Wills and estate planning in West Virginia

Researched 2026-10-20 · confidence: medium · 2026 figures

In plain words: in West Virginia a will is valid when it's signed in front of 2 adult witnesses. There is no state estate tax. The federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 a person in 2026.

Witnesses to a will	2 (a third is a common precaution here)
Handwritten (holographic) will	Recognised
Self-proving affidavit	Available
Electronic wills	Not allowed
Power of attorney	Notary · Uniform Power of Attorney Act
Health care directive	2 witnesses and a notary
State estate tax	No
State inheritance tax	No
Community property	No
Age of majority / UTMA age	18 / 21

Signing a will

Statute: W. Va. Code § 41-1-3.

If the will cannot be proved without the beneficiary-witness, the gift to that witness (or the witness's spouse) is void except up to what the witness would take in intestacy (W. Va. Code § 41-2-1).

Unless wholly in the testator's handwriting, the will must be signed or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of at least 2 competent witnesses present at the same time, who sign in the presence of the testator and of each other. No form of attestation is needed (§ 41-1-3). Holographic wills are valid if wholly in the testator's handwriting and signed. Self-proving: the attesting witnesses, at the testator's request, swear an affidavit before an officer authorized to administer oaths, kept with the will. NOTE: § 41-5-15 affidavits are NOT admissible if the will is contested. No e-wills statute was found; electronic_wills=false is an inference from § 41-1-3 plus secondary sources.

Power of attorney

Statute: W. Va. Code ch. 39B (Uniform Power of Attorney Act), § 39B-1-105.

West Virginia changed the uniform act: the POA MUST be acknowledged by the principal before a notary (§ 39B-1-105), not just presumed genuine. The optional statutory form is § 39B-3-101; the principal must INITIAL each specific (hot) power. Under § 39B-2-101(a), as amended by 2018 SB 102, the following require an express grant: trusts, gifts, survivorship rights, beneficiary designations, and the other standard UPOAA hot powers. The hot-power text was verified only from the 2018 enrolled bill and committee amendment, not the live code page. Gift limits are in § 39B-2-117 (unverified).

Health care directive

Called: Living will and medical power of attorney (may be combined).

Statute: W. Va. Code ch. 16, art. 30 (Health Care Decisions Act), § 16-30-4.

Witnesses must be 18+ and may not be: the person who signed for the principal; related to the principal by blood or marriage; entitled to any part of the estate under a will or codicil (unknowing beneficiaries excepted); directly financially responsible for the principal's medical care; the attending physician; or the medical power of attorney representative or successor (§ 16-30-4(b)).

Must be in writing, dated, signed in the presence of 2+ adult witnesses, AND the witnesses' signatures and attestations must be acknowledged before a notary. Both witnesses and notary are needed (§ 16-30-4(a)). I did not confirm an official form URL (the statutory forms and the WV Center for End-of-Life Care forms were not checked).

If there's no will: what a spouse gets

The surviving spouse takes the entire intestate estate if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also the spouse's descendants and the spouse has no other surviving descendants (W. Va. Code § 42-1-3(a)(2)).

A spouse's right to a share

UPC-style elective share of the augmented estate scaled by length of marriage: 3% after 1 year, rising to 50% at 15+ years, with a $25,000 supplemental floor (W. Va. Code § 42-3-1).

Estate and inheritance tax

No state estate tax.

No inheritance tax.

Probate

Probate is administered through the county commission/clerk and is moderate. A small-estate affidavit applies when small assets total $50,000 or less and there is no probate real property (W. Va. Code § 44-1A-2). Estates with appraisements of $200,000 or less (excluding specifically devised real estate and nonprobate assets) can avoid referral to a fiduciary commissioner (§ 44-2-1(b)), and a waiver of final settlement is available (§ 44-2-29).

Money God drafts a West Virginia will, power of attorney and health care directive from a short interview, then you send it to your attorney for review before signing.

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Sources

Researched from state statutes and official forms. Laws change; this page is information, not legal advice. Every Money God draft is reviewed by a licensed attorney in your state before you sign it.