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Harrison County Commission leaves four delinquent estates open for six months after public testimony
Summary
After testimony from estate attorneys and family members, the Harrison County Commission voted April 15 to leave four delinquent estates open for six months so pending collections and communications can continue; remaining estates on the docket were closed.
The Harrison County Commission voted April 15 to leave four delinquent estates open for six months to allow ongoing collection efforts and communications with creditors to proceed.
The decision followed a hearing in which counsel Robert Pevler asked the commission to keep the estate of Donna Hayes open while attorneys pursue trust assets, and attorney Richard Marsh said two collection cases in Upshur County aim to recover “upwards of $80,000” for the estate of Irvin/Erwin Wayne Ashcraft. Jessica Hook, who identified herself as a daughter of the late Janet Brown, told the commission the only outstanding barrier to closing her mother’s estate was communication with the gas company EQT.
Pevler said the Hayes estate has been open “for a long period of time” while the fiduciary works to marshal assets from a related trust. Marsh said the personal representatives for an Ashcraft estate are pursuing collection actions and asked the commission to leave the estate open so those efforts can continue. Jessica Hook said she has been unable to get timely answers from EQT about a family gas well and expects delays as a result.
After the testimony, the commission moved to leave the estates specifically listed in the record open — identified in the transcript as Irvin/Erwin Wayne Ashcraft, Janet Denise Brown, Paul Wayne Conley (record also shows alternate spellings), and Donna Jean Hayes — for a period of six months and to close the other estates on the docket. The motion was approved by voice vote; no individual roll-call tally was recorded in the minutes provided.
The commission closed the hearing after the vote. The tabled fiduciary claim concerning the estate of Christina Louise Kiesling Esling was sent to the next agenda so commissioners could obtain additional information from the fiduciary commissioner.
What’s next: The four estates remain open for six months to allow pending litigation, collection efforts or creditor communications to continue; the commission did not record a written calendar for follow-up actions in the meeting transcript.
