DocDraft Logo

Settling an Estate in Virginia

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Virginia · Last updated August 27, 2026

Virginia splits estate administration between two offices that most states combine into one. The clerk of the Circuit Court of the county or independent city where the decedent lived admits the will to probate and qualifies the executor or administrator, usually across a counter rather than in a courtroom. From that point forward the fiduciary answers not to a judge but to a Commissioner of Accounts, a lawyer appointed by the Circuit Court to audit the estate, and Virginia Code 64.2-1300 and 64.2-1304 make the inventory and the accounts due to that commissioner rather than to the court. Virginia also charges a probate tax on the value of the estate at 10 cents per $100 under Virginia Code 58.1-1712, which few states impose. Smaller estates can skip all of this: Virginia Code 64.2-601 allows a small asset affidavit where the entire personal probate estate is $75,000 or less and at least 60 days have passed since the death.

Find out where you stand in Virginia

Where are you in settling the estate?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Is probate required in Virginia?

Not always. Survivorship property, payable on death accounts, life insurance and retirement benefits with a living beneficiary, and trust assets pass outside the estate. Where the personal probate estate is $75,000 or less, Virginia Code 64.2-601 allows a small asset affidavit 60 days after death instead of qualifying anyone.

Where is a Virginia estate opened, and who admits the will?

In the Circuit Court of the county or independent city where the decedent lived. The clerk of that Circuit Court, not a judge, admits the will to probate and qualifies the executor or administrator. Virginia Code 64.2-502.1 even provides an appeal from the clerk's appointment order. That clerk's office holds the estate file.

What is the small estate threshold in Virginia?

Virginia Code 64.2-601 sets it at $75,000. The test is the decedent's entire personal probate estate as of the date of death, wherever located. Real estate does not qualify, because the statute reaches personal property only. At least 60 days must have passed since the death. The affidavit is a collection device, not a court proceeding.

How long does settling an estate take in Virginia?

Plan on more than a year. Virginia Code 64.2-554 says no personal representative can be compelled to distribute for six months after the order conferring authority, and the first account is not due to the Commissioner of Accounts until 16 months after qualification under Virginia Code 64.2-1304. A small asset affidavit can be done in an afternoon.

The clerk qualifies you, the Commissioner of Accounts supervises you

Virginia's structure surprises people who have settled an estate somewhere else. There is no probate court and no probate judge in the ordinary case. Wills are admitted and fiduciaries are qualified by the clerk of the Circuit Court of the county or independent city where the decedent was domiciled, and Virginia Code 64.2-502.1 confirms the point by providing an appeal from the clerk's order appointing an administrator. Supervision then passes to a Commissioner of Accounts, a private attorney appointed by the Circuit Court to audit fiduciaries in that jurisdiction. Virginia Code 64.2-1300 requires the personal representative to file an inventory with the commissioner of accounts within four months after the date of the order conferring authority, listing the personal estate, multiple party accounts, real estate over which the fiduciary has a power of sale, and any other real estate that is an asset of the estate whether or not situated in the Commonwealth, with a market value on each item. Virginia Code 64.2-1304 then requires a first account within 16 months of qualification, with each later account due within four months after the end of the succeeding 12-month period. The commissioner audits those filings, charges a fee, and reports to the Circuit Court. Virginia also taxes the transaction itself. Virginia Code 58.1-1712 imposes a probate tax of 10 cents for every $100 of value or fraction of $100, and exempts estates of $15,000 or less. Creditors are handled differently too. Virginia has no automatic bar date that runs on its own. Publication of notice to creditors under Virginia Code 64.2-508.1 is permissive rather than mandatory, and where a personal representative does publish, a claimant has at least six months from first publication, and 90 days from the day the notice is mailed or delivered to that claimant, whichever runs later. Virginia Code 64.2-554 blocks any compelled distribution for six months from the order conferring authority on the first executor or administrator and lets the representative require a refunding bond, and Virginia Code 64.2-556 allows a show cause order against distribution, published once a week for two successive weeks, that protects a representative who complies in good faith. Virginia is not a community property state, so a surviving spouse who is dissatisfied with the will looks to the elective share against the augmented estate rather than to a community half.

Relevant Laws

Virginia Code Title 64.2, Chapter 13 (Inventories and Accounts)

The chapter that defines the Commissioner of Accounts relationship. Section 64.2-1300 requires the inventory to be filed with the commissioner of accounts within four months after the date of the order conferring authority, with a market value on each item. Section 64.2-1304 requires the first account within 16 months of qualification and each later account within four months after the end of the succeeding 12-month period. Sections 64.2-1301 and 64.2-1302 address when inventory and settlement are not required or may be waived.

Virginia Code 64.2-601 (Payment or delivery of small asset)

Allows a successor to collect estate property by affidavit where the value of the decedent's entire personal probate estate as of the date of death, wherever located, does not exceed $75,000 and at least 60 days have elapsed since the death. The statute reaches personal probate assets only, so real estate is outside it, and the affidavit substitutes for collection rather than for a full administration.

Virginia Code 64.2-508.1 (Notice to creditors for presentation of claims)

Permissive, not mandatory. A personal representative may publish notice on qualification, in which case claims are due the later of at least six months from the date of first publication or 90 days after the representative mails or delivers a copy of the published notice to that claimant. Related sections govern the rest of the creditor picture: 64.2-550 sets the commissioner's hearing for proof of debts, 64.2-554 bars compelled distribution for six months, and 64.2-556 provides the show cause order against distribution.

Virginia Code 58.1-1712 (Tax on probate of will or grant of administration)

Most states charge only a filing fee to open an estate. Virginia instead imposes a state probate tax of 10 cents for every $100 of value, or fraction of $100, on the estate probated, and exempts decedents' estates of $15,000 or less in value. It is collected by the Circuit Court clerk at qualification and is unrelated to the federal estate tax.

Regional Variances

Virginia administration tracks by estate size

Personal probate estate of $15,000 or less

If qualification happens at all, no state probate tax is due, because Virginia Code 58.1-1712 exempts decedents' estates of $15,000 or less in value. In practice most estates this size are handled by the small asset affidavit instead. Route: Virginia Code 64.2-601 affidavit. Court: none required. Creditor window: no bar date runs. Bond: none, since no fiduciary is appointed.

Personal probate estate of $75,000 or less, 60 days after death

Route: small asset affidavit under Virginia Code 64.2-601, measured against the decedent's entire personal probate estate as of the date of death, wherever located. Real estate is not covered and cannot be transferred this way. Court: no qualification, so no Circuit Court file and no Commissioner of Accounts. Creditor window: none opens, and the successor who collects remains answerable to those actually entitled. Bond: not applicable.

Above $75,000, or any estate holding real property to be sold

Route: full qualification. Court: the clerk of the Circuit Court of the county or independent city of domicile admits the will and qualifies the fiduciary. Probate tax of 10 cents per $100 is paid at qualification under Virginia Code 58.1-1712. Creditor window: no automatic bar; Virginia Code 64.2-554 blocks compelled distribution for six months from the order conferring authority. Bond: required under Virginia Code 64.2-504, with Virginia Code 64.2-505 governing when security is not required.

Estates where the representative wants a hard creditor cutoff

Route: publish optional notice under Virginia Code 64.2-508.1, which sets claims at the later of at least six months from first publication or 90 days after mailing to a claimant, and then move under Virginia Code 64.2-556 for an order requiring creditors to show cause against distribution. Court: the Circuit Court, on motion of the personal representative, a successor, or a legatee or distributee, after six months from qualification. The order is published once a week for two successive weeks, and a representative who complies in good faith is not liable for creditor demands.

What a Virginia fiduciary owes the Commissioner of Accounts

Inventory, four months

Virginia Code 64.2-1300 requires the inventory to be filed with the commissioner of accounts within four months after the date of the order conferring authority. It covers personal estate under the fiduciary's supervision and control, the decedent's interest in any multiple party account, real estate over which the fiduciary has a power of sale, and any other real estate that is an asset of the estate whether or not situated in the Commonwealth, with a market value on each item.

First account, sixteen months

Virginia Code 64.2-1304 requires the personal representative to exhibit before the commissioner of accounts, within 16 months from the date of qualification, a statement of all money and other property. Second and subsequent accounts covering each succeeding 12-month period are due within four months from the last day of that period. The Circuit Court may require an earlier filing for reasonable cause.

Proof of debts before the commissioner

Virginia Code 64.2-550 lets a commissioner of accounts who has the accounts of a personal representative for settlement hold a hearing to receive proof of debts and demands. Notice is published at least 10 days before the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction and posted at the front door of the courthouse, written notice goes to known claimants at least 10 days ahead, and proof of mailing or service is filed with the commissioner.

Where the clerk's role ends

The clerk of the Circuit Court admits the will, qualifies the fiduciary, takes bond, delivers the statement of responsibilities under Virginia Code 64.2-507, and collects the probate tax. Ongoing supervision is the commissioner's. Virginia Code 64.2-508 requires written notice of probate, qualification, and entitlement to copies of inventories to go to those interested in the estate.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Total the personal probate estate separately from real estate

Weeks 1-2 days after starting

Virginia Code 64.2-601 measures the small asset route against the decedent's entire personal probate estate as of the date of death, wherever located, and real property sits outside that figure. Build two columns from the start: personal probate assets on one side, real estate and nonprobate assets such as survivorship property and beneficiary designated accounts on the other.

Use the small asset affidavit once 60 days have passed, if the estate qualifies

After day 60 days after starting

Where the entire personal probate estate is $75,000 or less and at least 60 days have elapsed since the death, a successor can collect assets by affidavit under Virginia Code 64.2-601 without qualifying anyone before the Circuit Court clerk. Understand the limit before relying on it: the affidavit moves personal property, it does not transfer real estate, and it does not extinguish valid debts of the decedent.

Document: small-estate-affidavit

Qualify before the Circuit Court clerk and budget for probate tax

Weeks 2-8 days after starting

Take the original will, a certified death certificate, and the list of heirs to the clerk of the Circuit Court of the county or independent city of domicile. The clerk admits the will, sets bond under Virginia Code 64.2-504, and issues certificates of qualification. Virginia Code 58.1-1712 charges 10 cents for every $100 of value, with estates of $15,000 or less exempt, so bring funds for the tax as well as recording fees.

File the inventory with the Commissioner of Accounts within four months

Within 4 months of the order conferring authority days after starting

Virginia Code 64.2-1300 sets a four month deadline running from the date of the order conferring authority, and the filing goes to the Commissioner of Accounts rather than to a judge. Include personal estate, the decedent's interest in any multiple party account, real estate over which there is a power of sale, and any other estate real estate whether or not situated in the Commonwealth, with a market value on each item.

Document: asset-inventory

Hold distribution for six months and file the first account by month sixteen

Months 6 to 16 days after starting

Virginia Code 64.2-554 means no distribution can be compelled for six months from the order conferring authority, and permits a refunding bond from each legatee or distributee. Where certainty is needed, move under Virginia Code 64.2-556 for a show cause order against distribution, published once a week for two successive weeks. Virginia Code 64.2-1304 requires the first account before the Commissioner of Accounts within 16 months of qualification.

Frequently Asked Questions

Virginia Code 58.1-1712 imposes a tax of 10 cents for every $100 of value, or fraction of $100, which works out to $1 per $1,000. Estates of $15,000 or less in value are exempt. The tax is not an estate tax or an inheritance tax on the beneficiaries; it is a charge on the act of probating, paid at the Circuit Court clerk's counter, and it is separate from clerk recording fees and from the Commissioner of Accounts fee charged later for auditing the inventory and accounts.

Two things above all, and both run on their own clocks. Virginia Code 64.2-1300 requires an inventory filed with the commissioner of accounts within four months after the date of the order conferring authority, valuing each item at market value. Virginia Code 64.2-1304 then requires a statement of all money and other property within 16 months of qualification, with the second and later accounts due within four months after the end of each succeeding 12-month period. The commissioner is a lawyer appointed by the Circuit Court, not court staff, and the filings go to that office rather than to a judge.

That is the real risk in Virginia, because no bar date arrives automatically. Virginia Code 64.2-554 provides that a personal representative cannot be compelled to distribute for six months from the order conferring authority on the first executor or administrator, and allows the representative to require a refunding bond from each legatee or distributee covering a due proportion of debts later proved. Virginia Code 64.2-556 goes further: on motion of the representative, a successor, or a legatee or distributee, the court may order creditors to show cause against distribution, and a representative who has in good faith complied with that section is not liable for creditor demands.

Differently from personal property at nearly every step. The small asset affidavit under Virginia Code 64.2-601 does not reach it at all, since that statute measures only the personal probate estate. A personal representative does not automatically have power to sell estate land; Virginia Code 64.2-1300 distinguishes real estate over which the fiduciary has a power of sale from other real estate that is merely an asset of the estate, and both go on the inventory. Where there is no will, Virginia Code 64.2-509 and 64.2-510 require a list of heirs and an affidavit relating to the intestate decedent's real estate.

It still gets inventoried but it does not necessarily get transferred by the Virginia estate. Virginia Code 64.2-1300 requires the inventory filed with the Commissioner of Accounts to include real estate that is an asset of the estate whether or not it is situated in the Commonwealth. A Virginia qualification does not by itself pass title to land in another state, so an ancillary proceeding in the state where the property sits is usually needed. Confirm that state's own rules early, because its creditor and filing deadlines run independently of Virginia's.

Other Virginia guides

Asset Protection Planning in Virginia (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Virginia (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Virginia (2026)

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Virginia (2026)

Firing an Employee in Virginia (2026)

How to Break a Lease in Virginia Legally (2026)

Ready to Draft Your Document?

Get AI-powered legal documents with attorney review included. Plans start at $39.99/mo.

Settling an Estate in Virginia - DocDraft