West Virginia § 44-10-8 - 44-10-8. Disbursements and expenditures by guardians from income and corpus of estates of infant wards.

§ 44-10-8. 44-10-8. Disbursements and expenditures by guardians from income and corpus of estates of infant wards.

No disbursements, beyond the annual income of the ward’s estate, shall be allowed to any guardian where the deed or will, under which the estate is derived, does not authorize it, unless the same shall have been authorized by the circuit court of the county in which the guardian was appointed or qualified. Any guardian, who may desire to spend more than the annual income of his ward’s estate for any purpose, shall file in such circuit court a petition, verified by his oath, setting forth the reasons why it is necessary to make such expenditures, to which petition the ward shall be made defendant. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the ward, who shall answer such petition, be present at the hearing, and represent the infant. Five days’ notice shall be given to the defendant before such petition can be heard. At the hearing the evidence may be taken orally, and the court, if satisfied that such expenditure would be judicious and proper, may grant the prayer of the petition. Such petition may be filed and heard before the judge of such court in vacation as well as in term time. In the settlement of the guardian’s accounts no credit shall be allowed him by the fiduciary commissioner or the court for expenditures for his ward, except for expenditures of the annual income of his ward’s estate and for expenditures of such amounts of the principal of the ward’s personal estate as are authorized by the court as provided by this section: Provided, That if the personal estate in the hands of the guardian does not exceed in amount the sum of $3,000, disbursement may be made by the guardian from the corpus of such personal estate for the ward’s maintenance and education, after first securing the written approval so to do of and from the fiduciary commissioner to whom the settlement of the ward’s estate was referred.