Senate Bill No. 618

(By Senator Sprouse)

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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend article one, chapter thirty-six of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-two, relating to passing of legal title to real or personal property when no heirs are found.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter thirty-six of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-two, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. CREATION OF ESTATES GENERALLY.
ยง36-1-22. Clearing and passing of legal title, even though heirs not determined.

Whenever, by reason of any conveyance by written instrument or by will, the title to real or personal property is held by one person who is unable to determine, after a diligent and reasonable title search covering a period of at least sixty years has been made in the office of the clerk of the county commission in which the real or personal property is situate, any heirs, beneficiaries or other persons who have any interest in the real or personal property, mentioned or described in the instrument or will, and the person named as grantee in the written instrument certifies by affidavit that he or she or someone acting on his or her behalf has performed a reasonable and diligent search of the title to the real or personal property without being able to determine the existence or identities of any heirs, beneficiaries or other persons who have any interest in the real or personal property, the title to the estate or interest which he or she had as described in the written instrument or will shall pass to and be legally considered to be in the person named as grantee in the written instrument or will.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the passing of legal title to real or personal property when no heirs are found following a title search of the property.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.