Last Will and Testament for a Single Person with Minor Children
Note: This summary is not intended to be an all-inclusive discussion of the law of wills in West Virginia, but does contain
basic and other information. This summary does not include a discussion
of handwritten wills.
Who may make will: Every person 18
years of age or older and of sound mind, may make a will. 41-1-1.
Who may not make will: No person of unsound
mind, or under the age of eighteen years, shall be capable of making a
will. 41-1-2.
Execution and witnesses No will shall be
valid unless it be in writing and signed by the testator. The signature
shall be made by him in the presence of at least two competent witnesses,
present at the same time; and such witnesses shall subscribe the will in
the presence of the testator, and of each other, but no form of attestation
shall be necessary. 41-1-3.
Revocation by divorce; no revocation by other changes of circumstances:
If after executing a will the testator is divorced or his marriage annulled,
the divorce or annulment revokes any disposition or appointment of property
made by the will to the former spouse, any provision conferring a general
or special power of appointment on the former spouse, and any nomination
of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian, unless
the will expressly provides otherwise. 41-1-6.
Revocation generally: A will or codicil
may be revoked by a subsequent will or codicil, or by some writing declaring
an intention to revoke the same, and executed in the manner in which a
will is required to be executed. A will may also be revoked by the
testator, or some person in his presence and by his direction, cutting,
tearing, burning, obliterating, canceling or destroying the same, or the
signature thereto, with the intent to revoke. 41-1-7.
Competency of witnesses who are beneficiaries: If
a will is witnessed by a person who is also to receive property under the
will, the will is not invalid. However, the provision in the will
to that witness, or his or her spouse, shall be void except to the extent
that the witness would have received the property by intestate succession
laws. 41-2-1.
Creditors may be witnesses: A creditor
is not prohibited from being a witness for or against the will. 41-2-2.
Executor may be witness: An executor of
a will is not prohibited from being a witness for or against the will.
41-2-3.
