Estate administration begins in McDowell County, creditors warned to file claims

An estate administration notice filed in the McDowell County Clerk’s Office at 90 Wyoming Street, Suite 109, in Welch sets deadlines for creditors, heirs and anyone else claiming property in the estate. The office is run by Donald L. Hicks, the county clerk.

West Virginia law requires the notice to run once a week for two successive weeks after the appraisement is filed, or within 120 days of the personal representative’s qualification if no appraisement is filed. Claims against the estate generally must be filed within 60 days of the first publication date, and objections to the personal representative’s qualifications, venue or jurisdiction must be filed within 60 days of first publication or 30 days after service of the notice, whichever comes later.

Anyone seeking to impeach or establish a will must file a complaint under West Virginia Code 41-5-11 through 41-5-13, rather than relying on family discussions or informal objections. The statute also gives smaller estates a quicker path. If the estate is valued at $200,000 or less, or appears to have only one competent beneficiary, it may move forward without a fiduciary commissioner unless a party in interest asks for a reference or an unpaid creditor files a claim and shows good cause.

The clerk’s office handling the notice sits in the county seat at Welch, on Wyoming Street, inside the historic courthouse complex. McDowell County, created in 1858 and named for James McDowell, has 533.5 square miles of land and an estimated population of 16,878 in July 2025, down from 19,111 in the 2020 census.