Free, statute-anchored, for self-represented trustees
The Trustee Learning Center
Learn what Virginia law actually provides — in plain language, on the real statutes — before you decide anything. The library states the law and recommends nothing.
The guides
Getting started · 6 min read
You were named successor trustee. What does Virginia law expect?
Accepting the office, the duties from day one, the two 60-day notices and the July 1, 2006 line, qualification for a trust under a will, and the estate beside the trust.
Core duties · 6 min read
The two notices, the duty to inform and the annual report under Virginia law
The acceptance and irrevocability notices, the standing duty to inform, the instrument on request, the annual report, the waiver and the July 1, 2006 line.
Core duties · 5 min read
Prudent administration and Virginia's prudent investor rule
Care, skill and caution; the review of the assets at the start; diversification; the waiver that needs express words; and no hindsight.
Distributions · 6 min read
Distributions, discretion and "per stirpes" under Virginia law
Discretion and its standard, when distribution waits, the reserve on termination, and how Virginia divides among descendants.
Money · 6 min read
Trustee compensation under Virginia law: reasonable, and on the record
The terms first, reasonable compensation where they are silent, the advance notice of a change, reimbursement, and the year's account before the Commissioner of Accounts.
The office · 5 min read
Serving as cotrustees under Virginia law
Majority decision, participation, delegation to a cotrustee, the duty to watch the others, the dissent, and a vacancy.
The office · 5 min read
Delegation, agents and professionals under Virginia law
What may be delegated, the care it takes, investment and management functions, and trust directors under Virginia's Uniform Directed Trust Act.
Core duties · 4 min read
Records, receipts and separate accounts under Virginia law
Adequate records, separate property, the report's four contents, and the vouchers a court account carries.
Disputes · 5 min read
When beneficiaries disagree: Virginia's tools
Settling by agreement, asking the court, mediation, removal, and what a court may order for a breach.
Closing · 6 min read
Ending a trust under Virginia law
Termination by the terms, by consent, or under $250,000 as uneconomic; the final report; the proposal; the reserve; and the release.
The library, by question
What does the role ask of me?
Notices and accountings
Money: fees and costs
Timelines, property, and closing
The Learning Center is general information about Virginia law — not legal advice, and not a substitute for advice from a licensed Virginia attorney about your specific facts. TrusteeClear is software, not a law firm.