The term probate may evoke foreboding thoughts among many who hear it, but essentially the word means the act of validating and recording the will of a deceased person with the court that has jurisdiction. In the case of the commonwealth of Virginia, that court is the Circuit Court, and it is the proper filing of a will with the court, or more specifically, the clerk of the court, that will help determine whether probate will be a relatively smooth or contentious process.<\/p>\n
Under Virginia law, a person is considered to have died testate if he or she left a will; otherwise the decedent is considered intestate, which means that the person did not have a valid will at the time of death. And if a person dies intestate, Virginia law will determine who the heirs are and therefore who receives property from the decedent\u2019s estate.<\/p>\n