Probate Attorney
Clear guidance for executors and trustees, from the first weeks after a death to the final accounting.
You have been named executor. Now what?
The job usually starts in the middle of grief. There is a house to look after and accounts to find. Family members want updates, and the court process may be new to you.
Gillis Law guides executors, administrators and trustees through each step, from qualifying at the courthouse to closing the estate. We tell you what is due and when, handle the filings, and keep the family informed. Whether you call in the first weeks or partway through, we can step in.
What to do in the first few weeks
Very little has to happen in the first days, and acting too quickly can create problems later. A short list covers what needs attention right away.
01
Find the original will
The court needs the signed original, not a copy.
02
Order death certificates
Order several certified copies. Banks, insurers and the court each want one.
03
Secure the property
Secure the house, the car and anything of value, and keep the homeowner’s insurance in force.
04
Keep the mail and statements
Collect the mail and keep every statement and bill that arrives.
05
Hold off on payments
Do not pay debts or hand anything to family yet. Virginia law sets the order of payment if the estate turns out to be short.
Our first meeting turns that list into a plan. We review the will and the assets and tell you whether probate is needed, and where. Then we lay out the schedule through to the final accounting.
Does every estate go through probate in Virginia?
No.
Probate covers only what the person owned in their own name with no one designated to receive it. Many assets pass directly to family.
Joint accounts
Accounts and property owned jointly with a right of survivorship.
Named beneficiaries
Life insurance, retirement accounts, and bank or brokerage accounts with a named beneficiary or payable-on-death designation.
Trusts and deeds
Assets held in a revocable living trust, and real estate passing by a transfer on death deed.
Small estates
When the personal probate estate is worth $75,000 or less, the heirs can use a small estate affidavit, on a form from the Supreme Court of Virginia, instead of qualifying an executor.
What a Virginia executor must do, and when
The executor qualifies before the clerk of the circuit court in the city or county where the person lived. The clerk admits the original will to probate, and the executor takes an oath, posts bond and pays the probate tax. From that day, Virginia law sets the schedule.
Within 30 days of qualifying
Written notice to the heirs and beneficiaries
Within 4 months of qualifying
Affidavit of notice recorded with the clerk, and an inventory filed with the Commissioner of Accounts
9 months after death
Federal estate tax return, if one is required
April 15 after the year of death
The person’s final income tax returns
Within 16 months of qualifying
First accounting filed with the Commissioner, covering the first 12 months, then one each year until the estate is settled
Between those dates, the executor collects the assets. The estate’s money stays in its own account, under its own tax ID number. Valid debts and expenses get paid, the estate’s income tax returns get filed, and what is left goes to the beneficiaries.
Protecting you as executor
An executor is a fiduciary, and the responsibility is personal. These are the problems we help executors avoid.
Mixing estate money with your own
Combining the two can leave you personally liable for the difference.
Paying creditors in the wrong order
When the estate is short, paying the wrong creditor first can leave you liable too.
Distributing too early
Paying heirs before the debts and taxes are known is just as risky.
Accountings that come back
The Commissioner of Accounts reviews every figure, and each needs a statement or receipt behind it. Questions can slow an estate down by months.
The family will want their inheritance quickly, and that pressure lands on the executor. We tell everyone when money can safely go out, so you are not the one who has to say no. And we prepare each accounting to pass the first time.
How long probate takes in Virginia
Most estates stay open for at least a year. The first accounting covers the first 12 months and is due by month 16, and the estate cannot close until the Commissioner approves the final one. A house to sell, a business to value, a federal estate tax return or a family disagreement adds time.
Not everything waits for the court. Accounts with named beneficiaries and trust assets can usually be paid within weeks. That often covers what a family needs in the meantime.
A year or more
How long most estates stay open
Month 16
When the first accounting is due, covering the first 12 months
Weeks
When beneficiary accounts and trust assets can usually be paid
What probate costs in Virginia
Most expenses are paid by the estate, not by the executor personally.
When there is no will
If there is no will, the court appoints an administrator, usually a spouse or close relative. Virginia’s intestacy law then decides who inherits.
All of the children are also the spouse’s
Everything
The surviving spouse receives the whole estate.
There are children from another relationship
One-third
The surviving spouse receives one-third, and the children share the other two-thirds.
An administrator generally posts bond with surety. When the estate includes real estate, the administrator also records a list of heirs with the court. Otherwise the work follows the same schedule as an estate with a will.
Trust administration in Virginia
When a revocable trust becomes irrevocable at death, the successor trustee takes over. There is no qualification at the courthouse and no filing with the Commissioner of Accounts. That privacy is one reason families choose a trust.
A successor trustee still has legal duties.
A successor trustee’s duties
- Within 60 days, tell the beneficiaries that the trust exists and that they can ask for a copy
- Keep the trust’s assets separate from your own
- Invest prudently
- Treat every beneficiary fairly
- Keep records
- Get a tax ID number and file the trust’s own income tax returns
Assets that never made it into the trust may need a short probate under the pour-over will. We handle both sides together.
Estates that need more care
Some estates take more than the standard schedule. These are the situations we see most often.
A house to sell
Real estate often slows an estate down. We prepare and record the deeds, work with the listing agent and settlement company, and account for the sale in the estate. Property in another state may need a second probate there, and we coordinate with counsel in that state.
An executor who lives out of state
You can serve as executor even if you live outside Virginia. Unless a Virginia resident serves alongside you, the court usually requires bond with surety, and court papers can be served through the clerk. Most of the local work, from court filings to the Commissioner’s questions, can run through our office. You do not have to travel for each step.
When the family does not agree
Disagreements over a house, a business or a relative’s conduct can stall an estate for years. Often a careful accounting that shows everyone the same numbers settles things. When the family needs someone neutral, James can serve as executor, administrator or trustee himself.
Not sure what your estate involves?
At the first meeting, James reviews the will and the assets and lays out the schedule through to the final accounting.
How we help
At the first meeting, we build a plan for administering the estate or trust. Together we decide how to divide the work among you, your CPA, any appraisers and our office. From then on, you know what you are doing yourself and what we are handling.
We also help executors who started on their own and fell behind, including overdue inventories and accountings the Commissioner has questioned.
James Gillis is incredibly knowledgeable, professional, and organized. He successfully walked me through the probate process for Loudoun county.
Client review on Google
Why executors and families choose Gillis Law
James A. Gillis has focused on estate planning and estate and trust administration full time since 2009. He worked at two boutique firms devoted to wills, trusts and estates, then in the trusts and estates department of an Am Law 200 firm, where he made partner, before founding Gillis Law in 2022. He is admitted in Virginia and the District of Columbia. He handles estates in the circuit courts across Northern Virginia, with a focus on Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax and Loudoun.
The office is at 3101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500, in Arlington, across from the Clarendon Metro station, and is open Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.
Once an estate is settled, it is a good time to review your own plan. See estate planning.
Probate questions
Short answers to what people ask before the first meeting.
Have a question that is not here?
Do I need a probate attorney to serve as executor in Virginia?
No. Virginia does not require one, and many executors handle a simple estate on their own. Hiring a probate attorney makes sense when the estate owns real estate or a business, or a tax return is required. The same goes for an estate that may not cover its debts, or a family that does not agree.
I was named executor. Do I have to serve?
No. You can decline, and the alternate named in the will or another suitable person can qualify instead. If you decline, decide early so the estate is not left waiting.
Can an executor be paid?
Yes. Virginia allows an executor reasonable compensation, and the Commissioner of Accounts reviews it with the accounting. Many family members choose to serve without a fee.
What should I bring to our first meeting?
Bring the original will, any trust documents and a death certificate. Recent statements for each account, any deeds and a list of the people named in the will help too. The Resources page has a one-page list of rules for fiduciaries. Read it before we meet.
The person who died lived in another state but owned property here. Who handles that?
The main probate happens in the state where the person lived. A Virginia property usually needs an ancillary proceeding here to transfer or sell it. We handle the Virginia side and work with the executor’s lawyer in the home state.
Talk with an Arlington probate attorney
You may have just been named executor, or you may be partway through and want help finishing. The first meeting is a conversation about the estate and what comes next. Bring what you have.
Sources for the legal points
Code of Virginia §§ 64.2-200 (intestate succession), 64.2-508 (notice and affidavit of notice), 64.2-528 (order of payment of debts), 64.2-601 (small estate affidavit, $75,000), 64.2-775 (trustee’s duty to inform), 64.2-1208 (fiduciary compensation), 64.2-1300 (inventory), Title 64.2 Chapter 13 (accounts), Title 64.2 Subtitle IV (nonresident fiduciaries); 58.1-1712 (probate tax); Virginia Tax, local probate tax.