Court Safekeeping of Original Wills in Virginia
At a glance
| Statutory safekeeping route | Lifetime lodging where judges authorize the clerk's office (§ 64.2-409(A), (F)). |
|---|---|
| Who may deposit | Person or attorney; certain seven-year professional custodians (§ 64.2-409(A)–(B)). |
| Proper court or clerk | Circuit-court clerk for person's residence, if judges authorize service (§ 64.2-409(A), (F)). |
| Envelope and filing record | Clerk seals, numbers, endorses and permanently indexes will (§ 64.2-409(A)). |
| Fee and receipt | $5 for lodging, indexing and preserving; clerk gives depositor receipt (§ 64.2-409(A), (E)). |
| Custody before death | Sealed envelope preserved unopened until authorized lifetime return or death (§ 64.2-409(C)). |
| Retrieval before death | Testator or nominee on written request; a redeposit counts anew (§ 64.2-409(C)). |
| Notice after death | Notice of death triggers clerk's opening; statute does not assign a notifier (§ 64.2-409(D)). |
| Opening and release after death | Clerk opens and gives will to anyone entitled to offer it for probate (§ 64.2-409(D)). |
Requirements one by one
Authorized office and depositor
Under § 64.2-409(A), a person or the person's attorney may lodge that person's executed will with the circuit-court clerk serving the place of residence. § 64.2-409(F) applies the procedure only where the court's judges have entered an authorizing order, so the office's authority matters. § 64.2-409(B) also permits an attorney, bank or trust company that has held a client's will at least seven years, without knowing whether the client remains alive, to lodge it under the same procedure.
Receipt and clerk record
Section 64.2-409(A) requires a receipt, a securely sealed envelope bearing the testator's name and lodging date, and a numbered, permanent alphabetical index under both the testator and the then-qualified executor. The clerk's statutory charge is $5 under § 64.2-409(E).
Custody and return
Section 64.2-409(C) requires the clerk to preserve the envelope unopened until written lifetime return to the testator or nominee, or until the testator's death.
After death
Upon notice of death, § 64.2-409(D) directs the clerk to open the will and deliver it to any person entitled to offer it for probate. The section ties release to entitlement to offer the document; it does not make the safekeeping deposit itself a probate decision.
What trips people up
§ 64.2-409(G) permits a clerk to destroy a will that has remained lodged for 100 years or more. A person seeking long-term custody should also remember the separate-lodging treatment after a lifetime withdrawal and redeposit under § 64.2-409(C).
Common questions
Can an attorney lodge a client's will after losing contact? Section 64.2-409(B) allows this for an attorney, bank or trust company after at least seven years of custody and no knowledge whether the client is alive or dead.
May someone retrieve the will while the testator is alive? Section 64.2-409(C) permits written request by the testator or the testator's nominee for return during life.
Statutes and sources
- Va. Code § 64.2-409(A)–(G). Verbatim official text, source URL, and access dates appear in the source fields above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
What does Virginia law mean for your facts?
You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current Virginia law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace