Tell your father that if a will is not done so that his wishes can be set down, then regardless of who he wants to have his possessions, ALL heirs will receive the property as pre the west virginia intestate succession laws (below).
That means, that if there is only one heir, there is no problem. However, if more than one, then all items are divided (such as land) and any heir can force the sale of such by filing a partition suit.
Therefore, what pops has worked for for so many years will be divided up and thrown to the wind.
He does not have to make the provisions of his will public. He can visit an attorney, have a will drafted and kept at the attorney's office for safekeeping so that, in the event of his death, his estate will be handled as he wishes without the prior knowledge of how that will be done.
West Virginia Intestate Succession Laws
If any part of a West Virginia decedent's estate is not effectively disposed of by will, the intestate share will be distributed in the following order and manner:
1. Surviving spouse. A surviving spouse is generally first in line to get any assets from the intestate estate. However, the amount a surviving spouse is entitled to varies as follows:
If none of decedent's descendants survive, or all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse is entitled to the entire intestate estate.
If all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has one or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent, the surviving spouse gets three-fifths of the intestate estate.
If one or more of the decedent's surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse gets one-half of the intestate estate.
2. Heirs other than surviving spouse. Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse as indicated above, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes in the following order:
To the decedent's descendants by representation. In such case, the estate or part thereof is divided into as many equal shares as there are: (i) surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the decedent which contains one or more surviving descendants; and (ii) deceased descendants in the same generation who left surviving descendants, if any. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. Any remaining shares are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allocated a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent.
If there is no surviving descendant, to the decedent's parents equally if both survive, or to the surviving parent.
If there is no surviving descendant or parent, to the descendants of the decedent's parents or either of them by representation.
If there is no surviving descendant, parent, or descendant of a parent, but the decedent is survived by one or more grandparents or descendants of grandparents, half of the estate passes to the decedent's paternal grandparents equally if both survive, or to the surviving paternal grandparent, or to the descendants of the decedent's paternal grandparents or either of them if both are deceased, the descendants taking by representation. The other half passes to the decedent's maternal relatives in the same manner. If there is no surviving grandparent or descendant of a grandparent on either the paternal or the maternal side, the entire estate passes to the decedent's relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half.
For purpose of "representation" in items three and four above, the estate or part thereof is divided into as many equal shares as there are: (i) Surviving descendants in the generation nearest the deceased parents or either of them, or the deceased grandparents or either of them, that contains one or more surviving descendants; and (ii) deceased descendants in the same generation who left any surviving descendants. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. Any remaining shares are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allotted a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent.
3. State of West Virginia. If there is no taker under any of the above provisions, the intestate estate passes to the state of West Virginia. The proceeds of the sale of any real property go to the general school fund. The proceeds of the sale of any personal property are deposited to the credit of the general revenue fund.
