What are the basic duties of a fiduciary (executor or personal representative)?
The most important duties of a fiduciary are to identify and take possession of the property of the decedent over which the fiduciary has control, determine and see to the payment of the liabilities (debts) of the estate, including taxes, and sell or distribute the property of the estate in accordance with the dictates of the will and the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia in effect at the time of death. Within 30 days after qualification or probate, you will need to give written notice to the heirs and beneficiaries of the estate, or those who would have been the heirs. The affidavit of notice must be filed with the clerk's office within 4 months from the date of qualification.

Other important duties are filing a complete inventory of the estate within 4 months of qualification with the Commissioner of Accounts (a local person appointed by the circuit court to oversee estate administration) and an annual accounting of all assets and distributions of the estate until a final accounting can be made.

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1. What terms are involved in the administration of estates?
2. When should a will be probated, or, if there is no will, when should a personal representative be appointed?
3. Who inherits the property of an intestate (person dying without a will)?
4. How long does it take to probate a will or appoint a personal representative on an intestate's estate?
5. Is it always necessary to have someone qualify as a personal representative on a decedent's estate?
6. Who will qualify as an executor under a will?
7. Who has jurisdiction to qualify administrators on a decedent's estate in Virginia?
8. Where should I go to qualify as a personal representative on someone's estate?
9. What information must I have available at the time of qualification?
10. What are the basic duties of a fiduciary (executor or personal representative)?
11. Is an executor or administrator compensated?
12. Is this everything I need to know about administering estates?
13. What must a personal representative do to have a will admitted to probate?
14. What taxes and fees are associated with probate?