Good morning, Alexandria! Today is Saturday, July 5, the 186th day of 2025. There are 179 days left in the year.
🌦️ Today’s weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77 degrees. Light and variable wind becoming south 6 to 11 mph in the morning. Partly cloudy tonight, with a low of around 66 degrees. Southwest wind around 10 mph.
Governor Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday (July 3) a new round of administration and board appointments that includes four Alexandria residents, continuing a recent trend of Northern Virginia appointments to state positions.
The latest Alexandria appointments include Douglas W. Domenech to the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, Dr. Edwin J. Feulner to the Board of Visitors of Mount Vernon, S. Lawrence Kocot to the Board of Pharmacy, and W. Patrick Wilson to the Alexandria Historical Restoration and Preservation Commission.
When a loved one passes away, families often face difficult decisions about funeral arrangements, finances, and the distribution of property. One common question is whether having a will automatically means the estate must go through probate.
Not necessarily. Whether probate is required in Virginia depends largely on how the deceased person’s assets were owned and whether those assets have another method of transferring to heirs or beneficiaries.
Understanding when probate is required—and when it can be avoided—can help families navigate estate administration with greater confidence.
Probate is the legal process used to administer certain assets belonging to a deceased person, or decedent. In Virginia, probate generally takes place through the circuit court in the city or county where the decedent lived.
When probate is necessary, the court recognizes the will, if there is one, and appoints a personal representative to handle the estate. The personal representative is responsible for identifying and collecting assets, addressing valid debts and taxes, and distributing the remaining property according to the will or Virginia’s intestacy laws.
Importantly, having a will does not automatically mean every asset must pass through probate. A will generally controls probate assets, while certain property passes directly to another person through ownership arrangements or beneficiary designations.
Probate is generally necessary when someone dies owning assets in their individual name that do not have another method of transferring ownership.
Examples can include:
In these situations, probate may be necessary to give the personal representative authority to transfer or distribute the property.
Some assets can transfer automatically after death and therefore may not need to pass through probate.
Jointly owned property: Assets held jointly with rights of survivorship generally pass to the surviving owner.
Beneficiary-designated accounts: Life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and certain bank accounts can pass directly to the beneficiaries named on the account.
Revocable living trusts: Assets properly transferred into a revocable living trust generally avoid probate because the trust owns the property rather than the deceased individual.
Virginia also provides a simplified option for certain small estates. Under Va. Code § 64.2-601, qualifying personal property valued at $75,000 or less may be transferred using a small estate affidavit rather than a full probate proceeding, provided the statutory requirements are satisfied.
This simplified procedure applies to qualifying personal property, not real estate, and can be particularly useful when an estate consists of modest assets such as a bank account or vehicle.
When probate is necessary, the personal representative must complete several steps before the estate can be closed. These typically include identifying and valuing estate assets, filing the required inventory, addressing creditor claims and taxes, and distributing assets to beneficiaries.
Virginia also imposes deadlines for certain estate filings. The inventory generally must be filed within four months after qualification, while the first accounting is generally due within 16 months.
Good Friday morning, Alexandria! Today is Friday, July 4, the 185th day of 2025. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day.
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins sharply criticized the Trump administration’s decision to slash $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next decade, calling the cuts to food benefits for working families, seniors and children “not just bad policy” but “cruel.”
The cuts are part of President Donald Trump’s tax legislation that passed Congress by razor-thin margins—51-50 in the Senate with Vice President JD Vance casting the tiebreaking vote, and 218-214 in the House.
Event location
Cherry On Top
1021 Queen street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
A mystery is brewing at Cherry on Top!
Join us for a thrilling Murder Mystery Night filled with secrets, unexpected twists, and a little detective work. Follow the clues, uncover hidden motives, and see if you can solve the mystery before the night is over!
City Council has released more than $120,000 in reserve funding to the Alexandria Health Department.
On Tuesday (July 1), Council approved the one-time funding to support the city’s Healthy Homes Action Plan, immigrant and refugee resource programs, and expansion of the ALX Breathes program. AHD lost the funds, which were from a federal COVID-19 grant earlier this year.
Get ready for some road repaving in Alexandria this month.
Three Alexandria roadways will be repaved from July 7 to 18, according to the city. The street repaving will affect Trinity Drive (from Fort Williams Parkway to Yale Drive), Canterbury Lane (from Trinity Drive to End) and Mill Road (from Mandeville Road to Eisenhower Avenue).
The City of Alexandria is seeking input from residents and visitors on a pilot program that has temporarily transformed the 200 block of King Street into a pedestrian-only zone, as officials prepare to decide whether to make the change permanent.
The second phase of the pilot program, which began on March 14 and runs through September 30, 2025, has converted the 200 block of King Street, between Lee Street and Fairfax Street, into a car-free zone. The city is now collecting public feedback through an online form, with responses due by July 17.
The Alexandria City Council, this week, approved the three-year extension of an expired plan to build hundreds of residential units in Alexandria’s Landmark area.
The three-year development special use permit for the 8-acre Landmark Overlook project expired in February. Council initially approved the plan in 2022 by West End Development Associates to build 450 residential units in seven townhomes and two multifamily apartment buildings on the eight-acre site at 5901, 5951, and 5999 Stevenson Avenue and 2 South Whiting Street.
The City of Alexandria announced Thursday the appointment of Dr. Wendy Ginsberg as its new Legislative Director, bringing nearly two decades of federal government experience to a demanding role that will require her to shuttle between Alexandria, Richmond, and Washington to advocate for the city’s interests.
Ginsberg, a long-time Alexandria resident, most recently served as Director of Congressional Affairs at the National Archives and Records Administration. Her extensive Capitol Hill background includes leadership roles as Director of Subcommittees for the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Staff Director for the late Representative Gerald E. Connolly.
