Virginia Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Virginia.
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Types of Probate in Virginia
Virginia offers several probate procedures depending on estate value and circumstances. Attorney requirements vary by probate type and local practice.
See the full comparison of Virginia probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.Find your county
Virginia Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 133 counties have detailed data.
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Browse Virginia guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Browse Virginia guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Probate Basics
5Forms & Court
1Executor Duties
7- Virginia Executor Duties
- Can You Handle Virginia Probate Without a Lawyer?
- How to Qualify as Executor in Virginia
- Probate Without a Will in Virginia
- Virginia Estate Inventory Guide
- Virginia Probate Bond Requirements: When Executors Must Post Bond
- Virginia Probate Debt Payment Priority: The Order Executors Must Follow
Taxes & Deadlines
8- Virginia Probate Timeline
- Ancillary Probate in Virginia: Out-of-State Property
- How to Contest a Will in Virginia
- Virginia and the Federal Estate Tax
- Virginia Estate Accounting and Distribution (CC-1680)
- Virginia Estate Creditor Claims and Debts & Demands
- Virginia Probate Accounting: What Executors Must Report
- Virginia Step-Up in Basis: Inherited Property Tax
Planning Documents
8Property Transfer
4Virginia Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Virginia probate resource map by source type
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
All Virginia self-help resources (2 links)Official court, form, law-library, referral, and legal-education links, plus how to use each source
Virginia probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which Virginia probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Virginia probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
County filing-office sources
County court, clerk, register, or filing-office pages for local probate divisions, filing paths, local forms, fee references, and courthouse-specific resources.
- Virginia's Judicial System - Probate in Virginia: Administration of Estates
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-13.
Referral-navigation sources
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
- Virginia Legal Aid (VaLegalAid.org)
State-level source record in Settled data, accessed 2026-06-09.
Settled pairs these Virginia source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
Virginia Estate Law Overview
Virginia Estate Tax Info
Virginia has no current state estate tax and no current state inheritance tax, but it does have a state income tax and a state probate tax (a recording tax charged when a will is admitted to probate or administration is granted).
Federal estate tax info
Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession determines who receives probate property when a Virginia resident dies without a valid will.
View spouse inheritance rules
The surviving spouse receives the entire intestate estate when the decedent leaves no descendants.
When every surviving descendant is shared with the surviving spouse, the spouse still receives the entire intestate estate.
Under Va. Code 64.2-200, when any surviving descendant is not the surviving spouse's descendant, one-third of the estate passes to the spouse and two-thirds passes to the decedent's children and their descendants.
View order of inheritance (no spouse)
- 1Children and their descendantsThe share not passing to a surviving spouse, or all if no spouse
- 2Parents (surviving parent or parents)If no descendants, the estate passes to the decedent's parents or surviving parent
- 3Siblings and their descendantsIf no descendants and no surviving parent, the estate passes to the decedent's brothers and sisters and their descendants
- 4Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and more remote kinDistributed under the collateral kinship and moiety rules of Va. Code 64.2-200(A)(4) through (A)(8), which split the estate between the paternal and maternal kindred
Virginia Homestead Protection
Virginia homestead protection is a limited statutory creditor exemption, not an unlimited constitutional homestead system. Under Va. Code 34-4 a householder may hold exempt real and personal property up to $5,000 in value ($10,000 if age 65 or older), plus an additional principal-residence exemption up to $50,000, plus $500 for each dependent. Virginia generally requires the householder to record a homestead deed to perfect the exemption.
0Creditor protection: read the statute text
$5,000 in value ($10,000 if age 65 or older), plus up to $50,000 in real or personal property used as a principal residence, plus $500 for each dependent
Statute: Va. Code 34-4
Size limits & qualifications
Inside city limits: No acreage split modeled
Outside city limits: No acreage split modeled
Property types: Principal residence (real or personal), Other real or personal property up to the base exemption, Personal effects within the exemption cap
Restrictions on leaving homestead in will
With spouse, no minor children:
No state-level homestead devise restriction modeled here; review the elective share (Va. Code 64.2-308.1 et seq.), family and homestead allowances, title, and creditor issues separately.
With minor children:
No state-level homestead devise restriction modeled here; minor child rights may arise through the family allowance, exempt property, and homestead allowance rather than a devise restriction.
Exempt Property
Virginia provides estate allowances for surviving spouses and minor children (family allowance, exempt property, and homestead allowance) and separate creditor exemptions for debtor property under Title 34. These protections are limited and source-specific.
View exempt items
Family Allowance
Up to $30,000 as a lump sum, or up to $2,500 per month for one year - A reasonable allowance for the maintenance of the surviving spouse and minor children during administration of the estate.