What to Do When Someone Dies in West Virginia: A Step-by-Step Checklist

The days immediately following a death in West Virginia involve a sequence of decisions with real legal deadlines attached. Missing those deadlines — or making decisions without understanding your rights — can cost the family thousands of dollars and months of administrative delay.

This guide lays out the steps in order: what must happen first, what must happen within days, and what the estate administration requires over the following weeks and months.

The First 24 Hours

1. Confirm death and notify authorities. If the death occurs at home unexpectedly, call 911. If the death occurs under hospice care or medical supervision, the attending medical professional will handle the initial steps. If the death is unexpected, the county medical examiner or coroner will take jurisdiction and determine the cause of death.

2. Identify who has the legal right to control the funeral. West Virginia law (WV Code § 30-6-22a) assigns authority over funeral arrangements according to a specific hierarchy. The hierarchy is:

• A preneed funeral contract (highest authority)
• A designated representative named in a notarized affidavit
• The surviving spouse
• A majority of surviving adult children
• Surviving parents
• Surviving siblings
• Surviving grandparents
• Adult grandchildren
• A court-appointed guardian of the person
• The executor or administrator of the estate (personal representative)
• The next degree of kinship under intestate succession laws
• A public official responsible for arranging indigent disposition
• Another willing person, including a funeral director with custody who attests in writing to a good-faith effort to contact the people above

Forfeiture warning: a person in the hierarchy who fails to exercise their right within two days of notification, or three days of death (whichever comes first), loses their authority. If someone needs to be reached urgently, do it now.

3. Do not consent to embalming without making an active decision. West Virginia does not generally require embalming, and refrigeration is a lawful alternative. A funeral home may not proceed with embalming without prior authorization from the legally authorized representative unless a narrow exception applies, including documented, unsuccessful attempts to reach you for twelve hours after the body is placed in its care. Other narrow public-health or interstate-transport exceptions may also apply. Embalming is not necessary for cremation.

Within the First 48 Hours

4. Obtain the authorization for disposition (burial-transit permit). Under WV Code § 16-5-23, this permit is required before the body can be transported or buried. The attending physician, state medical examiner, county medical examiner or designee, or county coroner issues it. If you are transporting the body for a home funeral or moving it between locations, you need this permit first.

If cremation is planned, there is also a mandatory 24-hour waiting period from the time of death before cremation can proceed — and a separate cremation permit from the county medical examiner, assistant county medical examiner, or county coroner is required. If county personnel cannot issue the permit or concerns require it, a permit from the chief medical examiner is used.

5. Meet with a funeral home (or begin home funeral arrangements). West Virginia does not require a licensed funeral director. If you are managing a home funeral, your responsibilities include:

• Obtaining the authorization for disposition permit
• Preparing and filing the death certificate (see below)
• Transporting the body in a clean, moisture-impervious body bag
• Ensuring burial on private property complies with local zoning and public health guidelines

If you are using a funeral home, you have the legal right under the FTC Funeral Rule to receive an itemized General Price List before any discussion of arrangements. You can choose a direct cremation and nothing else, or source a casket from a third-party retailer without incurring a handling fee.

Within Five Days of Death

6. File the death certificate. Under WV Code § 16-5-19, a certificate of death must be filed with the West Virginia Vital Registration Office within five days of death and before any final disposition of the body. The medical certification portion must be completed by the attending medical professional within 24 hours. In a forensic case, the state or county medical examiner or coroner has 48 hours after taking charge; if the investigation continues, the cause of death is recorded as pending.

The funeral director typically handles this electronically through the state's DAVE system. In a home funeral, the family member managing the arrangements files it directly.

7. Order multiple certified death certificate copies. You will need certified copies — typically 8 to 12 — for banks, insurance companies, retirement accounts, Social Security, the VA, real estate transfers, and probate court. Certified copies are available from the West Virginia Vital Registration Office (350 Capitol Street, Charleston) and from county clerk offices at $12 per copy. There is a 4% surcharge for credit or debit card payments.

Within 30 Days After Learning of Death

8. Lodge the will with the county clerk. If the deceased left a will, the person holding the original must deliver it to the county clerk in the county where the person lived within 30 days after learning of the death. This does not initiate probate — it simply records the will. Filing late is technically a misdemeanor under West Virginia law.

9. Assess the estate for probate. Determine the approximate fair market value of the probate assets (assets owned solely in the decedent's name without a transfer-on-death designation or joint tenancy). As of the amendments to the West Virginia Small Estates Act effective July 9, 2025:

• Personal property only (no real estate): if the total value is up to $50,000, the estate may qualify for a simplified affidavit process without full probate
• Any estate containing real property (including mineral rights): full probate is required regardless of value; the real estate cannot be processed through the small estate affidavit

10. Notify the West Virginia Medicaid program. If the deceased was 55 or older and received West Virginia Medicaid benefits — including nursing facility care, home and community-based services, or related hospital or prescription drug services — the Department of Human Services must be notified via a Notification of Death form within three days of death. The state has the right to file a claim against the estate for these costs. Survivorship protections exist if there is a surviving spouse, a child under 21, or a child of any age who is blind or permanently and totally disabled.

Within 30 to 90 Days

11. File for Letters of Administration or a Small Estate Affidavit. For estates requiring full probate, the executor named in the will (or an administrator appointed by the court if there is no will) petitions the county clerk, takes an Oath of Fiduciary, and receives Letters of Testamentary or Letters of Administration, respectively. This is the document that gives the personal representative legal authority to act on behalf of the estate.

For estates qualifying under the Small Estate Act (personal property only, up to $50,000), the Authorized Successor must wait 30 days before filing if nominated in the will as personal representative, or 60 days otherwise.

12. File the Estate Appraisement. Within 90 days of appointment, the personal representative must file a comprehensive Appraisement of the Estate and a Non-Probate Inventory with the county clerk. The appraisement lists all probate assets and their values as of the date of death.

13. Publish the creditor notice. Following submission of the appraisement, the county clerk publishes a Notice of Administration in a local newspaper once a week for two successive weeks. Creditors then have 60 days from the date of first publication to file claims against the estate. The personal representative cannot distribute assets to heirs until the creditor period expires and valid claims are resolved.

Special Situations in West Virginia

Mineral rights. If the deceased owned West Virginia mineral rights — even if they lived in another state — the minerals must go through West Virginia probate separately. Out-of-state executors must file for ancillary administration in the specific West Virginia county where the minerals are located. Failure to do this can leave title clouded, and operators may suspend royalty payments until the estate chain of title is verified and updated.

Heirs' property. If the estate includes real estate that has passed through multiple generations without formal probate, the title may be held by dozens of co-owners. Address this through a quiet title action or by consolidating ownership into an LLC or land trust before attempting to sell or mortgage the property.

Family cemeteries. If the deceased is to be buried in a family cemetery on private land — even land the family no longer owns — access rights are protected under WV Code § 37-13A-1. The new landowner is legally required to permit reasonable access for visitation, maintenance, and monument installation, provided you give the current landowner at least 10 days' written notice describing any planned monument or marker.

Closing the Estate

To close a full probate in West Virginia, the personal representative files either a Waiver of Final Settlement (with notarized signatures from all beneficiaries) or a Report of Receipts, Disbursements, and Distribution Affidavit with the county clerk. If the estate exceeds $200,000 in probate assets and has more than one beneficiary, a Fiduciary Commissioner is typically assigned to review the administration, adding oversight and additional fees.

Under West Virginia Code § 44-3A-42, initial fiduciary fees follow a statutory schedule — $25 for gross assets up to $10,000, $100 for over $10,000 through $50,000, and $175 above $50,000. Extraordinary-service fees must be supported by itemized vouchers detailing the services and time or effort, not a percentage of the estate's value.

The West Virginia Funeral Laws & Consumer Rights Guide contains the complete checklist format with specific forms for each step, a guide to the Small Estate Affidavit process, and the exact procedures for ancillary probate if the estate includes West Virginia mineral rights.

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