Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in West Virginia

Re: Inheritence

The fiduciary,(administrator where there is no will and executor with a will) has a duty to marshal the assets and satisfy the debts of the decedent. The debts are paid in a priority under the West Virginia Code, that is, the funeral is paid first and medical bills get preferential treatment. The remaining creditors share pro-rata. The fiduciary is obligated to liquidate the personal property. If there is not enough personal property the fiduciary is required to petition the court to sell the realty. If there is not enough cash to pay the lawful charges against the estate following liquidation of the assets, then, the fiduciary will submit a report showing how much he was able to marshal and what was paid and to whom. The unpaid claims are not paid and the estate closed. The creditors cannot make claim against the heirs except that the West Virginia Code makes a spouse liable for hospital bills and the Supreme Court has extended that liability to include Doctor's bills. The second exception would be joint liability for taxes. A third exception is where the heir is a co-signer or otherwise obligated on the underlying debt. Finally, if the fiduciary distributed property or cash to the heirs out of the estate, a creditor who filed his proof of claim in a timely manner could bring an action against the heir to recover the value of what was incorrectly distributed to him/her.