H. B. 4556
(By Delegates C. White, Manuel, Doyle and Rowe)
[Introduced February 16, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article one, chapter forty-four of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section fifteen-a,
relating to requiring personal representatives to notify
immediate family members of sale of estate assets.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter forty-four of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
fifteen-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES.
§44-1-15a. Duty of personal representative to notify family members before sale of property.
A personal representative is required to provide written
notice by certified or registered mail to the immediate family
members of the decedent
of any contemplated sale of any property
under this article. Pursuant to the provisions of the notice, the
immediate family members shall be given the first option to
purchase any personal property that is contemplated under any such
sale: Provided, That unless otherwise agreed by all immediate
family members, the property must be bought for a price that
represents appraisal or fair market value. In the event that the
personal representative is related by consanguinity to the
decedent, then he or she shall be, additionally, required to
provide the notice to his or her immediate family members. The
notice shall be given at least fourteen days before the date
designated for the sale. The notice shall set forth the date, time
and place of the sale and shall adequately describe the property to
be sold. For purposes of this section, "immediate family member"
means any sibling, parent, child or spouse of a person.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require personal representatives to provide notice to immediate family members of a
decedent of any contemplated sale of the decedent's property
pursuant to probate. The bill also requires notice of the personal
representative's immediate family members if he or she is related
by blood to the decedent.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.