Chesapeake firm serving the Hampton Roads cities, handling probate and estate administration for families settling estates. Drafts wills and trusts, nominates guardians and executors, and provides elder-law services including Medicaid planning, durable powers of attorney, and advance directives. Solo practice with nearly three decades of experience.
Probate in Portsmouth City
Probate Court Record
Portsmouth City Circuit Court
Portsmouth City · 3rd Judicial Circuit
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Office
1345 Court Street, Portsmouth, VA 23704
Website
Files probate
Probate
Filing in person
Appointment required
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Portsmouth City →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Portsmouth City? →Settling an estate in Portsmouth City →
Estate Law Firms Serving Portsmouth City
Hampton Roads firm with its main office in Virginia Beach, plus Chesapeake and Suffolk, serving the local courts since 1889. Its Trusts & Estates group handles estate and trust administration, probate, asset-protection planning, and guardian and conservator appointments for both modest and substantial estates. Attorneys coordinate with clients' financial and trust advisers.
Chesapeake firm serving the Hampton Roads cities — Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk. Estate-side work covers wills, powers of attorney, guardianships, and conservatorships, alongside a family-law and criminal-defense practice. Attorney Kristen M. Shannon is a former state prosecutor.
Downtown Norfolk firm serving South Hampton Roads, with offices in McLean and Richmond. Its trusts and estates lawyers serve as fiduciaries and as counsel to executors, administrators, and trustees, handling estate and trust administration alongside probate and estate tax work. Takes the estates that get complicated — closely held family businesses, executive compensation, and charitable gifts.
Virginia Beach elder-law and estate firm (formerly Oast & Hook) serving Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina, with offices in Suffolk and Chesapeake. Handles estate and trust administration, fiduciary services, guardianship and conservatorship, Medicaid and long-term-care asset protection, and special-needs planning. Pairs estate administration with elder-law and public-benefits planning.
Estate-planning and elder-law firm serving Fredericksburg from its Jackson Street office, part of a four-office Virginia footprint that includes Richmond, Williamsburg, and Virginia Beach. Works with families on trust-based plans, estate and trust administration, Medicaid and asset-protection planning, and guardianship and conservatorship.
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.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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Free
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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Free
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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Free
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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Free
Pour-Over Will
In Virginia, a pour-over will is signed before 2Va. Code § 64.2-403Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
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Free
Transfer on Death Deed
In Virginia, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryVa. Code 64.2-621 to 64.2-638Verified Oct 19, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathVa. Code 64.2-621 to 64.2-638Verified Oct 19, 2026View source. Virginia does not recognize a Lady Bird deed.
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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.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In Virginia, a will-based plan pays probate 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; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
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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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How Much Does Probate Cost?
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. Attorney fees run 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 under a reasonable-compensation standard.
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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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How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Virginia: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 120 daysVa. Code § 64.2-1300Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 6 monthsVa. Code §§ 64.2-508.1, 64.2-528, 64.2-529, 64.2-550, 64.2-552, 64.2-556Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
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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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