Christopher James Winton

Christopher James Winton: Attorney with Ray, Winton & Kelley, PLLC
Attorney Awards
  • Martindale-Hubbell Peer AV Preeminent Rating
About Attorney Awards

Biography

Phi Beta Kappa. Co-Author: "Basic Drafting of Wills and Trusts in West Virginia," NBI, Inc. 1991; "Laying Claim: A Practitioner's Guide to Will Contests in West Virginia," 96 West Virginia Law Review 123 (1993); “Still Laying Claim: An Update to Developments in Will Contest Litigation in West Virginia”, 119 West Virginia Law Review Online 17 (2016). Author: "The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: Still Waiting for The Relief," West Virginia Executive, Vol. 1, Issue 1, p. 26 Spring 1998; "West Virginia State Tax Procedure and Administration," chapter in West Virginia Practice Handbook, West Virginia State Bar, 2000, revised 2004; "ABA State Environmental Taxes Deskbook," West Virginia chapter, ABA, 2001; "The Death Tax is Not Dead: Estate Planning Highlights of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001," West Virginia Executive, p. 50, Winter 2001; "Probate Happens: How to Sell Real Estate During a Decedent's Estate Administration," The West Virginia Lawyer, p. 30 (November/December 2005); Case note, "Thompson v. Barnhart: Irrevocable Trust Is Really Revocable When Remainder Beneficiaries Are Not Individually Named," The Trust SIG News 3, Spring 2006; "Probate Happens: How to Perform an Ancillary Administration in West Virginia," The West Virginia Lawyer, p. 28 (May/June 2007); "Probate Happens: How to Involuntarily Remove the Personal Representative in West Virginia," The West Virginia Lawyer, p. 36 (November/December 2007); "Probate Happens: How to Abate Creditors' Claims in An Insolvent Estate in West Virginia," The West Virginia Lawyer, p. 30 (January-March 2009); "Probate Happens: How to Claim the Spousal Elective Share in West Virginia," The West Virginia Lawyer, p. 28 (October-December 2009); "Probate Happens: How to Calculate the Spousal Elective Share in West Virginia," The West Virginia Lawyer, p. 42 (October-December 2011); Author, Chapter 51, § 1139, Bogert The Law of Trusts and Trustees, "Asset Protection Trusts" (West Virginia chapter)(2017); Contributing State Editor, West Virginia section, "ACTEC Comparison of the Domestic Asset Protection Statutes" (2017-2020); Contributing State Editor, West Virginia section, "ACTEC State Survey of Asset Protection Techniques" (2018-2020); Contributing State Editor, West Virginia section, “ACTEC State Survey of Ancillary Probate” (2020); “Size Matters (In Probate, Too): The New 2021 West Virginia Small Estates Act,” The West Virginia Lawyer Vol. 52, p. 44 (Winter 2021-22); “Go Small, or Go Big: A Continuing Dialogue on the West Virginia Small Estates Act,” The West Virginia Lawyer Vol. 53, p. 44 (Spring 2022). Named, "West Virginia Super Lawyer," for Estate Planning and Probate by Super Lawyers Magazine (Law & Politics). Selected, "The Best Lawyers in America," for Trusts and Estates (since 2013). Named Best Lawyers’ Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year for Charleston, West Virginia 2016, 2019, 2022, 2025. Adjunct Professor, University of Charleston (West Virginia), Estate Planning FINA-415 (Fall 2022, Fall 2024).

Elected Fellow of American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
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Areas of Practice (6)

  • Estate Planning
  • Taxation
  • Probate
  • Civil Litigation
  • Real Estate
  • Corporate

Education & Credentials

University Attended:
University of Virginia, B.A., with high distinction, 1982
Law School Attended:
University of Virginia, J.D., 1985
Year of First Admission:
1985
Admission:
1985, West Virginia; 1986, Virginia
Memberships:
West Virginia State Bar (Member and Chair, Probate Committee); Virginia State Bar; American Bar Association (Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section); National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; Charleston Estate Planning Council; Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Special Agencies:

Special Counsel to Kanawha County Public Library.

Birth Information:
Evanston, Illinois, 1960
Reported Cases:
Martin v. Martin, 888 S.E.2d 434 (W. Va. 2023); Dickens v. Sahley Realty Company, Inc., et al., 756 S.E.2d 484 (W. Va. 2014); Kanawha County Public Library Board v. Board of Education of the County of Kanawha, 745 S.E.2d 424 (W. Va. 2013); State ex rel. Prosecuting Attorney v. Bayer Corp., 672 S.E.2d 282 (W. Va. 2008); United Bank, Inc. v. Blosser, et. al., 624 S.E.2d 815 (W. Va. 2005); Board of Education v. Quincy Coal Co., 535 S.E.2d 713 (W. Va. 2000); Silling v. Erwin, 885 F. Supp. 881 (S.D.W. Va. 1995); Silling v. Erwin, 881 F. Supp. 236 (S.D.W. Va. 1995).
ISLN:
902682045

Payment Information

Fixed Hourly Rates
Available
Other Information
Fixed fees available

Peer Reviews

4.6/5.0 (19 reviews)
Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent Rating Badge

  • Legal Knowledge

    4.8/5.0

  • Analytical Capability

    4.6/5.0

  • Judgment

    4.5/5.0

  • Communication

    4.2/5.0

  • Legal Experience

    4.7/5.0
Peer reviews submitted prior to 2008 are not displayed.

Client Reviews Write a Review

Location

Contact Christopher James Winton

Contact Information:

681-781-4023  Phone

304-342-0691  Fax

www.rwk-law.com

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