You may already have a will in a drawer, a trust you signed years ago, or beneficiary forms you haven’t looked at since you changed jobs. Then the law shifts. Virginia updated several key estate allowances effective July 1, 2025, and the federal estate and gift tax exemption moved to $15 million for 2026. That combination creates a false sense of security for some families and real urgency for others. You might not owe federal estate tax, but you can still leave behind probate delays, outdated beneficiaries, mismatched documents, or confusion about who gets what. If you live in Newport News or elsewhere in Hampton Roads, 2026 is a smart time to review your plan and make sure your documents still fit your family, your assets, and the current law.
What changed in Virginia on July 1, 2025?
Virginia’s 2025 updates matter most during estate administration, which is the process of collecting assets, paying valid debts, and distributing what remains after someone dies. Under Va. Code § 64.2-309, the family allowance may now be paid as a lump sum up to $30,000 or in installments up to $2,500 per month for one year. That allowance is designed to support a surviving spouse and minor children while the estate is being administered.
Virginia also updated two other protections. Under Va. Code § 64.2-310, exempt property is now capped at $25,000, usually in household furnishings, vehicles, appliances, and personal effects. Under Va. Code § 64.2-311, the homestead allowance is now $25,000. These rights can matter quickly when a family needs cash flow, transportation, or basic household property before the estate is fully sorted out.
The order of priority matters too. The family allowance has priority over all claims against the estate under § 64.2-309. Exempt property comes next under § 64.2-310, and the homestead allowance follows under § 64.2-311. The personal representative can determine and distribute these benefits under § 64.2-312, but the election to claim them generally must be made within one year of death under § 64.2-313.
That timing rule is one reason older documents can create trouble. If your will names the wrong executor, if your spouse does not know what benefits may be claimed, or if your plan says nothing about how your family should handle short-term expenses, a valuable right can be missed while everyone is still grieving.
What the federal $15 million exemption means in 2026
The federal change gets more headlines, but it affects a narrower group of families. For decedents dying in 2026, the federal basic exclusion amount is $15 million per person. For many married couples, that means up to $30 million can potentially be sheltered with proper planning and portability work on the first spouse’s death. The increase came through the One, Big, Beautiful Bill and applies after December 31, 2025.
That does not mean estate planning became optional in Virginia. Virginia no longer has a separate estate tax or inheritance tax for most estates, but probate issues, family disputes, incapacity planning, and beneficiary mistakes still affect families at every asset level. A $600,000 estate can have serious problems even if it has no federal estate tax exposure. So can a $6 million estate.
You should also separate estate tax from probate tax. Virginia still imposes probate tax on many estates that go through probate, with no tax imposed on estates valued at $15,000 or less. That is not the same thing as a separate Virginia estate tax. If you only focus on the federal exemption number, you can miss practical planning issues that matter much more for your family.
For higher-net-worth households, 2026 is still a major review year. If your estate is anywhere near the federal threshold, you may need to revisit lifetime gifting, trust structure, portability strategy, and asset valuation. If you are nowhere near that threshold, the bigger lesson is simpler: tax headlines should not distract you from the everyday reasons a Virginia estate plan needs regular maintenance.
Why you should review your existing plan now
A good estate plan is more than a will. It usually includes a will, powers of attorney, advance medical directives, beneficiary designations, and sometimes one or more trusts. When the law changes, the documents do not automatically update themselves. Neither do the people you named years ago as executor, trustee, guardian, or agent under a power of attorney.
Start with the basics. Does your will still match your family? Have you married, divorced, remarried, had children, bought a home, sold a business, or moved assets into joint ownership? In blended families, an outdated will can create conflict between a surviving spouse and children from a prior relationship. In military families around Hampton Roads, frequent moves and changes in federal benefits can also leave beneficiary forms out of step with the rest of the plan.
Then look at how your assets will actually transfer. Some assets pass by beneficiary designation, some by survivorship, and some through probate. If you own real estate, a business interest, or accounts without updated designations, the plan on paper may not match what happens after death. This is where coordination matters. Your documents should work together instead of pulling your family in three different directions.
If your family later needs to probate a will or qualify a personal representative, that usually happens in the circuit court clerk’s office for the proper locality. In this region, that may mean the Newport News Circuit Court or the Hampton Circuit Court, depending on where the decedent lived or where probate is filed. Virginia’s court system also makes clear that probate is handled through circuit court.
A worked example for a Hampton Roads family
Picture a Newport News couple in their late sixties. They own a home, two cars, retirement accounts, a brokerage account, and a small rental property. The husband signed a will in 2018, named his wife as executor, and assumed everything would be simple. But one brokerage account still lists an adult child from a first marriage as the pay-on-death beneficiary, and the rental property is titled in his name alone.
He dies in 2026. His wife is now trying to handle funeral costs, household bills, and paperwork at the same time. Because the estate includes probate assets, she may need to work through the Newport News Circuit Court clerk’s office to probate the will and qualify as personal representative. During administration, the updated Virginia family allowance, exempt property, and homestead allowance may matter right away under §§ 64.2-309 through 64.2-311.
Now add one more complication: the husband intended for both children to share in the rental property, but the brokerage account passes outside the will to only one child. That can produce resentment and claims of unfairness even when nobody acted in bad faith. A review in late 2025 or early 2026 could have caught the mismatch, confirmed whether a revocable trust made sense, and made sure the executor had clear authority and a current roadmap.
If this couple’s net worth were much higher, the review would also include whether a federal portability election should be preserved and whether trust provisions still make sense under the 2026 federal exclusion amount. The lesson is the same either way: your estate plan should be built for the life you have now, not the life you had when you first signed it.
A practical 2026 checklist for your Virginia estate plan
- Review your will, trust, powers of attorney, and advance medical directive together instead of treating them as separate projects.
- Confirm that beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and transfer-on-death accounts still match your overall plan.
- Check how real estate, business interests, and joint accounts are titled so you know what will pass through probate and what will not.
- Make sure the people you named can still serve and that they understand your wishes well enough to act during a crisis.
- Ask whether your family would know to consider the updated Virginia family allowance, exempt property, and homestead allowance, and whether they would act before the one-year deadline in § 64.2-313.
- If your estate may approach the federal threshold, talk through valuation, gifting, portability, and trust options while the 2026 rules are in effect.
If you want a deeper review of planning documents, see Holcomb Law’s estate planning page at https://www.attorneyholcomb.com/estate-planning-lawyer/. If you are already dealing with probate, qualification, or distribution issues after a death, the estate administration page is here: https://www.attorneyholcomb.com/estate-administration-lawyer/.
You can also review Virginia statutes at https://law.lis.virginia.gov and probate guidance from the Virginia courts at https://www.vacourts.gov. Those sources are useful, but they do not replace advice based on your family, your assets, and your goals.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to update my will just because the law changed in 2025?
Not always, but you should review it. The 2025 Virginia changes directly affect allowances that can matter during estate administration, and a review can also catch outdated executors, missing beneficiaries, old guardianship choices, and conflicts between your will and your account designations. Even if your document is still legally valid, it may no longer be the best fit for your family.
Does Virginia have its own estate tax in 2026?
Virginia does not currently impose a separate estate tax or inheritance tax on most estates. That is different from the federal estate tax system. Virginia can still impose probate tax on qualifying estates, and probate itself can still be time-consuming and stressful if your plan is outdated or incomplete.
What is the difference between the family allowance, exempt property, and homestead allowance?
They are three separate protections under Virginia law. The family allowance under § 64.2-309 is money for short-term maintenance during administration. Exempt property under § 64.2-310 covers certain household goods, vehicles, and personal effects up to the statutory value. The homestead allowance under § 64.2-311 is a separate dollar amount for the surviving spouse or, if there is no surviving spouse, minor children.
How long does my family have to claim those Virginia allowances?
In general, the election must be made within one year of death under Va. Code § 64.2-313. That deadline can arrive faster than families expect, especially when they are also dealing with funeral arrangements, probate paperwork, and real estate issues. A current estate plan gives your loved ones a better chance of acting on time.
If my estate is nowhere near $15 million, do I still need an estate plan?
Yes. Most estate planning problems have nothing to do with federal estate tax. You still need to decide who can act for you if you become incapacitated, who receives your property, who handles probate, and how to reduce confusion for your family. For most Virginia families, those issues matter far more than the federal exclusion number.
Closing
If you’re dealing with updating your will, trust, or estate plan after the 2025 law changes, the attorneys at Holcomb Law are ready to help. We handle estate planning cases across Newport News, Hampton, Virginia Beach, and Lynchburg—and we understand how much is at stake for you and your family. Call us or contact us online at https://www.attorneyholcomb.com/contact/ to schedule a consultation.
