Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

Re: The right way to handle this in the state of va.

You would be well advised to arrange to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in the law of probate in the jurisdiction in which your uncle died.

Re: The right way to handle this in the state of va.

We need more information to answer your questions. Also, it is not clear which State's law this case comes under. Your heading says Virginia law, but I don't see why Virginia. I ASSUME that your Uncle died in Virginia. If your Uncle died as a citizen of Virginia (even if he moved around a lot) then there are a number of questions. First, your brother in Delaware cannot be the executor of the will without having a local Virginia attorney or agent. One cannot be an executor outside of Virginia for a Virginia estate without complying with special rules.

In Virginia, the executor will have an obligation to file a lot of forms with the local court. He must file an inventory of everything that the decedent owned with the Commissioner of Accounts (which is under the Circuit Court), and must file exact reports of where all the money and belongings went. Usually, this requires a receipt from the heir who received various non-cash items, and proof of cash distributions. There are exceptions for very small estates. You listed what was in the file, and I would think there would have needed to be a request for your uncle's estate to be treated as a small, exempt estate, and you did not mention any such request. Therefore, I believe that under Virginia law your brother would need to file an inventory of everything that was in the house, and where it all went.

On the other hand, your brother's responsibility is to distribute everything in accordance with the will. For example, if he determines that it is necessary to sell the house, it is his obligation to sell it for the maximum possible price in order to distribute the funds equally to all of the heirs named in the will (according to whatever details are in the will). However, if you have received less than you should have in other areas, such as pesonal items from the house, then that is part of the mix. If you got less than you should in one area, you should probably get more with regard to the house.

Of course, everything has to follow the will. So you need to read the will very carefully, and get some legal advice about the will if that is not clear.

I would go to the courthouse again and ask them what the local requirements are: Is the executor supposed to file an inventory of what was in the house and what your Uncle owned? Ask them what you should do if the executor fails to follow that requirement.