Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in West Virginia

Re: executors bills

Debts, bills, claims, etc. of an executor do not become a liability of the estate of the decedent. The debts of the decedent and costs of administration of the estate are the only claims to be paid by the executor and payment can only be made from the assets of the estate. The executor has the duty to marshall the assets and sell the personal property. If there is not enough cash generated from the personal property, the executor then has to petition the Circuit Court for permission to sell real estate.

Of course, if an executor is an heir and inherited an interest in real estate and the executor has a judgment lien recorded against him or her, the lien would attach to the interest inherited, but the debt is not the debt of the estate. It is only a lien against the property of the person who holds the interest because of the inheritance, not because the person may also be the executor.