Commissioners of accounts are attorneys appointed by the judges in each locality in Virginia. Their job is to supervise all fiduciaries who have been admitted to qualify in the court or before the clerk of the circuit court for the locality. For example, when a person qualifies to serve as the executor of a deceased person’s estate, they must report their activities to the commissioner of accounts for that locality. The commissioner’s job is to monitor the fiduciary’s actions, to make sure that the fiduciary is doing what they are supposed to do, and to take legal action if they are not.
Here at The Mottley Law Firm, we are accustomed to communicating with commissioners of accounts when representing clients involved in family estate disputes.
Sometimes, it is necessary to conduct a hearing before the commissioner of accounts. For instance, the commissioner of accounts may convene a hearing, called a “debts and demands” hearing. At such a hearing, the commissioner hears evidence and makes rulings as to what debts the estate must pay to creditors of a deceased person. The commissioner of accounts then makes a report of their findings to the circuit court. Any interested person has an opportunity to file objections (exceptions) to the commissioner’s recommendations. If objections are filed, a circuit court judge will hold a hearing to consider them. If no objections are filed, then the commissioner of accounts recommendations stand.
