Administering a deceased person's estate
When a Virginia resident dies, that person's wealth -- real estate, bank accounts, stocks and bonds, and personal effects -- may become subject to Virginia's probate laws. Probate is the legal process through which title to property passes from the person who has died to the beneficiaries under the decendent's will. The executor (a person named in the will) is in charge of the administration of this process and he or she must perform a number of tasks, including collecting, protecing and investing assets, preparing an inventory of the estate, paying the debts and the expenses of the estate, preparing federal and Virginia estate tax returns, and preparing and filing periodic accountings.
The attorneys at Richmond & Fishburne can help in one of two ways. First, we are often asked (prior to a person’s death, during the estate planning process) to serve as the executor of an estate. We have served as the executor for numerous estates and we are honored by the trust that so many clients have shown in us by asking that we serve in this way.
Second, even if we do not serve as executor of an estate, our attorneys may be asked to serve as legal counsel to a named executor (perhaps a family member), guiding the executor through the probate process. Sometimes our work consists of no more than providing general guidance; at other times, we perform many of the services that the executor usually handles.
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