Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements in Virginia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Virginia uses separate acceptance and knowledge clocks

For a covered irrevocable trust, Va. Code § 64.2-775(B)(2) starts the acceptance clock when the trustee accepts the office under § 64.2-754. Within 60 days, the trustee notifies qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance and gives the trustee's name, address, and telephone number.

Section 64.2-775(B)(3) uses a different start fact. Its 60 days begin when the trustee acquires knowledge that an irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable, whether because the settlor died or otherwise. That notice states the trust's existence, identifies the settlor or settlors, and explains the rights to request the trust instrument and receive the statutory report.

Trust terms may change the statutory duties

Va. Code § 64.2-703(A) generally lets the trust terms control over the Trust Code. Its mandatory-rule list does not include § 64.2-775. The two initial notices, information duties, report duties, and waiver rules are therefore default rules that the trust may vary.

That changes how a trustee should use the 60-day table. The statutory language is the baseline, but the trust instrument may narrow, enlarge, or otherwise alter the duty for that trust.

The annual-report recipient class is narrower than all qualified beneficiaries

Under § 64.2-775(C), distributees and permissible distributees receive a report at least annually and at termination. Other qualified or nonqualified beneficiaries receive it when they request it. The report covers property, liabilities, receipts, disbursements, compensation, an asset list, and feasible market values.

The irrevocability notice tells qualified beneficiaries about the right to this report, but that statement does not convert every qualified beneficiary into an automatic annual recipient.

Delivery is functional and waiver need not be written

Va. Code § 64.2-707 requires a method reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely to result in receipt. Its examples are first-class mail, personal delivery, delivery to the last known residence or business, and a properly directed electronic message. It excuses notice when the person's identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable.

Section 64.2-775(D) lets a beneficiary waive reports or other information and later withdraw the waiver for future items. Neither that paragraph nor § 64.2-707(C) requires the waiver to be written.

What trips people up

• The notice contents do not merge. The acceptance notice identifies the trustee; the creation-or-irrevocability notice identifies the trust and settlor and states instrument-copy and report rights.
• Knowledge matters only to the second clock. The acceptance period runs from acceptance, while the irrevocability period runs from the trustee's knowledge.
• Good-faith withholding has a statutory protection. Section 64.2-775(A) says a trustee is not subject to removal or other sanctions for withholding or not responding in a good-faith belief that disclosure would be unreasonable under the circumstances or contrary to the settlor's purposes.
• The legacy line is keyed to the trust, not a later successor's acceptance. The two notices and report subsection apply only to an irrevocable trust created, or a revocable trust becoming irrevocable, on or after July 1, 2006.
• The statutes require no trustee oath, notarization, certified mail, process service, or proof-of-service certificate.

Common questions

Who counts as a qualified beneficiary?

Va. Code § 64.2-701 uses three distribution horizons: current distributees, the next line if current interests ended without terminating the trust, and those who would take if the trust terminated on the determination date.

Who receives trustee duties while the trust remains revocable?

Under Va. Code § 64.2-752, beneficiary rights are subject to the settlor's control and trustee duties are owed exclusively to the settlor while the trust is revocable. A holder of a currently exercisable withdrawal power has settlor rights over the property subject to that power.

Does the 60-day notice start a six-month trust-contest period?

Not automatically. Va. Code § 64.2-753(A)(2) requires the trustee to send a copy of the trust instrument and a notice stating the trust's existence, trustee name and address, and time to sue. A bare § 64.2-775 notice lacks some of those items.

Does a beneficiary who requests notice always join the recipient list?

When the chapter otherwise requires notice to qualified beneficiaries, § 64.2-708(A) also requires notice to another beneficiary who has sent the trustee a request for notice. The trust terms may still vary the underlying § 64.2-775 duty.

Statutes and sources

• Va. Code § 64.2-701 — qualified-beneficiary definition. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-703(A)-(B) — trust-term control and mandatory-rule list. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-707(A)-(D) — general delivery, unknown person, waiver, and judicial-notice rules. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-708(A)-(D) — requested additional notice and special qualified-beneficiary treatment. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-752(A)-(C) — revocable-settlor control and withdrawal-power holder rights. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-753(A) — separate six-month trust-contest notice. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-754(A)-(C) — acceptance, rejection, and limited property- preservation notice. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-775(A)-(E) — ongoing information, two 60-day notices, required contents, reports, waiver, and legacy boundary. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).
• Va. Code § 64.2-808(A)-(B) — July 1, 2006 application rules. Official Code of Virginia (accessed 2026-07-31).