Father passed in Va. 2 months ago. Mom passed 20 years ago. He has a trust that includes his 4 children, including me. The eldest in Va. is the executor. His estate consists of money in a bank and some life insurance policies. He had sold all of his real property and funds are in his bank.

I have not seen the will. When is it required that the will should be delivered to inheritors? Is there a law in Va. that covers that?

Although the eldest is the executor, you're all siblings so get together and get consensus on getting all this done.  Maybe eldest needs help, logistically and emotionally with all this.  
If you're making good faith efforts to coordinate and all that is getting nowhere, call a lawyer in VA.

I'm not an attorney so just passing this along for information value.

When my mother died in 2010 there was a probate period following her death during which anyone with a claim against the estate could come forward and request payment.  Once that period expired the probate court judge closed the probate period and the estate's funds could then be distributed as per the will.  My sister and I were her only beneficiaries and we were co-executors of the estate.  As I recall it was right at a year from the time she died until everything was finalized.

There are a LOT of legalities involved and I think many of them vary from state to state.  It is also an area very few of us have experience with.  I'd strongly recommend getting the advice of a local attorney because this is not something you want to get wrong and have it coming back on you in the future.

The trust paper work is probably the "will" and should specify the distribution.

Not an Attorney;

A lot of stuff passes pre-will, life insurance might, transfer on death brokerage accounts, etc

Executor is slow-walking sending out copies of the will/trust. I understand the insurance policies are pre-will. Death was 2 months ago.

It is not always a fast process, you have to send stuff to the Court, etc

They may or may not be slow walking. Served as an Executor, lots of stuff you have to do that takes time.

Meh. Scanning and emailing a copy of dad's will takes minutes.

What if a Will is furnished to the heirs and there are issues with what was provided?

Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the state of residence [or real property] of the deceased at time of death in the absence of a legal will.

The granting of probate is the first step in the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under a will. A probate court decides the legal validity of a testator's (deceased person's) will and grants its approval, also known as granting probate, to the executor. The probated will then becomes a legal instrument that may be enforced by the executor in the law courts if necessary. A probate also officially appoints the executor (or personal representative), generally named in the will, as having legal power to dispose of the testator's assets in the manner specified in the testator's will.

WIKI^

Sure. Nonetheless,  why can't the brother send a copy of the will to his siblings? Unless he's up to no good?

Why would the other heirs have an issue if the estate is distributed per the will?

That’s my question. I am only asking for a copy of the will.

2 months does seem like a long time.

I assume the Executor is working with an Attorney. I would make a written request to the Attorney handling the Estate for a copy and if not immediately furnished I would want to know the reason.

Executors have a number of duties and to act in good faith is one of them.  If the Executor has an Attorney furnishing that information would be part of acting in good faith.

You can't hide stuff, that is bad faith.

NOT an Attorney, just some basic info:

Virginia Overview

Within 30 days after being qualified by the court, the personal representative must mail notice of the proceeding to all heirs (people who inherit under state law in the absence of a will) and beneficiaries named in the will. The notice lets them know they have the right to get copies of the inventory, accountings, and other probate documents. (Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-508.)

An executor or administrator is entitled to reasonable compensation for the work of settling the estate

What did your brother reply when you asked for a copy?

Nope

I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV but I've been through this drill before. He's trying to hide something.

There is absolutely no reason he can't send a copy of dad's will to you and the other heirs.

Just asked again as I type and the answer was "no you don't need to have that informatiion."

IMHO, lawyer up now.

I'm the executor for my parent's estate. Not sure if my brother has a copy of the will, but I'd send it if he asked.

Also the executor for my uncle's estate. Other heirs are cousins, some of which have sticky fingers. I'm sure they do not have a copy of the will. But when he dies, should they ask, I have no valid, above-board reason to respond "No, you don't need to have that information."

Oh boy.  Print that email and furnish it to your attorney or the court handling the probate.

My sister hired a lawyer for our sister’s estate .  He sends out multiple copies of meaningless crap but not any updates on accounting.  I think he is just padding his expenses with duplicate mailings.

Something could be funky but I really am beyond caring about the estate.

I have no idea which court is handling this case. I don’t know the name of the attorney my dad used and the executor will not tell me her name. I’m trying to retrieve it from legal notices in the Tidewater area.

Damn. Something is definitely fishy.

This

Sorry for your loss.

Sounds like you need a lawyer, especially given law @BGENE posted above.

As for courts, I would start in county/city your Dad last lived in.

It would be the circuit court for the county in which your father was living when he passed away.  See if they have an online portal where you can look up case info.

This!

If there is no online portal to get the info, make a phone call to the Clerk's office (Probate Court in some areas, Circuit Court in others) to get that info.

Good luck.

As mentioned, I would start calling the Court in the County he resided in and go from there, all this information is generally public record, literally, anyone can call and get some basic information and you as a family member should have even more access to information.

The only other comment; the legal link mentions this starts after Court appointment, maybe he has intentionally (or unintentionally) not filed the paperwork to get Court appointed (or it was filed late and 30 days has not passed).

The last time I served as an Executor I think it took about 30 days after death to be appointed by the Court (not in VA).

I reviewed the VA law more closely, it was very close to the process I did.

Thanks for your help everyone. I will keep you updated.

County or City he passed in.
Cities in Virginia are not 'in' counties legally.

Cities and Counties are 'equals' for legal proceedings.
They each have separate Circuit Courts.

Its possible the will said all my assets are to be sold and given to the trust.
The trustee for the trust may be a third party, and he may not know the distribution guidance for the trust.

Not an attorney..I just went through this As executor with a fairly large chunk of assets scattered in no less than 7 accounts, 2 banks, Vanguard IRAs, property in trust, etc..

Before you go completely scorched earth.
Send him the info posted above about duty to inform heirs.
If he ignores it. Send it again registered/certified mail. Get with other siblings.
He ignores it ? Remind him you get an attorney involved, it costs everyone money.
He ignores it or you get bullshit.... scorched earth, gloves off with attorney.
It sounds like you are headed that way anyway...sorry. Family can be the worst.

Your goal is to keep attorneys as far away as you can..! Espically more than one nipping at the pie.

Beware..many states have some pretty liberal laws governing what attorneys can get as compensation for handling estates. 3% of total assets is not uncommon. Do not sign any attorney agreements that do not specifically spell out the terms of compensation.
I got lucky. I ended up with a wonderful attorney that only charged $250/hr and total paid was under $5k.
Don’t ask $500 questions you can find answers to yourself ! Fighting the executor and his attorney will most likely cost more than $5k unless you get lucky.

If I understand your OP ?
All or nearly all the assets are in Trust ? Bank account holding the bulk of assets ?

Big Edit here:
my time table was off. I now remember.. it took nearly a month just to get the Court document then the claims waiting period followed by another 3 weeks for the document verification that no claims were made and the executor was free to disperse assets. Took about 100 days before I could start getting control of assets.
claims first. Heirs second. Yes the trust can have a claim filed against it.

he can not get anything done until he is in possession of a court document that names him as executor.
Trust or not he will need the court document and death certificates to do anything.
Here in Florida there are actually 2 court documents you end up with..your state, no idea ??

An actual Probate for assets not in trust could very well take 5-6 months and in most states there is another document verifying probate is finished.

Good luck. It does not sound good.

Virginia Court Case Information

Specifically, the CIRCUIT COURT CLERK for the county or city where he lived at the time of his death.

Most of the Tidewater areas are cities rather than counties.

@EDDIECRUM

Any news?

It sounds like the executor is making an effort after I made a comment in a text. All for my father's grandchildren were left $5k and their addresses have been collected to forward funds to. Waiting for the last insurance company to pay the policy. I have not seen the will/trust yet.

Still weird that your brother is keeping the will a secret.

Still have not seen the will/trust. Problems on the horizon.

Got a text from the executor that the estate has been settled and a check was in the mail. Readers Digest version of what I expected. Dad was having some mild memory problems and wanted to go to his bank and get some cash and was doing a humble brag that he had 2 million in a savings account at the bank. The branch manager knew who he was and took us to her desk and dad told her to show me his account and wanted to brag about his account. She said he had only 1 million, not 2. She showed me the account on her computer screen and it was close to 1 million.

I got a check for under 25K.

The grandkids were supposed to get a check for 5K. One of my kids got a check for 10K and was told not to tell anyone that she was paid extra. This alone seems like a violation of the trust.

I am waiting for a check from an life insurance company, and want to collect that before I push this matter forward.

I am in Texas and the estate is in Virginia. How do I get the will/trust. What does the law in Va say about providing this info to heirs. I need all the help I can get.

Thanks.

Something is very hinky.

Everyone in the family had a copy of Dads will within a week of his passing.

Since the executor is legally responsible for the execution of the will, a request of the will disbursement of all goods and funds is something ANY executor should expect if something seems amiss.

All accounts, no matter the type should have the funds shown at time of death and any expenses incurred by the estate to cover the funeral, expeses tp settle, debts paid, and disbursements with receipts of ALL moneys spent.

Life insurance proceeds are not part of the probate estate and whether you have collected them or not doesn't matter wrt the estate and how it has handled.

Once the courts re-open after the CV19 pandemic you can call the court and ask for a copy of the case file.  Expect to pay a processing/per page copy fee.

The estate and the trust are not nessecarily related at all. The assets in the trust are not part of the estate. And if he had a trust it would have been quite normal to specify portions of the estate be willed to said trust. The trust would have its own instructions which could be anything from distribute on death to go found the hungry gecko sanctuary of Roanoke, or more likely give grandchildren x dollars annually after age 25 or something along those lines.

One child getting more then others is not impossible either depending on what the will actually says.

The estate may well be settled properly without accounts you know of being distributed equally as much of that balance may have been willed to the trust, or put into trust accounts before death. Or spent on nursing homes at 4-5 figures a month.

Find out what's going on but don't destroy family relationships until you understand it.

I called the Clerk of the Court in the city where he died and got a robot answer. They are probably closed or on short staff.

Can there be a will and a trust at the same time? If so, how is that handled. Does a trust have to be recorded at time of death? How do I know that is the last trust?

When it comes to settling up an estate. TRANSPARENCY is the only way to go.

sounds like your brother is NOT interested in transparency.

The two are entirely unrelated. A trust is a legal entity that has a a purpose and assetts, and a trustee to manage it towards an objective.

If he had a trust set up before he died any assets put into that trust are the trusts for it's purpose rather then his assets, and there use or disposition is governed by the guidance of the trust, as carried out by the trustee.

Someone's will can direct a trust be created for X putpose or that certain or all assetts should be given to a trust.

Summary of trust types in va

The estate may consist of nothing other then what cash he kept out of the trust.

Yes, there are often both. You should have lawyered up when he told you that you couldn't have a copy of the will.

However, since you didn't, lawyer up ASAP before you dig yourself into a hole by missing more deadlines, court proceedings, etc. You need to have an attorney get in contact with your brother immediately. It sounds like he had enough money that it'll be well worth whatever it cost.

None of this should delay delivery of copies of the will as required by law.
The initial delay can be qualifying as executor, but after that the distribution
of copies has a short time fuse.
Finishing the execution can take far longer depending on what type of assets
and how the will directs their distribution.
Real property in other states can require the executor to 'qualify' in those states.

I helped my father on a number of his buddies estates.
They all worked at the CIA, and lived in Virginia.
At least ONE executor on a Virginia will MUST be a Virginia Resident.
Many had families ion other states, but needed a Virginia Resident Executor.

Most of the time the family executors handled all the work, but in a few cases
they had all died and my father was the only remaining executor.

It would be far easier now with the internet than back in the 1970s.
Learning about other states inheritance systems from afar was a real PITA.

Thanks for the help.

Finally found in the Code of Virginia where the trustee SHALL provide the info. Sent a certified letter today giving the trustee 2 weeks to send the info certified mail back to me. I included the language in the Code and the Title numbers. Said if I don't get the info I will contact the Clerk of the Court. Wish me luck.

I am a litigator that focuses on fiduciary litigation in Virginia.  

Is it a Trust or Will?

A person who becomes Trustree has 60 days to give you a copy of Trust. They are also required to give you a basic report on the Trust’s assets at that time.

An executor who qualifies under a Will has to send the Will and a notice stating you have the right to additional information upon written request within 30 days of qualifying in front of the Clerk of the Court.  The additional information is the Inventory for the Estate which must be filed within 4 months of the date of qualification and the accountings. The first accounting is due 16 months from the date of qualification.

Wills and Trusts can and often do exist at the same time.

A Trust is not recorded at the time of death unless the Trust arises under a Will.

You may never know if you are seeing the last version. If it was done by an attorney you can always ask the attorney if you have the most current version.

If it is a Trust the Clerk can’t help you.  They will tell you to file a Complaint in Circuit Court.  

@EDDIECRUM

The law changed in 1997.  An executor no longer needs to be a resident as long as he appoints and agent to accept service for him.

Life insurance proceeds are sometimes payable to the Estate. But usually not.

The Courts are open.  Just for a finite number of things. But the Clerk’s offices are open.

All that being said if all of the assets were in a Trust there would be no reason to qualify as Executor and the Will might not even be probated.