Commission removes administrator in decade-old Caton probate amid missed filings and publication notices

Will, a fiduciary staff member, presented a petition asking the Berkeley County Commission to remove Janet Marlene Everhart as administratrix of the estate of Joseph Franklin Caton on grounds that required probate filings were not completed after her 2021 appointment. Will said the decedent, Joseph Franklin Caton, died June 4, 2017; Everhart opened an estate matter and presented a 1968 will in June 2021 but did not file required appraisement or subsequent probate documents. Will said the clerk's office returned a delinquency notice as undeliverable and that the office published legal notice in the Martinsburg Journal on July 16 and July 23, 2025; Everhart appeared after the publications and received notice of the hearing. Petitioner Jasmine Caton (represented by counsel in filings) asked the commission to remove Everhart as administratrix. Everhart told the commission she believed she followed instructions when she brought in the will and said she received copies from staff; she told the commission, "I did everything right that was told to me to do." She also said she sold the property in July 2022 and later received tax notices on property she no longer owned. After discussion, the commission voted to remove Everhart as administrator. The commission chair directed staff to prepare an order and place it on public record later that day. Why this matters: removal of a personal representative changes who has legal authority to administer an estate and can lead to appointment of a new fiduciary or further court proceedings; the commission's action was grounded in the record-keeping and filing history presented by fiduciary staff and the petitioning heir. Details and next steps: the commission approved the petition to remove the administratrix by voice vote. Will said he would draft a formal order that would be entered on public record that afternoon. The transcript includes recorded publication dates and earlier communications from fiduciary staff about filing obligations.