WHAT THE WORDS MEAN

Also called left behind belongings

Belongings left after a tenant abandons a rental. They may be disposed of only after a posted and mailed notice gives a date not less than thirty days after mailing to remove them.

Also called rent reduction

A reasonable reduction in rent when a rented building is destroyed by fire or otherwise without the tenant's fault, lasting until it is restored, unless the lease provides otherwise.

Also called age discrimination

In the Human Rights Act, the age of 40 or above.

Also called attorney in fact

The person a power of attorney names to act for the principal, who must act in good faith, within the authority given, and keep a record of every transaction.

Also called ATV, four wheeler

An off-road vehicle that may not be driven on any interstate, or on a road with a center line or more than two lanes except to cross it or along the shoulder to reach the trails.

Also called move over law

Passing a stopped vehicle showing flashing lights, hazard lights, flares or a warning sign, which takes a lane change away from it where safe, or slowing to not over 15 miles per hour on an undivided road and 25 on a divided highway.

Also called no warranty

A sale without implied warranties, allowed for a used car only if it is a total loss, a show or race car, sold for less than $4,000, driven more than 100,000 miles, or seven years of age or older.

Also called out of pocket loss

An actual out of pocket loss of money or property caused by a deceptive practice, which a buyer proves to recover actual damages or $200.

Also called affiant

The successor who files a small estate affidavit and is certified by the county clerk, and who has a fiduciary duty to pay creditors and pass the assets to those entitled.

Also called showing a gun, pulling a gun

Carrying, displaying or using a firearm or other deadly weapon in a way that causes or threatens a breach of the peace, licensed or not.

Also called per stirpes

The way descendants share an intestate estate, with the descendants of a child who died first taking that child's place.

Also called medical cannabis caregiver

A person with a bureau ID card who may obtain medical cannabis for a patient, serving no more than five patients, while a patient may name up to two.

Also called insurance card, proof of insurance

The certificate of insurance or other proof of security, which the insured carries in the vehicle and presents at inspection.

Also called ticket instead of arrest, summons

A citation an officer may issue instead of arresting, for a misdemeanor not involving injury committed in the officer's presence, when the person will likely appear.

Also called published notice

A notice published once in a newspaper. A name change petitioner publishes one at least ten days before the hearing.

Also called will amendment

A later writing that changes a will. A will or any part of one may be revoked by a later will or codicil.

Also called work injury

An injury covered by workers' compensation, claimed on an application filed within six months after the injury.

Also called truancy law

The duty to attend school from the school year a child turns six to the 17th birthday, or as long as the student stays enrolled after it.

Also called hidden, carried out of sight

Carried so that another person in the ordinary course of events would not be put on notice of the weapon.

Also called carry license, CHL, carry permit

A license a resident applies for to the sheriff of the county, with a fee of $50, issued only for pistols and revolvers.

Also called deferred adjudication, first offender probation

For a person with no prior drug conviction, the court deferring the case and placing the person on probation, then discharging the person and dismissing the case without a conviction once its terms are met.

Also called written consent to search

The form that records an operator's written consent to a vehicle search, stating that the operator may refuse, is consenting freely and voluntarily, and may withdraw consent at any time during the search.

Also called guardian of the estate

A person the court appoints to manage a protected person's money and property, on a petition anyone interested may file.

Also called postponement, more time

A postponement of an eviction hearing, granted only for cause, and a tenant who gets one pays the rent coming due during it into court.

Also called pattern of conduct

A pattern of two or more acts directed at a person, directly, indirectly or through a third party, the core of stalking and harassment.

Also called corroboration

Evidence worthy of belief that corresponds to one or more elements of the offense. An officer may arrest without a warrant for domestic battery after observing it, together with an allegation from the victim or a witness.

Also called custody, parenting time

The time a child spends with each parent. Unless the parents agree otherwise or it would harm the child, the court allocates it equally (50-50).

Also called records officer, FOIA officer

The official who keeps a public record, to whom a request goes directly, and who answers within a maximum of five days not counting weekends and holidays.

Also called weapon

An instrument designed or readily adaptable to be used as a weapon, including a knife with a sharp-edged or sharp-pointed blade capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing or tearing wounds.

Also called collection agency

Anyone collecting a consumer debt, who may not threaten, abuse or harass, or call more than thirty times a week or talk more than ten times a week with intent to annoy.

Also called domestic violence charge

Unlawfully and intentionally making insulting or provoking physical contact with, or causing physical harm to, a family or household member.

Also called abuse, domestic abuse

Between family or household members, causing or attempting physical harm, placing someone in reasonable fear of it, creating fear through harassment, stalking or threats, sexual assault, or holding someone against their will.

Also called DUI, drunk driving

Driving under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance or another drug, or with an alcohol concentration in the blood of eight hundredths of one percent or more, by weight.

Also called durable power of attorney

Continuing in effect when the principal becomes incapacitated. A power of attorney under the act is durable unless it expressly says otherwise.

Also called stand your ground, castle doctrine

An obligation to withdraw before using force. A lawful occupant of a home, and a person attacked anywhere they have a legal right to be, has no duty to retreat before using reasonable and proportionate force.

Also called spouse's share, forced share

The percentage of the augmented estate a surviving spouse may take instead of what the will or intestacy gives, rising with the years married to 50% at fifteen years or more.

Also called good samaritan

Help given voluntarily and without pay at the scene of an accident, emergency or disaster, for which a person acting in good faith is not liable for civil damages.

Also called temporary protective order, EPO

An order a magistrate may enter on a verified petition, without notice on clear and convincing evidence of immediate and present danger, that bars the respondent from having firearms until the family court's final hearing.

Also called move-in fee

A fee for the privilege of renting or occupying a factory-built home site, which a landlord may not demand or collect.

Also called exemptions

Property a resident may hold apart from a creditor's execution, such as a car up to $5,000 and household goods up to $8,000, up to $15,000 in all.

Also called clearing a record, sealing

A circuit court order clearing an eligible conviction and its records, available for a misdemeanor one year after the sentence and a nonviolent felony five years after.

Also called deepfake

An image of an identifiable person created by artificial intelligence or other technology showing computer-generated intimate parts as theirs, covered by the same rule as a real one.

Also called mobile home, manufactured home, trailer

A home built in sections and placed on a rented site. A single section home's lot may not be terminated except for good cause until twelve months after it is placed, and a multi-section home's until five years.

Also called household member

Spouses and former spouses, people who live or lived together, intimate or dating partners, people with a child in common, and a list of relatives by blood and marriage.

Also called elder financial abuse

The intentional misappropriation or misuse of an elderly person's funds or assets, an elderly person being 65 years or older.

Also called emergency responder

A law-enforcement officer, probation officer, firefighter or emergency responder. After a verbal warning, no one may knowingly approach or remain within 30 feet of one in a way that impedes the duty.

Also called habitability, livable

The condition a landlord delivers a residential rental in at the start and keeps it in, including meeting the health, safety, fire and housing codes and keeping the systems in good and safe working order.

Also called running from police, evading

Intentionally fleeing or attempting to flee in a vehicle after an officer gives a clear visual or audible signal to stop.

Also called civil forfeiture, seizure

Taking property exchanged for, traceable to, or used to facilitate a drug violation, on a petition filed within ninety days after the seizure.

Also called overdose immunity, good samaritan overdose

Seeking emergency medical help in good faith and in a timely manner for someone who reasonably appears to be overdosing, which keeps the caller from being held criminally responsible for possession and underage or public drinking.

Also called public board, council

A public board, commission or council whose meetings are open to the public except where the law specifically allows them to be closed.

Also called learner's permit, intermediate license, GDL

The three level system every driver under 18 goes through: a level one instruction permit, a level two intermediate license with limits on hours and passengers, and a level three full license.

Also called serious misconduct

Conduct such as willful destruction of the employer's property, assault at work, or being intoxicated at work, which disqualifies from unemployment until returning to covered work for at least 30 working days.

Also called voice-operated, hands free

A feature that lets a driver use a phone without either hand, apart from starting or ending it with a single touch or swipe.

Also called surrogate decision maker

The person a doctor selects in writing to make decisions for an incapacitated patient who has no representative or guardian, chosen in a set order starting with the spouse and adult children.

Also called door to door sale

A sale agreed at the buyer's home, which the buyer may cancel by written notice until midnight of the third business day after signing.

Also called senior property tax exemption

The exemption of the first $20,000 of assessed value of a home from property tax, for an owner sixty-five years of age or older or permanently and totally disabled.

Also called consent by driving

The rule that anyone who drives in the state is considered to have consented to a preliminary breath analysis and a secondary chemical test of blood or breath.

Also called without a will

Dying without a valid will, so the estate passes to the spouse and relatives in the order the code sets.

Also called no fault divorce

A ground for divorce alleged in the complaint and admitted in the answer, needing no corroboration.

Also called age of majority

The power to make contracts, buy and sell property, sign legal documents and sue or be sued, which no one who has attained the age of eighteen years lacks because of age.

Also called double damages on wages

An amount an employer owes on top of late final wages, two times the unpaid amount.

Also called illegal dumping

Trash dumped anywhere but a proper receptacle, on public or private property or within 100 feet of the waters of the state.

Also called advance directive

A written statement of a person's wishes about life-prolonging treatment, made with two witnesses and a notary, and revocable at any time.

Also called small claims court

The county court that hears civil actions up to $20,000, apart from interest and costs, and evictions where title is not in dispute.

Also called required reporter

A professional the code requires to report suspected child abuse or neglect, such as teachers, doctors, social workers, clergy and coaches, within 24 hours of suspecting it.

Also called contractor's lien

A claim on real estate for unpaid work or materials, recorded with the county clerk within one hundred days after the work is complete, or lost.

Also called health care proxy

A document naming a representative to make health care decisions, signed before two or more witnesses at least 18 years of age and acknowledged before a notary public.

Also called defect, lemon

A new vehicle's failure to conform to its express warranty. One repaired three or more times in the warranty or first year, and still there, is presumed beyond a reasonable number of attempts.

Also called no trespassing, posted land

Notice that entry is forbidden, given by actual communication, posting, fencing or cultivation. Knowingly entering or remaining on property after it is trespass.

Also called right to sue letter

The notice the Human Rights Commission gives on dismissal or on the complainant's request, after which the complainant has 90 days to sue in court.

Also called knock and announce

The announcement officers give before forcing entry to a dwelling to execute a warrant. They may not attempt a forcible entry until giving it and being refused admittance.

Also called bounced check letter

A notice that a check came back for insufficient funds, giving ten days to pay the full amount and a fee of not more than $25.

Also called deposit deadline

The time a landlord has to return a deposit: within 60 days of the end of the tenancy, or within 45 days of a new tenant moving in, whichever is shorter.

Also called line fence, boundary fence

A fence between adjoining farm lands, whose cost of building and upkeep the owners share in just proportion.

Also called pay card

A card account wages may be paid into, with the fees disclosed in writing and at least one free withdrawal each pay period.

Also called month to month, week to week

A tenancy that runs from period to period, such as month to month. One shorter than a year may be ended by written notice for one full period before the end of a period.

Also called constitutional carry, carrying without a license

Carrying a concealed deadly weapon without a license, which any person may do who is at least 18 years of age, a United States citizen or legal resident, and not prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Also called stalking order, harassment order

A magistrate court order protecting someone outside the domestic violence article from a sexual offense, stalking or repeated credible threats, lasting for the period stated and not more than two years.

Also called petty theft

Simple larceny of goods worth less than $1,000, a misdemeanor; at $1,000 or more it is grand larceny, a felony.

Also called public place, business open to the public

A place open to the public, whose owner, manager or employee may not refuse anyone its services because of race, religion, sex, age, blindness or disability.

Also called roadside breath test, PBT

A roadside breath test an officer may require with reason to believe a person has been driving under the influence. Its result is used only to decide whether to arrest.

Also called one party consent

Agreement by one of the parties to a communication before it is intercepted. A person who is a party to a wire, oral or electronic communication, or has a party's prior consent, may intercept it unless the purpose is a criminal or tortious act.

Also called person barred from guns, felon in possession

A person the weapons article bars from possessing a firearm, including anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year, an unlawful drug user, and a person adjudicated mentally incompetent or involuntarily committed.

Also called ward

A person a court finds needs a guardian or conservator. Any guardianship is to be the least restrictive possible.

Also called affidavit ballot

A ballot cast by a voter without a valid identifying document after signing an affidavit of identity, counted once the signature is matched and eligibility confirmed.

Also called in public

Any place, building or conveyance the public may access, including any highway, street, lane or park, but not premises licensed to serve alcohol for drinking there.

Also called normal wear and tear

The ordinary decline of a rental through use, which is subtracted from any damage a landlord charges against the deposit.

Also called wanton driving

Driving any vehicle on a street, highway, parking area or school way in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.

Also called consent on tape

An operator's spoken consent to a search, evidenced by an audio recording. On a traffic misdemeanor stop, a search needs probable cause or another lawful basis, written consent on the form, or this.

Also called base rate for overtime

All pay for the work, apart from gifts, holiday or vacation pay, expense reimbursements, discretionary bonuses and benefit contributions. Overtime is paid at one and one-half times it.

Also called told to stop, warning to quiet down

An officer's request that a person stop disturbing the peace. Disorderly conduct requires that the person persist after it.

Also called retaliation, reprisal

A landlord selectively raising rent, cutting services or threatening eviction because a tenant complained to a code agency, sued, joined a tenants' organization or testified.

Also called divorce and a will

The rule that a divorce or annulment after a will revokes every gift to the former spouse and naming them as executor or guardian, unless the will says otherwise.

Also called cure notice

A consumer's right, after a notice of default, to catch up by paying the past due amount and charges before the creditor accelerates, sues or repossesses, which it may not do until ten days after the notice.

Also called loose dog

A dog loose off its owner's control. An owner who lets a dog run at large is liable for the damage it does while loose.

Also called school speed zone

All school property, including the grounds and any abutting street, extending 125 feet along the road from the school grounds, where the limit is fifteen miles per hour during recess or while children are arriving or leaving.

Also called station breath test, evidentiary test

The breath or blood test given after an arrest. A person who refuses is not given it, after written and verbal warnings, and the refusal becomes final after 15 minutes.

Also called cash bail, money bond

Bail backed by cash or property. In all misdemeanors, cash bail may not exceed three times the maximum fine for the offense.

Also called damage deposit

A refundable deposit a tenant furnishes to secure the terms of a rental agreement or as security for damage to the premises.

Also called unrelated misconduct

Misconduct by an injured employee wholly unrelated to the injury or the absence from it, the only ground for firing a worker off on temporary total disability.

Also called merchant detention

A store owner's, employee's or officer's holding of a person reasonably believed to have shoplifted, in a reasonable manner for no more than thirty minutes, which is not an arrest.

Also called small estate affidavit

A probate estate with personal property worth not more than $50,000 and real estate in the state worth not more than $100,000, which may be handled by affidavit where there is no probate real estate.

Also called unauthorized occupant

A person living in a unit with no rental agreement and no authorization from the tenant, whom an owner need not evict to remove.

Also called time limit to sue

The time to bring a lawsuit, two years for personal injuries or damage to property, measured from when the right to sue accrued.

Also called wage garnishment

A judgment creditor's levy on a debtor's wages, a lien on wages due within one year after it issues, reaching no more than twenty percent of them.

Also called window tint, tint film

Tint film on a vehicle's glass. Beside the driver it has a light transmission of not less than thirty-five percent and a reflectivity of not more than twenty percent.

Also called TTD

The benefit paid while an injured worker cannot work at all because of a compensable injury, during which the employer may not fire the worker except for unrelated misconduct.

Also called person making the will

The person whose will it is. A testator must be of sound mind and at least eighteen years old.

Also called tipped wage

A credit an employer may take of seventy percent of the hourly rate for an employee who customarily receives tips, if it can show the tips cover it.

Also called subminimum wage

A wage below the minimum, not less than $6.40 per hour, for a new employee for no more than ninety days, and never for someone who has reached the age of twenty years.

Also called deed of trust, mortgage

The document that secures most home loans, under which a trustee sells the property at public auction after a default once the deed's conditions are met.

Also called discrimination

Denying equal opportunity because of race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, blindness, disability or familial status, in work, public places or housing.

Also called forcible entry, lockout suit

A suit by a person forcibly or unlawfully turned out of possession, or against one unlawfully holding over, for the premises and damages, brought within three years.

Also called voter ID

A document with the voter's name shown at the polls, such as a West Virginia driver's license, another state's license, a passport, a military ID, or a student or government employee ID with a photo.

Also called negligent homicide with a vehicle

Causing a death that follows within one year as the proximate result of injury from driving in reckless disregard for the safety of others.

Also called living apart

Living separate and apart in separate places without cohabitation and without interruption for one year, a ground for divorce whether one spouse chose it or both did.

Also called incapacitated adult

A person over the age of 18 who, because of a physical or mental condition, cannot independently carry on the daily activities needed for life, health and protection.

Also called waiting week

A week of unemployment served before benefits begin, including a new one when a benefit year ends during unemployment.

Also called reckless use of a firearm

Wantonly doing any act with a firearm that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another, a felony.

Also called holographic will, handwritten will

A will written entirely in the hand of the person making it and signed, which is valid without attesting witnesses.

Also called eviction, summary relief

A tenant staying in a residential rental while behind in rent, in breach of the lease, or having damaged the property, which a landlord may petition the magistrate or circuit court to end.