing of objections;
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liability of personal representative.
(a) Within thirty days of the filing of the appraisement of any estate or within one hundred
twenty days of the date of qualification of the personal representative if an appraisement is
not filed as required in section fourteen of this article, the clerk of the county commission
shall publish, once a week for two successive weeks, in a newspaper of geneeral circulation
within the county of the administration of the estate, a notice, which is to include:
(1) The name of the decedent;
(2) The name and address of the county commission before whom the proceedings are
pending;
(3) The name and address of the personal representatiave;
(4) The name and address of any attorney represenlting the personal representative;
(5) The name and address of the fiduciary commissioner, if any;
(6) The date of first publication;
(7) A statement that claims against the estate must be filed within sixty days of the date of
first publication in accordancee with article two or article three-a of this chapter;
(8) A statement that anyL person seeking to impeach or establish a will must make a
complaint in accordance with section eleven, twelve or thirteen, article five, chapter forty-
one of this code;
(9) A statement that an interested person objecting to the qualifications of the personal
representative or the venue or jurisdiction of the court must be filed with the county
comWmission within sixty days after the date of first publication or thirty days of service of the
notice, whichever is later; and
(10) If the appraisement of the assets of the estate shows the value to be $200,000 or less,
exclusive of real estate specifically devised and nonprobate assets, or, if it appears to the
clerk that there is only one beneficiary of the probate estate and that the beneficiary is
competent at law, a statement substantially as follows: "Settlement of the estate of the
following named decedents will proceed without reference to a fiduciary commissioner
unless within sixty days from the first publication of this notice a reference is requested by a
party in interest or an unpaid creditor files a claim and good cause is shown to support
reference to a fiduciary commissioner". If a party in interest requests the fiduciary
commissioner to conclude the administration of the estate or an unpaid creditor files a claim,
no further notice to creditors shall be published in the newspaper, and the personal
representative shall be required to pay no further fees, except to the fiduciary commissioner
for conducting any hearings, or performing any other duty as a fiduciary commissioner. The
time period for filing claims against the estate shall expire upon the time period set out in
the notice to creditors published by the clerk of the county commission as required in this
subsection (a). If an unpaid creditor files a claim, the fiduciary commissioner shall conduct a
hearing on the claim filed by the creditor, otherwise, the fiduciary commissioner shall
conclude the administration of the estate as requested by the interested party.
(11) This notice shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in compeliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code. The publication of such notice shall
be equivalent to personal service on creditors, distributees and legateers.
(b) If no appraisement is filed within the time period establishedu pursuant to section
fourteen of this article, the county clerk shall send a notice to the personal representative by
first class mail, postage prepaid, indicating that the appraisetment has not been filed.
(c) The personal representative shall promptly make aa diligent search to determine the
names and addresses of creditors of the decedent who are reasonably ascertainable.
(d) The personal representative shall, within ssixty days after the date of first publication,
serve a copy of the notice, published pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, by first class
mail, postage prepaid or by personal servicie on the following persons:
(1) If the personal representative is not the decedent's surviving spouse and not the sole
beneficiary or sole heir, the decedent's surviving spouse, if any;
(2) If there is a will and the personal representative is not the sole beneficiary, any
beneficiaries;
(3) If there is not a w ill and the personal representative is not the sole heir, any heirs;
(4) The trustee of any trust in which the decedent was a grantor, if any; and
(5) WAll creditors identified under subsection (c) of this section, other than a creditor who
filed a claim as provided in article two of this chapter or a creditor whose claim has been
paid in full.
(e) Any person interested in the estate who objects to the qualifications of the personal
representative or the venue or jurisdiction of the court, shall file notice of an objection with
the county commission within sixty days after the date of the first publication as required in
subsection (a) of this section or within thirty days after service of the notice as required by
subsection (d) of this section, whichever is later. If an objection is not timely filed, the
objection is forever barred.
(f) A personal representative acting in good faith is not personally liable for serving notice
under this section, notwithstanding a determination that notice was not required by this
section. A personal representative acting in good faith who fails to serve the notice required
by this section is not personally liable. The service of the notice in accordance with this
subsection may not be construed to admit the validity or enforceability of a claim.
(g) The clerk of the county commission shall collect a fee of $20 for the publication of the
notice required in this section.
(h) For purposes of this section, the term "beneficiary" means a person designated in a will
to receive real or personal property.

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