Virginia Estate Accounting: A Fiduciary's Guide

Virginia probate follows Title 64.2, chiefly Chapter 12 (Commissioners of Accounts) and Chapter 13 (Inventories and Accounts). The fiduciary, whether an executor, administrator, or curator, files with the Commissioner of Accounts of the circuit court where the will was probated or the fiduciary qualified, not with a judge directly. Va. Code § 64.2-1308 says an inventory filed under § 64.2-1300 or an account filed under § 64.2-1206 "may be made on the form provided to the fiduciary by the clerk of the court, on a computer-generated facsimile of the appropriate form, or in any other clear format," so neither CC-1670 nor CC-1680 is a mandatory court form. The Commissioner of Accounts still expects the form's shape in practice: one circuit's own instructions state that CC-1670 and CC-1680 are required unless the Commissioner approves otherwise in advance, so confirm the exact expectation with your estate's Commissioner before filing.

CC-1670, "Inventory for Decedent's Estate," lists everything the fiduciary supervises at its fair market value on the date of death, with no deduction for a mortgage, loan, lien, or other claim against the property. It has five parts, each its own "DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY" and "VALUE" table with its own total. Part 1 holds the decedent's personal estate under the fiduciary's supervision and control, everything that is not real property. Part 2 holds the decedent's interest in multiple-party bank and credit union accounts. Part 3 holds Virginia real estate over which the fiduciary has a power of sale. Part 4 holds the decedent's other Virginia real estate. Part 5 holds non-Virginia real estate. Two totals print at the top of the form: the total of Parts 1 and 3 (the estate for bond) and the total of Parts 1, 3, and 4 (the estate for probate tax).

CC-1680's own instructions answer a question the inventory alone cannot: which parts carry forward. Line 1 of the account, Beginning Assets, comes from Parts 1 and 3 of the inventory only, personal estate plus real estate the fiduciary can sell. Parts 2, 4, and 5 stay on the inventory for reporting and probate-tax purposes and never enter the account's own balance, unless a Part 4 property is later sold or handed over under the fiduciary's power, at which point exercising that power moves it into Part 3.

CC-1680, "Account for Decedent's Estate," is the fiduciary's periodic accounting: a first account covering the first 12 months, then an account every 12 months after, until the estate closes. One checkbox on the form itself, "Is this a final account? yes/no," covers both an interim account and the final account. There is no separate final-account form number.

The inventory is due within four months after the date of the order conferring authority, the qualification date, at fair market value on the date of death (Va. Code § 64.2-1300(A), (D)). It goes to the Commissioner of Accounts, not the court directly.

Virginia sets no statutory percentage for fiduciary compensation. Va. Code § 64.2-1208(A) directs the Commissioner of Accounts to allow "reasonable expenses" plus, except where otherwise provided, "a reasonable compensation in the form of a commission on receipts or otherwise," with no percentage, tier, or cap written into the statute itself.

The Judicial Council's Standing Committee on Commissioners of Accounts publishes a statewide Guidelines for Fiduciary Compensation that many Commissioners apply in practice: a one-time principal fee of 5 percent of the first $400,000 of the probate estate, 4 percent of the next $300,000, 3 percent of the next $300,000, and 2 percent over $1,000,000 (amounts over $10,000,000 by agreement with the Commissioner, with prior consultation required), plus a separate 5 percent of income receipts, not including capital gains, taken annually. Real estate counts toward the fee-bearing estate only if the fiduciary has the power to sell it and is instructed to sell it in the will, is asked to sell it by every affected beneficiary, must sell it to pay taxes or other charges, or determines the sale is clearly in the estate's best interest. The Guidelines describe themselves plainly as guidance, not a rate: "A guideline is a statement of policy or procedure; it is not a fiat. ... The guidelines are not intended as a substitute for the analytical work the Commissioner must do in determining the statutory 'reasonable compensation' for each case."

Missing a year's accounting carries a real cost. Va. Code § 64.2-1217 provides that a fiduciary who wholly fails to file a complete account for a year forfeits compensation, and any commission on money or property left out of that year's account, unless the Commissioner of Accounts allows it for good cause shown.

Virginia has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so there is no single verified closing statement the way some other states use. Most estates close by continuing to file accounts under Va. Code § 64.2-1304 every 12 months until the estate is fully distributed. Before distributing the residue, the fiduciary generally cannot act earlier than six months after the first executor or administrator qualified, and can require each beneficiary to sign a refunding bond, or in practice a receipt-and-refunding agreement, promising to return a proportionate share if a later-proved debt turns up (§ 64.2-554; a court can also order distribution on its own refunding-bond terms after calling creditors to show cause, § 64.2-556). Once the fiduciary files what will be the final account, the Commissioner of Accounts states, settles, and reports it to the circuit court (§ 64.2-1312); the report stands confirmed if no one files exceptions within 15 days, and the circuit court examines and resolves any timely exceptions instead (§ 64.2-1212(A), (B)).

A shorter route exists when every distributee of an intestate estate, or every residuary beneficiary under a will, is also a fiduciary of the estate. In lieu of filing a full CC-1680, that fiduciary can file a sworn statement in lieu of settlement (CC-1681) once six months have passed since qualification, every known debt and tax is paid, and the residue is already delivered (Va. Code § 64.2-1314). A residuary beneficiary's version needs an itemized, vouchered list showing every other bequest satisfied. If the statement cannot yet be filed by the usual account deadline, the fiduciary instead files an interim account, or a sworn notice of intent to file the statement later, repeated annually until the statement can be filed.

• Keep filing your accounts with the commissioner of accounts (Va. Code §64.2-1304) every 12 months until the estate is fully distributed. Virginia estates close through this ongoing accounting process rather than a single closing petition.
• Before distributing the residue, remember the personal representative generally cannot be compelled to distribute earlier than 6 months after the first personal representative qualified, and can require each beneficiary to sign a refunding bond (or, in practice, an informal receipt-and-refunding agreement) promising to return a proportionate share if a later-proved debt turns up (Va. Code §64.2-554; the court can also order distribution on its own refunding-bond terms after creditors are called to show cause, Va. Code §64.2-556).
• If every distributee, or every residuary beneficiary under the will, is also a personal representative of the estate, ask your attorney whether you can skip full account settlement and instead file a sworn 'statement in lieu of settlement' confirming all known charges are paid, at least 6 months have passed since qualification, and the residue has been delivered (Va. Code §64.2-1314).
• Otherwise, the commissioner of accounts states, settles, and reports your final account to the circuit court (Va. Code §64.2-1312); the report generally stands confirmed if no one files exceptions within 15 days, and any timely exceptions by a beneficiary or creditor are examined and resolved by the circuit court (Va. Code §64.2-1212) rather than closing administratively.

Virginia has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so there is no single UPC-style verified closing statement. The routes above are the closest Virginia equivalents. Local commissioners of accounts can have their own preferred wording and documentation, so confirm the exact closing route with your attorney or the commissioner's office.

CC-1680's Account Summary runs ten numbered lines, each marked "attach itemized list" except the totals. Line 1, Beginning Assets, is the date-of-death value of every Part 1 and Part 3 inventory asset on a first account, or the prior account's Assets on Hand at carrying value on a later one. Line 2, Receipts, itemizes every item of income separately and in order, interest, dividends, rental income, refunds, so a year of monthly bank interest is twelve dated lines, never one lump sum. Line 3, Gains on Asset Sales, and Line 7, Losses on Asset Sales, both measure against the carried value: for a broker sale, net proceeds less carrying value; for any other sale, total proceeds less the cost of sale and less carrying value. Line 4, Adjustments, covers two things: after-discovered property the Commissioner has allowed the fiduciary to report here instead of on a supplemental inventory, and corrections to a value or share count reported incorrectly on the inventory or a prior account.

Line 5 totals Lines 1 through 4, and it must equal Line 10, the total of Lines 6 through 9. This is the account's balancing identity: everything that came in during the period, plus what was already on hand, has to equal everything paid out, distributed, or still on hand at the end. One Commissioner's own instructions state the rule in capitals: lines 5 and 10 must be identical, or the account does not balance.

Line 6, Disbursements for Debts and Expenses, lists every payment from estate funds in order; a fiduciary's own commission is one more line here, since CC-1680 has no separate compensation line. Line 8, Distributions to Beneficiaries, states each beneficiary's name, the asset delivered, and its value. Line 9, Assets on Hand, lists what remains at its carrying value as of the account's end date; where the market value differs from the carrying value, the market value is shown in parentheses within the description. A single Market Value of Assets on Hand dollar figure sits at the foot of the summary, the only aggregate market-value line the printed form carries.

Every disbursement and distribution needs proof: a proper voucher, a signed invoice or receipt from the payee, or, for a distribution, a signed receipt from the beneficiary, with a canceled check endorsed on the back by whoever received it. Missing vouchers are the fiduciary's own exposure, not just a returned filing, so keep them as you go rather than reconstructing them later.

Recording is free for as long as the estate takes: every receipt and disbursement with its date and description, distributions per beneficiary, and a balance that checks itself as you go. ExecutorLedger builds Virginia-style documents from those records, an inventory shaped like CC-1670 and an account shaped like CC-1680, ready to transcribe if you end up filing them with your Commissioner of Accounts, sending copies to interested persons who request them, or handing them to your attorney. Neither is a court form, and your attorney should review them before anything is signed or filed. Every document previews free with your real numbers, and $149 once per estate lifts the watermark.