Senate Bill No. 171
(By Senator Rowe)
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[Introduced January 15, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §44-1-1
of the code of West Virginia,
1931, 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 §44-1-1
of the code of West Virginia, 1931, 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 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
before 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.