Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Virginia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Four months from the order conferring authority

Va. Code § 64.2-1300(A) requires every personal representative or curator to return the inventory to the commissioner of accounts within four months after the order conferring authority. The statute states no general extension for the initial inventory.

Two narrow exceptions should not be mistaken for a general waiver. Va. Code § 64.2-1301 excuses a representative who qualifies solely to bring the statutory wrongful-death action, subject to the section's funds-for-distribution exception. Va. Code § 64.2-1302 requires the clerk to waive the inventory when the passing personal estate does not exceed $35,000, the qualifying applicant is an heir, beneficiary, or creditor whose claim exceeds the estate, and the decedent did not own real estate over which that applicant would have a power of sale.

Property included and excluded

The inventory has four statutory categories under Va. Code § 64.2-1300(A): the decedent's personal estate under the fiduciary's supervision and control; the decedent's interest in any multiple-party account at a financial institution; all real estate over which the fiduciary has a power of sale; and any other real estate that is an estate asset, whether inside or outside Virginia.

The official CC-1670 instructions separate multiple-party bank and credit-union accounts from other survivorship property. They exclude other jointly held survivorship assets, tenancy-by-the-entirety property, ordinary POD and TOD property, and beneficiary-designation proceeds unless the estate is beneficiary, while directing specified bank and credit-union accounts to Part 2. The instructions also require gross value without subtracting a mortgage, loan, lien, or other claim.

Date-of-death value without a mandatory appraiser

Va. Code § 64.2-1300(D) requires a market value for each item, determined as of death for a decedent's estate. The official instructions call this fair market value, permit local assessed value for real estate, and require an explanation when another valuation method is used.

No independent appraiser is mandatory. Section 64.2-1300(D) allows reasonable valuation expenses as administration costs, and the instructions treat an obtained real-estate appraisal as one value source. A fiduciary can use another supported method allowed by the instructions rather than hiring an appraiser for every asset.

Format, signatures, and recordation

Va. Code § 64.2-1308 requires the Supreme Court's executive secretary to supply forms and instructions, but it does not make CC-1670 the exclusive filing format. The inventory may use the supplied form, a computer-generated facsimile, or any other clear format.

CC-1670 calls for each fiduciary to sign its certificate of accuracy, completeness, and mailing and to certify and affirm under penalty of law. The current official form does not contain a notary block. After commissioner review, Va. Code § 64.2-1310 requires the clerk to record the inventory in the will book and index it.

Request-based copies and approval hold

Va. Code § 64.2-1303 requires a first-class-mail copy, on or before filing, for people who received the specified probate notice and made a written request. The request can cover one filing or all later filings but does not reach filings made before the representative received it. The section excludes an heir who would take only under intestacy when the will disposes of the entire probate estate and a beneficiary whose gift was already satisfied in full.

The commissioner cannot approve the inventory until 21 days after receipt. The inventory also must state that requested copies were mailed and give each recipient's name, address, and mailing date.

Later-discovered property and enforcement

Va. Code § 64.2-1300(E) supplies three routes for property discovered or received after the original filing: an amended inventory restating all assets, an additional inventory limited to the new assets, or commissioner permission to show them on the next regular account. The filing must occur, or permission must be obtained, within four months after discovery or receipt.

Va. Code § 64.2-1215 makes the compliance sequence explicit. The commissioner first issues a summons. If the return is still missing 30 days after service, the commissioner reports to the circuit court, which summons the fiduciary and may impose a fine up to $500 unless sufficient reason excuses the failure. Continued failure after the court appearance can be punished as contempt; a licensed-attorney fiduciary's report also goes to the Virginia State Bar.

What trips people up

CC-1670 is the statewide form, but it is not the only lawful format. Section 64.2-1308 expressly permits a facsimile or another clear format.

Multiple-party accounts do not all receive the same treatment. The statute expressly inventories the decedent's interest in financial-institution accounts, while the instructions exclude other survivorship, POD, TOD, and beneficiary- designation property subject to the stated bank-account and estate-beneficiary exceptions.

Copy delivery is request-based and method-specific. Section 64.2-1303 says first-class mail; it does not authorize substituting hand delivery for the statutory mailing step.

Common questions

Must the fiduciary hire an appraiser?

No. The statute requires date-of-death market values and permits reasonable valuation expenses, but it does not require an independent appraiser. The official instructions permit assessed real-estate value and other explained methods.

Should a mortgage be subtracted from the listed value?

No. The CC-1670 instructions say not to reduce gross value by an outstanding mortgage, loan, lien, or other claim against the property.

Can after-discovered property wait for the next account?

Only with the commissioner's permission. Otherwise, the fiduciary files an amended inventory or an additional inventory. Whichever route applies must be completed, or permission obtained, within four months after discovery or receipt.

Does everyone who received probate notice automatically get a copy?

No. Va. Code § 64.2-1303 requires a written request and contains two exclusions. The copy must be mailed by first class on or before the filing date.

Statutes and sources

• Va. Code § 64.2-1300 — initial inventory, property scope, date-of-death market value, valuation expenses, and later-discovered property. Official Chapter 13 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Va. Code §§ 64.2-1301 to -1303 — narrow waivers, request-based copies, mailing certification, and 21-day approval hold. Official Chapter 13 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Va. Code §§ 64.2-1308 and -1310 — permitted formats and will-book recordation. Official Chapter 13 (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Va. Code § 64.2-1215 — summons, 30-day post-service period, fine, contempt, and State Bar report. Official current section (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Form CC-1670 and instructions — official inventory fields, each-fiduciary certification, exclusions, gross-value treatment, and valuation guidance. Form and instructions (accessed 2026-08-10).