When someone dies without a will in Virginia, intestate succession laws determine who receives their property and assets. These laws generally allow your closest living relatives to inherit from your estate: If you have children and no spouse, your children inherit everything.
Any person who seeks to prove that he has a debt or demand against the decedent or the decedent's estate shall file his claim in writing with the commissioner of accounts, who shall endorse upon it the date of the filing and sign the endorsement in his official character.
A person can expect for the probate process in Virginia to take anywhere from six months up to a year or more. Generally, there is a creditor period, so an estate cannot be completely distributed and closed prior to the expiration of the six-month period.
Closing an Estate in Virginia In order for the Commissioner of Accounts to allow an estate to be closed, the personal representative must produce a Final Account of the estate. The Final Account must show: All assets have been distributed to the beneficiaries and the balance of the account is zero.
Many people assume that creditors have one year from the date of death to make a claim against an estate. However, in Virginia, unlike most states, there is no set time by which creditors must make a claim.
One way is to execute and fund a trust. If all of your assets are in a trust, they will pass through your trust instead of undergoing the probate process. Another way to avoid probate is to add beneficiary designations or “transfer on death” or “payable on death” designations on your bank accounts and other assets.
In Virginia, an estate will need to be probated when a person dies with property valued at more than $50,000. So, to avoid probate, you must either have a very small estate or take steps to ensure that your assets transfer automatically to beneficiaries.
Who Gets What in Virginia? If You Die With:Here's What Happens: children but no spouse children inherit everything spouse but no descendants spouse inherits everything spouse and descendants, all of whom are descendants of that spouse spouse inherits everything3 more rows
There is no requirement to probate a Will and qualify as an Executor. However, you may not secrete or purposefully hide a Will. In determining whether to probate a Will and qualify as a Personal Representative, you should consider the title, value and nature of the assets.