Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

You must get a copy of the will, and a copy of the inventory. You do that by a written request toyour sister, sending a copy of the request to the Commissioner of Accounts in the county in which the will has been filed for probate. It is an absolute requirement that every executor send a notice of probate to all heirs at law and all beneficiaries under the will -- you are both.

The notice instructs you that you may receive copies of filings in the probate if you have requested to be sent copies. Here's the language of that section of the notice:

"If personal representatives qualified on this estate, they are required by law to file an inventory with the commissioner of accounts within four months after they qualify in the clerk's office, to file an account within sixteen months of their qualification, and to file additional accounts within sixteen months from the date of their last account period until the estate is settled. If you make written request therefor to the personal representatives, they must mail copies of these documents (not including any supporting vouchers, but including a copy of the decedent's will) to you at the same time the inventory or account is filed with the commissioner of accounts unless (i) you would take only as an heir at law in a case where all of the decedent's probate estate is disposed of by will, or (ii) your gift has been satisfied in full before the time of such filing. Your written request may be made at any time; it may relate to one specific filing or to all filings to be made by the personal representative, but it will not be effective for filings made prior to its receipt by a personal representative. A copy of your request may be sent to the commissioner of accounts with whom the filings will be made. After the commissioner of accounts has completed work on an account filed by a personal representative, the commissioner files it and a report thereon in the clerk's office of the court wherein the personal representative qualified. If you make written request therefor to the commissioner before this filing, the commissioner must mail a copy of this report and any attachments (excluding the account) to you on or before the date that they are filed in the clerk's office."

You should report any departure from these requirements to the Commissioner of Accounts in the county where the will is being probated. Right below the above quoted section of the notice there should have been listed the name and address of the appropriate Commissioner of Accounts.

Do not do nothing. Be proactive to protect your interests and preserve your father's intentions.