Andrew Flusche, Fredericksburg Lawyer

Do you have an estate plan? If not, you might be surprised at how Virginia’s intestacy laws will distribute your property when you pass away.

To make sure your wishes are properly carried out, you need the help of an experienced Virginia estate planning lawyer. I provide a free 30-minute consultation for all estate planning clients.

Virginia intestate law

If you die without a will or estate plan, Virginia law specifies who will get your property. You can find the specifics in Virginia Code § 64.1-1.

If you have a surviving spouse, your spouse will get at least a portion of your estate. Your spouse will take all of your estate, if you had no children or all of your children were with your surviving spouse. But if you had children with anyone else, your spouse only gets 1/3 of your estate. Your children (or their heirs) would get the other 2/3.

If you have no spouse, your children take your entire estate. If they have passed away as well, it passes to their children, and so on.

If you have no children, your parents are next in line. If your parents pre-decease you, your siblings are next.

The process keeps going to find an heir who is still alive. But, as you can see, your entire estate could go to a distant relative (cousin, great-aunt, etc). To prevent this, you really need a will.

Estate planning basics

The basic estate plan takes the form of a will (or “last will and testament”). This is a document that states who gets your property upon your death. You can give specific items of property or amounts of money to specific people. And you can specify who should get the remainder (or “residue”) of your estate.

But you have to make sure your will is properly drafted and executed. You don’t want a court to declare your will invalid and distribute your estate through the intestacy rules.

This is why estate planning lawyers are important, even for relatively simple wills. There are a number of will formalities that you must carry out to comply with the Virginia Code. Among other things, you need to have two witnesses and make sure that everyone signs properly.

Complex estate planning

Estate plans can be quite complicated. If you have a high net worth, your estate plan will need to consider tax issues to maximize the amount of money that your heirs receive.

These types of estate plans typically require trusts, such as revocable trusts and living trusts. This can be a great way to provide for your heirs and manage the tax consequences of gifts and inheritance.

Call me for your qualified Fredericksburg estate planning lawyer. I would love to help with your Virginia estate plan.

Photo by Marc Roberts