The Virginia Bar Association’s Wills, Trusts & Estates Section has released the newest edition of its flagship publication, “A Guide to the Administration of Decedents’ Estates in Virginia.”

This project, started by the section in 1996, has held the distinction of being the most-visited page on the VBA website for many years.

The guide serves two audiences: It provides clear, practical information for the general public and useful updates for practitioners.

The 2025 edition of the guide is now available on the VBA website.

The Virginia Law Foundation provided financial assistance for the first (1996) and second (1998) editions of the publication.

Edited by section members Daniel J. Durst of Williams Mullen, and Mark S. Shepard, Henrico County Commissioner of Accounts, the 2025 edition marks the latest of the section’s longstanding guide. The previous edition, published in 2014, was edited by Nan L. Coleman, Robert H. Powell III and Fielding L. Williams Jr.

“The updated guide reflects the many important changes made to Virginia law in the area of estate administration since the last publication,” said Durst.

Among those are updates to key dollar limitations and allowances and the spouse’s elective share statute.

Durst added that “the updated guide also includes more citations to statutes, which might be especially useful to practitioners,” while “more links to current forms will be especially useful to personal representatives of estates and their advisors.”

-- Isabel Lunato