I was just notified this morning by my one of my fathers 2 children from a second marriage that ended in divorce that my father had passed away on June 16th 2012. He claims that there is no will and that no executor was assigned. He also claimed that the only assets to be divided are the house and car. 1) can I petition to be the executor and how do I do this? (Virginia)2) how do I find out what the estate assets are?
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Virginia Already Tried: Just encountered this issue this morning
Thank you for your question. Be sure to go ahead and bookmark www.nateanswers.com for future questions.Yes, you can petition the court to be the administrator of his estate. The estate will then be divided according to the Virginia intestacy rules as he died without a will. Those can be reviewed generally herehttp://www.mystatewill.com/statutes/va_law.phpDetermining the assets is going to take discovery and investigation. You start with what you know and go from there. You can ask questions of his friends and family members and piece the estate together that way. There is no one way or method to find all the assets. Some forms are provided by the Fairfax County Circuit Court that can be adapted elsewhere. Still, since there is property involved you're going to have to go through the entire formal process, so it may be helpful to consider retaining an attorney.Please remember to only rate my answer when you are 100% satisfied. IF you feel the need to rate "Poor Service" or "Bad Service", please stop and reply to me via the REPLY TO EXPERT button with the issue you have. I am not paid unless I get a rating of 3 to 5 Stars/Smiley Faces. If I have helped you with your question, please give me an appropriate rating so that I get credit for helping you. Thank you, Nate
Experience: Over 8 years of legal practice.