Probate appointments to qualify as a personal representative [executor or administrator] of an estate must be scheduled in advance.
Prior to the appointment, certain information and documents will need to be provided to the Probate Office, including:
- the original will, if there is one
- contact information for the person(s) requesting appointment
- a certified copy of the death certificate
- an estimate of the value of the assets held solely in the decedent’s name, and
- the names and addresses of all legal heirs.
The Probate Office has composed a Request for Probate form that can be used to collect all of this information. With this information, the Probate Office will complete the necessary forms for you to sign during your probate appointment. In lieu of the Request for Probate Form, attorneys and estate advisors are invited to complete the Virginia Forms set out below [on Virginia Supreme Court Website] prior to requesting a probate appointment for your client:
The original will and original death certificate, and the
Request for Probate form or the completed but
unsigned Virginia Forms above, should be submitted to the Probate Office in advance of your probate appointment.
A Probate Clerk will call you to discuss your submission, confirm information, resolve questions they have and you may have, and schedule a date for you to come in to be qualified.
If you must be bonded with surety, you will need to make arrangements to procure that bond in advance of your probate appointment and to have the bonding agent present at your probate appointment. See the Fauquier County website [below] for information about getting bonded.
Probate appointments generally take 20-30 minutes. All the qualification paperwork is completed during the probate appointment.