Probate in Virginia: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs

Settling an estate in Virginia

What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.

Filing the original will

Virginia has no law setting a deadline for handing in the original will of the person who died. The circuit court or its clerk can order anyone holding the will to produce it once a probate case is opened, and hiding or destroying a will to keep it from probate is a crime.

Va. Code §§ 64.2-449(A), 18.2-504Read the statute · law.lis.virginia.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Which court handles probate

In Virginia, wills are probated in the circuit court, usually before the clerk, in the county or city where the person who died had a known place of residence. If there was none, it goes where they owned real estate, or else where they died or had property.

Va. Code §§ 64.2-443, 64.2-444Read the statute · law.lis.virginia.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

Creditors' deadline to make claims

In Virginia, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) may publish a notice to creditors for two weeks in a local newspaper and mail it to known creditors with disputed claims. Claims are then due by the later of six months after the first publication or 90 days after the notice was mailed. If a claim comes in late, the executor's liability is limited to what is left in the estate.

Va. Code § 64.2-508.1Read the statute · law.lis.virginia.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jul 1, 2026

Estate inventory

In Virginia, the executor or administrator must file an inventory with the commissioner of accounts within four months after qualifying, listing the personal property, the share of joint bank accounts, and the real estate of the person who died, at market value on the date of death.

Va. Code § 64.2-1300Read the statute · law.lis.virginia.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

The order estate debts are paid

In Virginia, if the estate cannot pay every bill, the executor or administrator pays administration costs first, then the family allowances, then funeral costs up to $5,000, then federal debts and taxes, then capped last illness medical bills, then state debts and taxes, then several later classes ending with all other claims.

Va. Code § 64.2-528Read the statute · law.lis.virginia.govchecked Oct 5, 2026

State estate and inheritance tax

Virginia has no inheritance tax, and in practice no estate tax for current deaths. Its estate tax law is still on the books but equals the old federal credit for state death taxes, which no longer exists.

Va. Code §§ 58.1-901, 58.1-902Read the statute · law.lis.virginia.govchecked Oct 5, 2026effective Jul 1, 2007

Closing an estate

In Virginia, the executor or administrator settles the estate by filing accounts with the commissioner of accounts, the first within 16 months after qualifying and then yearly, until a final account showing everything paid and distributed is approved and confirmed by the circuit court. If the only heirs or main beneficiaries are the executors themselves, a sworn statement can replace the accounts after six months.

Va. Code §§ 64.2-1206, 64.2-1304, 64.2-1314, 64.2-556Read the statute · law.lis.virginia.govchecked Oct 5, 2026