Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

An executor is normally appopinted for however long it takes to administer

and close the estate of the deceased (ususally somewhere around 14-16 months or so in the Commonwealth.)

The duties of an executor include--but are not necessarily limited to--opening up an estate for the deceased in the appropriate probate court, filing the required notices in the local paper regarding creditor claims, collecting up the assets of the deceased and filing an inventory with the designated commissioner of accounts, paying off the legitimate claims of creditors and other bills owed by the estate, making distributions as directed under the will, preparing a final accounting report to the commissioner of accounts and taking care of any other matters necessary to finalizing the administration of the estate, including the payment of all federal and state taxes that may be owed before closing out the estate.