§44A-2-1. Filing of petition; jurisdiction; fees; special revenue account established.

(a) A petition for the appointment of a guardian or conservator shall be filed with the clerk of the circuit court in the county in which the alleged protected person resides or, if an alleged protected person has been admitted to a health care or correctional facility, in the county in which that facility is located. A petition for the appointment of a conservator for a missing person shall be filed with the clerk of the circuit court in the county in which the missing person last resided. The circuit clerk is not required to accept for filing a petition that is not administratively complete.

(b) The circuit court in which the proceeding is first commenced shall have exclusive jurisdiction unless that court determines that a transfer of venue would be in the best interests of the person alleged to need protection.

(c) The fee for filing a petition shall be $110 payable upon filing to the circuit clerk, $75 of which shall be retained by the circuit clerk and $35 of which shall be remitted by the circuit clerk to the special revenue account in the state Treasury created in subsection (e) of this section.

(d) The person bringing the petition shall be responsible for fees for filing the petition and other papers, for service of process, and for copies of court documents and transcripts. In the event that a guardian, conservator, or both, is appointed by the court, such fees shall be reimbursed to the individual who filed the petition from the protected person’s estate, if funds are available. Any person who is pecuniarily unable to pay the fees and costs as set forth in article one, chapter fifty-nine of this code and article two, chapter fifty-one of this code will not be required to pay the fees and costs.

(e) There is hereby created in the state Treasury a special revenue account, which shall be an interest-bearing account, to be known as the Enforcement of Guardianship and Conservatorship Act Fund.

(f) The reports of guardians and inventory and accountings of conservators required by this chapter shall be examined multiannually by the, fiduciary commissioner or other person appointed by the court in accordance with section eleven, article three of this chapter.

(g) The special revenue account known as the Enforcement of Guardianship and Conservatorship Act Fund, previously administered by the State Auditor, shall, on and after the amendment and reenactment of this section, be administered by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. All moneys previously collected for deposit into the fund pursuant to this chapter and not expended in accordance with this chapter shall be transferred to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. All collections shall be deposited and used for payment of fiduciary commissioner or other person appointed by the court for review of the reports required by section eleven, article three of this chapter and the education program required by section ten, article one of this chapter.