Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

Re: No Will What is Required and How Long to Settle

If the court appointed you as the administrator/personal representative of your grandmother's intestate estate, you should have about 14 months to administer the estate which means roughly: identifying the assets of the estate and filing an accurate inventory of such with the commissioner of accounts by the required date, paying the bills which can be legally attributed to the estate, selling/disposing of whatever estate assets are necessary in order to meet these obligations, identifying and locating the entitled heirs of the estate and making appropriate distributions from the estate to these heirs before filing your closing report with the commissioner of accounts.

Re: No Will What is Required and How Long to Settle

I agree with my colleague. I would only add that

it helps to approach this like balancing your

checkbook. If you get organized and keep track

of things, it is easy. If you don't keep good

records, it can get messy.

Be very organized about creating an inventory

of everything the decedent owned. Don't forget

anything like refunds on security deposits for

the telephone, gas, electric, whatever. If you

have any doubts about what money the decedent

owned, you can (as executor) send a request to

banks, or whatever, and ask. Include a copy of

your official appointment as representative (executor).

Also note that when you distribute property to

the heirs, GET A RECEIPT for anything that you

give out, even if it is something trivial. Maybe

the Commissioner of the Account in your COunty

is not as big a pain in the neck as in some

COunties, but you may be required to PROVE

where every item on the inventory actually went,

with documentation. Apologize, but say that you

are required to get documentation to show where

everything went. THis protects everyone, so that

everyone will know that things were done right.

Also, you may need to publish a notice in the

newspaper inviting creditors to send you any

debts that they think the decedent owed at her

death. Your first responsibility is to pay any

*VALID* debts (not just anything that someone

asks for).