Virginia timeline
Virginia probate timeline: the 60-day wait and creditor deadlines
The simplified route starts 60 days after death.
Virginia creditor deadlines are set out below against the event each one runs from.
Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.
The one date this page can source
The small asset affidavit route requires 60 days to elapse from the date of death. This is a precondition: the affidavit or petition cannot be presented before it runs, regardless of how straightforward the estate is.
1. That the value of the decedent's entire personal probate estate as of the date of the decedent's death, wherever located, does not exceed $75,000; 2. That at least 60 days have elapsed since the decedent's death;Va. Code § 64.2-601 — Virginia General Assembly; Section history through 2026, c. 40.
Creditor deadlines
- From publication of notice to creditors
- Upon qualification the personal representative may publish notice to creditors once a week for two consecutive weeks, and the published notice must require every claim to be presented on or before at least six months from the date of first publication (Va. Code § 64.2-508.1(B), (C)(4)).
- From actual notice to a known creditor
- A person the personal representative personally delivers or mails a copy of the notice to must present the claim by the later of the six-month publication date or 90 days after that copy is mailed or delivered (Va. Code § 64.2-508.1(C)(4)).
How these combine. Virginia does not set a single claim-bar date. Publishing notice is optional; when the personal representative does publish, the notice must state a presentation deadline that is the LATER of at least six months from first publication or, for a person mailed or delivered a copy, 90 days after that copy is sent (Va. Code § 64.2-508.1(C)(4)). The effect of the deadline is not to extinguish a late claim but to cap the personal representative's and surety's liability for it to the estate assets still on hand when payment is demanded (§ 64.2-508.1(F)). No separate universal nonclaim period runs from appointment or from the date of death.
4. A statement that all persons having a claim against the decedent shall present such claim to the personal representative in the manner specified in this section on or before the later of (i) at least six months from the date of the first publication of the notice or (ii) 90 days after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers a copy of the notice as published to the claimant; andVa. Code § 64.2-508.1(C)(4) — Virginia General Assembly; Section history through 2026, c. 382.
General sequence: first week, how long probate takes.
Virginia record: 6/6 verified, 17 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction