Virginia Code 64.2-443: Jurisdiction of probate of wills.
A. The circuit courts shall have jurisdiction of the probate of wills. A will shall be offered for probate in the circuit court in the county or city wherein the decedent has a known place of residence; if he has no such known place of residence, then in a county or city wherein any real estate lies that is devised or owned by the decedent; and if there is no such real estate, then in the county or city wherein he dies or a county or city wherein he has estate.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 64.2-443
- City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Probate: Proving a will
- real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
B. Where any person has become, either voluntarily or involuntarily, a patient in a nursing home, convalescent home, or similar institution due to advanced age or impaired health, the place of legal residence of the person shall be rebuttably presumed to be the same as it was before he became a patient.
Code 1950, §§ 64-72, 64-72.1; 1966, c. 330; 1968, c. 656, §§ 64.1-75, 64.1-76; 2012, c. 614.