Estate Planning in Virginia Beach & Hampton Roads
Wills, living trusts and probate-avoidance planning for families across the 757. Call (402) 649-1418 to schedule your consultation.
Estate Planning for Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads Families
Estate planning is the process of deciding who receives your assets, how they receive them, and who makes decisions for you if you can’t. Legacy Solutions Estate & Income Planning helps families across Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads understand their options, reduce probate costs and delays, and leave a clear plan for the people they love.
Every adult who owns a home, has savings or has children benefits from an estate plan, not just the wealthy.
A will alone does not avoid probate in Virginia. A funded living trust, beneficiary designations and joint ownership can.
Virginia charges a probate tax on estates over $15,000, and probate often takes a year or more to settle.
Your plan should be reviewed every few years and after major life events such as marriage, a birth, a move or retirement.
Why Estate Planning Matters in Virginia
Without a plan, Virginia law decides who inherits your property, and the circuit court appoints the people who manage your estate and, if needed, care for your minor children. Probate in Virginia is a public court process that can take a year or more and involves court costs and a state probate tax on estates over $15,000.
A complete estate plan lets you make those decisions yourself. A will, a revocable living trust, durable powers of attorney and an advance medical directive work together so the right people can act for you, assets can pass privately and your family has clear instructions. A trust only works if it is funded, so we make sure accounts and property are titled correctly and beneficiary designations match your plan.
Call (402) 649-1418 or fill out the form below to schedule your estate planning consultation.
What Is Estate Planning?
An estate plan is a set of documents and decisions that spells out how your assets will be managed and distributed if you pass away or become unable to make decisions for yourself. Without a plan, Virginia law and the courts decide who inherits, who manages your money and who makes medical decisions on your behalf, and the result may not match your wishes.
Who Needs an Estate Plan in Virginia Beach?
If you own a home, have savings or retirement accounts, or have people who depend on you, you need a plan. Estate planning isn’t only for large estates. We regularly work with:
Homeowners who want their house to pass to their family without going through probate court
Parents of minor children who need to name guardians and decide how an inheritance will be managed
Retirees who want to protect what they’ve saved and make things simple for their children
Military families facing deployments, PCS moves and Survivor Benefit Plan decisions
Blended families who want to provide for a spouse and for children from earlier relationships
Unmarried couples, since Virginia does not recognize common-law marriage and a partner has no automatic right to inherit
Business owners who need a plan for what happens to the business
Benefits of Estate Planning
Provide financial security for your spouse or partner
Name guardians for minor children and protect their inheritance
Reduce or avoid probate costs, delays and court involvement
Choose who makes financial and medical decisions if you can’t
Keep family details private and reduce the chance of disputes
Plan for taxes on retirement accounts and larger estates
Support the charities and causes that matter to you
What an Estate Plan Includes
Last Will and Testament
A will names your executor and guardians for minor children and directs how assets that aren’t otherwise covered are distributed. A will still goes through probate.
Revocable Living Trust
A living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and passes them to your beneficiaries without probate. You stay in control as trustee, and a successor trustee steps in if you pass away or become incapacitated.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
A power of attorney names someone you trust to pay bills, manage accounts and handle financial matters if you can’t. Without one, your family may have to ask a court to appoint a guardian or conservator.
Advance Medical Directive
Virginia’s advance medical directive records your healthcare wishes and names a healthcare agent to speak for you with doctors if you are unable to.
Beneficiary Designations
Life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s and many bank accounts pass to the people named on the account, regardless of what your will says. These designations need to match the rest of your plan.
Trust Funding
A trust only controls the assets titled in its name. Funding means retitling your home and accounts into the trust. An unfunded trust can still leave your family facing probate, so we make sure this step is done.
How the Estate Planning Process Works
Education first. We start with a conversation about how estate planning works and what options exist, with no pressure to decide anything.
Review your situation. We look at your assets, family, existing documents and goals.
Design the plan. We recommend the combination of tools that fits your family and explain the reasoning behind each one.
Put it in place. Your documents are prepared and signed.
Fund and coordinate. We make sure assets are titled correctly and beneficiary designations match your plan.
Review over time. Marriages, births, moves, retirements and deaths all change a plan, so we recommend a review every few years and after any major life event.
Estate Planning Considerations in Virginia
Probate runs through the circuit court. In Virginia, a will is probated with the circuit court clerk in the city or county where the person lived, including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and the rest of Hampton Roads.
Virginia has a probate tax. The state charges 10 cents per $100 of value on estates over $15,000, and localities can add a local tax of up to one-third of the state amount. Assets that pass outside probate are generally not subject to it.
Virginia has no state estate or inheritance tax. Federal estate tax can still apply to larger estates.
Probate takes time. Executors file inventories and accountings with the Commissioner of Accounts, and many estates take a year or more to settle.
Some assets skip probate. Assets held in a funded living trust, accounts with named beneficiaries, and property owned jointly with survivorship rights generally pass directly to the people named.
Without a will, Virginia law decides. If you die without a will, state intestacy rules determine who inherits, and the court appoints an administrator.
What to Bring to Your First Meeting
A list of your assets: home, bank and investment accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance and business interests
Any existing wills, trusts or powers of attorney
Recent statements showing beneficiary designations
The deed to your home
For military families: SGLI, VGLI and Survivor Benefit Plan information
Your questions. There’s no such thing as a basic question in estate planning.
Estate Planning for Military Families in Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is home to one of the largest military communities in the country. Shannon is a military spouse who moved to the area for her husband’s active-duty service, so she knows how quickly military life can change a family’s plans. Deployments, PCS moves to other states, SGLI coverage and Survivor Benefit Plan elections all need to fit with your will, trust and beneficiary designations. We help active-duty, retired and veteran families keep their plans current wherever the military sends them.
Serving Virginia Beach and All of Hampton Roads
Legacy Solutions Estate & Income Planning is based in Virginia Beach and works with families throughout the 757, including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton and Newport News. We also host free educational estate planning workshops at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library in Virginia Beach. See our upcoming events or read more on our blog.
Legacy Solutions Estate & Income Planning
2 Constitution Drive, Suite 101, Virginia Beach, VA
Phone: (402) 649-1418
This page is for general educational purposes. Legacy Solutions Estate & Income Planning does not provide legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed attorney or tax professional about your specific situation.
Estate Planning Guidance From Shannon Raitt
Shannon Raitt helps Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads families organize their estate plans, from understanding the difference between a will and a living trust to making sure a trust is properly funded. She coordinates with your estate planning attorney and explains each step in plain language, so you know exactly what your plan does and why. As a military spouse, she also understands the extra planning questions that come with deployments and PCS moves.
Virginia Beach Estate Planning FAQs
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A will alone does not avoid probate. It tells the court how to distribute your assets, but the estate still goes through the probate process. A funded revocable living trust lets assets pass to your beneficiaries without probate, which can save time and the probate tax. Many families use both.
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No. Anyone who owns a home, has savings or has children benefits from a plan. Without one, Virginia law and the courts decide what happens to your assets and who makes decisions for you.
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Your estate passes under Virginia’s intestacy laws, which follow a fixed order of relatives. The court appoints an administrator, and your family has no say in who inherits or who manages the estate.
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No. A will is the document the probate court uses. To avoid probate, assets need to be in a funded trust, have named beneficiaries, or be owned jointly with survivorship rights.
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No. Virginia does not have a state estate tax or inheritance tax. It does charge a probate tax on estates that go through probate, and larger estates may still owe federal estate tax.
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Many estates take a year or more to settle, because executors must file inventories and accountings with the Commissioner of Accounts and allow time for creditor claims. Assets in a funded trust can usually be distributed much sooner.
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Review it every three to five years, and after any major event: marriage, divorce, a birth, a death in the family, a move to another state, retirement or a significant change in assets.
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Confirm that your will, powers of attorney and medical directives are current, that SGLI and account beneficiaries match your wishes, and that someone at home can act for you on financial and medical matters.
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Call (402) 649-1418 or fill out the form below. Your first conversation is about understanding your goals and explaining your options, with no pressure to decide anything.
Schedule Your Estate Planning Consultation
Tell us a little about your situation and we’ll follow up to set up a time to talk. Prefer the phone? Call (402) 649-1418.