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Commission accepts several wills for probate and approves 19 estate settlements
Summary
The probate supervisor presented 19 estates for final or interim settlement and asked the commission to accept copies of several last wills (Linda Lou Brown, Hugh Edward Heaton, Arthur Lee Carpenter Jr.) in solemn form; the commission approved the settlements and accepted the wills per statutory process.
The Berkeley County probate supervisor reported 19 estates proposed for final or interim settlement for January 2026 and recommended accepting those settlements in open session. The office said each estate had been properly noticed under West Virginia law and that no written objections had been filed.
The commission heard petitions to admit copies of last wills and testaments into probate in solemn form for Linda Lou Brown, Hugh Edward Heaton and Arthur Lee Carpenter Jr., noting issues such as missing self-attestation on one will and the rebuttable presumption that a missing original might have been intentionally destroyed. Staff described the statutory options—securing witness affidavits or filing a formal petition—and reported the petitioners had chosen the formal probate process. After motions, seconds and brief discussion, the commission accepted the wills in solemn form and approved the estate settlements by voice vote.
Staff stressed that these decisions follow chapter 41 of the West Virginia code and that the office had not received objections from interested parties present.
