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Probate is the process of passing the assets of a deceased person to his or her heirs, after the payment of creditors. We represent personal representatives and beneficiaries in the Virginia probate process and assist with out-of-state probate.

In addition to the grief that is caused by the loss of a loved one, the personal representative of an estate is required to quickly learn the legal procedures necessary to ensure a smooth estate administration. We provide the help and assistance necessary to ensure a successful probate administration.

We handle numerous probate administrations each year, and have the experience necessary to guide personal representatives through this lengthy process.

We handle estates of all sizes and complexities, from simple estates valued at less than $100,000 all the way up to taxable estates valued in the millions. We also have considerable experience handling estates with real estate, business interests, and assets disbursed in more than one state.

If you are named as the personal representative in a Will, please contact us to help start the probate process. If you are an heir and the person named in the Will as the personal representative is deceased or is unable or unwilling to fulfill their duties as the personal representative, you may be eligible to serve as the personal representative. If there is no Will, Virginia law sets forth an order of priority to determine who can serve as the personal representative. Contact us and we can walk you through the process.

Probate Litigation

We represent beneficiaries and personal representatives in all matters of probate litigation in Virginia.

Probate litigation is typically commenced after receipt of a notice of administration filed by the personal representative.

We handle probate litigation and other types of fiduciary litigation for clients in Virginia.

Will Contest

A Will can be challenged in a Virginia probate proceeding on a number of grounds.

Lack of Proper Formalities. Proper execution of a Will requires that the Will be signed by the testator and witnessed by two witnesses, who also must sign the Will. A Will can be contested on the grounds that it was not properly drafted, signed, or witnessed in accordance with the applicable requirements.

Lack of Capacity. Under Virginia law, a testator is required to have mental competency to make a Will and to understand the nature of his or her assets and the people to whom the assets are going to be distributed. A Will can be declared void if lack of capacity can be proven. Typically, incompetence is established through a prior medical diagnosis of dementia, Alzheimer's, or psychosis, or through the testimony of witnesses as to the irrational conduct of the deceased around the time the Will was executed.

Undue Influence. Undue influence occurs when the testator is compelled or coerced to execute a Will as a result of improper pressure exerted on him or her, typically by a relative, friend, trusted advisor, or health care worker. In some cases, this person can upset a long established estate plan where the bulk of the estate was to pass to the direct descendants or other close relatives of the decedent. Some such persons are new friends or acquaintances of the decedent who "befriend" the decedent in the last months or years of life, typically after the decedent has suffered some decline in mental ability. Sometimes one child of the decedent, often a caregiver, Will coerce the decedent to write the other children out of the Will.

The time for making a Will contest in Virginia is short. Therefore, prompt action is required to bring your claim before the court.

Additionally, a trust can be challenged under the same grounds, as well as a real estate deed or a beneficiary designation on a financial account. There are many situations where someone will trick or persuade a weakened person to sign over valuable real estate, a bank account, or other property directly to the influencer, in the hope that they will have left the scene before the wrongdoing can be discovered. Sometimes, that person will be added as a beneficiary on bank accounts in place of the heirs to whom the decedent intended as the beneficiaries of that account.

If the wrongdoing is discovered prior to the victim's passing, a common way for a loved one to start to clean up the situation will be to create a guardianship, which will allow the guardian to use the court's jurisdiction to reclaim assets that were fraudulently removed. If an estate plan was also changed because of undue influence, the guardianship will also allow evidence to be collected for use at a subsequent Will contest proceeding.