Senate Bill No. 511
(By Senators Rowe and Hunter)
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[Introduced February 13, 2003; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article one, chapter
forty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to estates generally;
and eliminating the requirement that a representative appear
in person before the clerk of the county commission in order
to be named administrator.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article one, chapter forty-four of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES.
§44-1-1. Executor has no powers before qualifying.
A person appointed by a will as executor or executrix thereof
shall not have the powers of executor or executrix until he or she
qualify qualifies as such by taking an oath before filing with the clerk of the county commission a statement, submitting to the
jurisdiction of the courts of this state, sworn by oath or
affirmation before a notary public or other person authorized to
administer oaths in this state and giving bond for his or her
service in this state unless the county court in which the will
specifically states that the representative shall serve without
bond, and the will or an authenticated copy thereof, is admitted to
record: or before the clerk thereof in vacation, except that
Provided, That he or she may provide for the burial of the
testator, funeral arrangements for the testator,
pay reasonable
funeral expenses and preserve the estate from waste.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the
requirement that a representative appear in person before the
county clerk in order to be named as administrator of an estate.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.