To file an account for a decedent’s estate in Virginia, you submit a sworn statement to the Commissioner of Accounts in the circuit where the estate was opened, showing every dollar that came into the estate and every dollar that went out during the accounting period, backed by receipts, bank statements, canceled checks, and closing statements for each entry. The first account is due within 16 months of your qualification as personal representative and covers the first 12 months of administration. After that, you file annually until the estate is fully settled.1Commissioner of Accounts for Fairfax County. Procedure
The Deadline and the Period It Covers
Your first account must reach the Commissioner of Accounts within 16 months of the date you qualified. The account itself covers the first 12 months of administration, which gives you a four-month window after the accounting period closes to pull everything together and file. Subsequent accounts are due every year after that, each covering a period of no more than 12 months, and they continue until the estate is wound up and a final account is approved.
The inventory is a separate filing with its own deadline — due within four months of qualification — and the values on that inventory become the starting point for your first account. If you haven’t filed the inventory yet, do that first; the Commissioner won’t settle an account without it on file.
What the Account Must Show
The account begins with the total value of estate assets carried over from the inventory. From there, it tracks two running columns.
On the receipts side, list every dollar the estate took in during the accounting period. That includes interest and dividends, rent collected on estate property, proceeds from any sale of assets, debts repaid to the estate, tax refunds, and any assets you discovered after filing the inventory. Each entry needs a date, a source, and documentation showing where the money came from.
On the disbursements side, itemize every payment the estate made. This covers funeral expenses, creditor claims paid, attorney and accountant fees, appraisal costs, taxes, your own commission as personal representative, and any distributions already made to beneficiaries. Every disbursement needs backup: a canceled check, a paid invoice, a receipt from the payee, or a closing statement.
Virginia law sets a priority order for paying debts when estate funds are limited. Administration costs and funeral expenses come first, followed by certain taxes and then general unsecured debts. If the estate is insolvent, you must follow the statutory insolvency procedure rather than paying creditors as they knock on the door.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-528 – Order in Which Debts and Demands of Decedents to Be Paid Paying a lower-priority creditor while a higher-priority claim goes unpaid can leave you personally on the hook for the difference, and the Commissioner will flag it when reviewing the account.
Beneficiary distributions belong on the disbursement side too. For each one, get a signed receipt from the beneficiary showing what they received. Those receipts travel with the account as supporting documentation and protect you from later disputes about who got what.
Compensation You Pay Yourself
Virginia law entitles personal representatives to reasonable compensation, typically structured as a commission on receipts handled by the estate. The Commissioner reviews the amount when settling the account and can reduce it if it looks excessive.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-1208 – Expenses and Commissions Allowed Fiduciaries Reasonable out-of-pocket expenses such as mileage, postage, and storage are also reimbursable. There’s no fixed statutory percentage in Virginia; “reasonable” depends on the size and complexity of the estate and the amount of work involved. If the will names an institutional fiduciary and ties compensation to a published fee schedule, the Commissioner generally honors that arrangement.
Where and How to File
You file the account with the Commissioner of Accounts in the judicial circuit where the estate was opened. Each circuit has its own Commissioner, appointed by the circuit court and operating as an independent auditor.4Virginia Court System. Commissioners of Accounts Commissioner offices provide standardized forms for both the inventory and the account; use the forms your Commissioner’s office supplies rather than a generic template, because format expectations vary by office. A filing fee based on the estate’s value accompanies the submission.
Before you file, notify every beneficiary and give them a chance to review the account and raise objections. This step is a prerequisite, not a courtesy. A beneficiary who was never shown the account can later ask the court to reopen it.
Assemble the account as a package: the summary showing the beginning value, total receipts, total disbursements, and ending balance; the itemized schedules of receipts and disbursements; and the full set of supporting documents tied to each entry. Numbers that don’t tie to a document get questioned.
What the Commissioner Does With Your Filing
The Commissioner of Accounts is not a rubber stamp. The office reviews your account for accuracy, legal compliance, and completeness, and will come back with questions. Expect requests for additional documentation, explanations of unusual transactions, or clarification on how you handled a particular creditor or asset sale.
If the Commissioner finds errors, you’ll be asked to file a corrected account. Minor fixes are routine. Serious problems — unexplained withdrawals, apparent self-dealing, or payments made out of priority order — can trigger proceedings to remove you as personal representative. When the account is accepted, the Commissioner files a report with the circuit court, and that report becomes the formal record that the account has been settled for the period it covers.
If You File Late or Not at All
Consequences escalate quickly once an account is overdue. The Commissioner files public lists of delinquent fiduciaries with the circuit court at least twice a year, naming every representative whose account has been pending for more than five months.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-1216 – Failure to Account and Enforcement Appearing on that list triggers an automatic summons from the court. When you appear, the judge can impose a fine of up to $500. If you still don’t file after the summons, the court can hold you in contempt.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 64.2-1215 – Power of Commissioner of Accounts to Enforce the Filing of Inventories and Accounts
Beyond fines, the circuit court can remove you as personal representative and appoint a replacement. You can also be held personally liable for any financial losses the estate suffers because of your delay or mismanagement. Beneficiaries and creditors can petition for your removal at any time if they believe you’re neglecting your duties. Misappropriating estate funds crosses into criminal territory, with embezzlement charges carrying potential imprisonment and a court order to repay what was taken.
Accounts After the First One
Unless you can wind up the estate in a single accounting period, filing is not a one-time event. After the first account is settled, you file another one every year, each covering no more than 12 months of activity, until administration is complete. The format is the same: beginning balance (which is the ending balance from the prior account), receipts, disbursements, ending balance, and supporting documentation for every entry.
The last account you file is the final account. It shows all remaining assets distributed to beneficiaries, closes out the estate, and discharges you from further duty once the Commissioner approves it and the circuit court confirms the report. Do not distribute the final shares until the Commissioner has signed off on the final accounting and all debts, taxes, and administrative expenses are paid. Handing out assets early is one of the costliest mistakes a personal representative can make: if a creditor or tax obligation surfaces after distribution, you are personally responsible for making up the shortfall.
Keep the Records That Make the Account Possible
The quality of your account depends entirely on the records you kept during the accounting period. Open a dedicated estate bank account using the estate’s federal Employer Identification Number, run every receipt and disbursement through it, and never commingle estate money with your own. Save every invoice, receipt, and statement as it comes in. Representatives who try to reconstruct a year of activity from memory in the fourth month of the filing window are the ones who end up on the delinquent list.