# West Virginia — Filial responsibility laws by state — what each statute actually says about an adult child's liability for a parent's care

For West Virginia, statute is §9-5-9; condition on the parent is an indigent person; ability-to-pay qualifier is who are of sufficient ability; civil or criminal is civil; who may bring the action is The department may proceed by motion in the circuit court of the county in which the indigent person may be, against one or more of the relatives liable, recorded from its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** West Virginia _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute:** §9-5-9
- **Who owes the duty:** The relatives of an indigent person, who are of sufficient ability, shall be liable to pay the direct cremation or direct burial expenses in the following order: (1) The spouse. (2) The children. (3) The parents. (4) The brothers and sisters. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Condition on the parent:** an indigent person _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Ability-to-pay qualifier:** who are of sufficient ability _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Civil or criminal:** civil _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Who may bring the action:** The department may proceed by motion in the circuit court of the county in which the indigent person may be, against one or more of the relatives liable. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Defences in the statute:** The liability of the relative of an indigent person for funeral service expenses is limited to the amount paid by the department. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Limited to public assistance cases:** public assistance only _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> (d) The relatives of an indigent person, who are of sufficient ability, shall be liable to pay the direct cremation or direct burial expenses in the following order: (1) The spouse. (2) The children. (3) The parents. (4) The brothers and sisters. (e) The department may proceed by motion in the circuit court of the county in which the indigent person may be, against one or more of the relatives liable.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Who owes the duty

> (d) The relatives of an indigent person, who are of sufficient ability, shall be liable to pay the direct cremation or direct burial expenses in the following order: (1) The spouse. (2) The children. (3) The parents. (4) The brothers and sisters.

### Condition on the parent

> (d) The relatives of an indigent person, who are of sufficient ability, shall be liable to pay the direct cremation or direct burial expenses in the following order: (1) The spouse. (2) The children. (3) The parents. (4) The brothers and sisters.

### Ability-to-pay qualifier

> The relatives of an indigent person, who are of sufficient ability, shall be liable to pay the direct cremation or direct burial expenses in the following order

### Civil or criminal

> (e) The department may proceed by motion in the circuit court of the county in which the indigent person may be, against one or more of the relatives liable.

### Who may bring the action

> (e) The department may proceed by motion in the circuit court of the county in which the indigent person may be, against one or more of the relatives liable.

### Defences in the statute

> (g) The liability of the relative of an indigent person for funeral service expenses is limited to the amount paid by the department.

### Limited to public assistance cases

> (b) The Department of Health shall pay for direct cremation or direct burial for indigent persons in an amount not to exceed the actual cost of the direct cremation or direct burial service provided, or $1,000 whichever is less. (c) Prior to paying for direct cremation or direct burial, the department shall determine the financial assets of a deceased person and whether or not the deceased’s estate or any of his or her relatives who are liable for the direct cremation or direct burial expenses pursuant to subsection (d) of this section is financially able to pay

## Source

- https://code.wvlegislature.gov/9-5-9/

Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2027-08-31.
Part of [Filial responsibility laws by state — what each statute actually says about an adult child's liability for a parent's care](https://referencesource.org/filial-responsibility-laws-by-state/).