Two-office firm in Covington and Lexington serving Alleghany, Bath, and Rockbridge counties and the Clifton Forge, Buena Vista, and Warm Springs communities of western Virginia. Handles estate planning, estate administration and probate, guardianships, and elder-law and Medicaid asset-protection planning. Attorney Jeanne Hepler was named a Virginia Lawyers Weekly Go To Lawyer for elder law.
Probate in Covington City
Probate Court Record
Covington City Circuit Court
Covington City · 25th Judicial Circuit
Phone
Hours
8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
266 West Main Street, Covington, VA 24426
Website
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Covington City →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Covington City? →Settling an estate in Covington City →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Virginia
Free Virginia forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Virginia.
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Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Healthcare Power of Attorney
Virginia requires 2Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2984Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses for a healthcare power of attorney; notarization is not requiredVa. Code Ann. § 54.1-2984Verified Oct 15, 2026View source.
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Financial Power of Attorney
Virginia treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultVa. Code §§ 64.2-1600 through 64.2-1642Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementVa. Code §§ 64.2-1600 through 64.2-1642Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.
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Last Will and Testament
In Virginia, a will is signed before 2Va. Code § 64.2-403Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyVa. Code § 64.2-403Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Virginia
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Virginia: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Virginia.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Virginia runs $3,770Estimate: 10 hours at $377, Clio's Virginia Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,655Estimate: 15 hours at $377, Clio's Virginia Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,311Estimate: 3 hours at $437, Clio's Virginia Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,622Estimate: 6 hours at $437, Clio's Virginia Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
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How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Virginia, four years at a public university cost about $110,788NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo operative state estate or inheritance tax. Virginia's pick-up estate tax (Va. Code § 58.1-902) remains on the books but imposes "a tax in the amount of the federal credit," and the federal IRC § 2011 state death tax credit has been zero since 2005; the 1978 floor in the § 58.1-901 definition was deleted by 2006 Acts of Assembly Sp. Sess. I, cc. 4 and 5, effective for estates of persons who die on or after July 1, 2007. The separate inheritance tax was repealed effective January 1, 1980, except for remainder interests on which the tax was postponed under former Va. Code § 58-173 (VA Tax PD 15-93).Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Virginia costs an estimated $29,411Va. Code §§ 64.2-105(B)(12) (fiduciary employs and compensates counsel), 64.2-1208(A) (commissioner of accounts allows reasonable expenses; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 9, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 2.5%Modeled estimate under Va. Code §§ 64.2-105(B)(12) (fiduciary employs and compensates counsel), 64.2-1208(A) (commissioner of accounts allows reasonable expenses; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source to 3.9%Modeled estimate under Va. Code §§ 64.2-105(B)(12) (fiduciary employs and compensates counsel), 64.2-1208(A) (commissioner of accounts allows reasonable expenses; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $75,000Va. Code § 64.2-600Verified Sep 9, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
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Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in Virginia takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 2.5%Modeled estimate under Va. Code §§ 64.2-105(B)(12) (fiduciary employs and compensates counsel), 64.2-1208(A) (commissioner of accounts allows reasonable expenses; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source to 3.9%Modeled estimate under Va. Code §§ 64.2-105(B)(12) (fiduciary employs and compensates counsel), 64.2-1208(A) (commissioner of accounts allows reasonable expenses; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 9, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Virginia automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceVa. Code § 20-111.1; § 6.2-607; § 64.2-632(A)(5); § 64.2-412Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
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