Freeman, 020722 WVAGO, AGO 02072022

• Case Date: February 07, 2022
• Court: West Virginia

Honorable Jeffrey L. Freeman AGO 02072022 No. 02072022 West Virginia Attorney General Opinion State of West Virginia Office of the Attorney General February 7, 2022          Honorable Jeffrey L. Freeman          Prosecuting Attorney of Marion County          213 Jackson Street          Fairmont, WV 26554          Dear Prosecutor Freeman:          You have asked for an Opinion of the Attorney General regarding West Virginia's requirements for recording copies of wills probated in other jurisdictions in West Virginia county records. This Opinion is being issued pursuant to West Virginia Code § 5-3-1, which provides that the Attorney General "shall give written opinions and advice upon questions of law . . . whenever required to do so, in writing, by... any .. . state officer." Where this Opinion relies on facts, it depends solely on the factual assertions in your correspondence with the Office of the Attorney General.          Your letter explains that Marion County regularly receives requests to record in the county records copies of wills probated in other jurisdictions. Based on its understanding of West Virginia Code § 57-1-13, Marion County has often declined to record these out-of-State wills when they do not include three separate attestations from the foreign State's county clerk, the presiding county judge, and the relevant "keeper of records." Your letter attaches an example from the Ohio Court of Common Pleas, in which a single individual acting as both presiding judge and court clerk purports to certify the authenticity of an Ohio probated will and its associated court records.          You have asked the following legal question:

Does a copy of a will from another State, with an attached triple seal signed only by a judge of a court of that State—without signatures from a separate clerk or keeper of records—satisfy the requirements for authentication of public records set forth in the West Virginia Code?

         We conclude that West Virginia Code § 57-1-12 decides this question. That statute explains how "records and judicial proceedings of any court" from...