Procedure for Filing an Exception to a Personal Representative’s Accounting or a Commissioner of Accounts’ Report
Exceptions to a fiduciary’s accounting and/or a Commissioner of Accounts’ report are filed in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. The Probate Division is located in Suite 401 , on the fourth floor of the Fairfax County Courthouse. The Probate Division is open from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
- File the exception to the fiduciary’s accounting or Commissioner of Accounts’ report in the Probate Division. There is no filing fee for filing an exception.
- Enclose a copy of the exception and a self-addressed stamped envelope if you want a file-stamped copy of the exception returned to you.
- A probate clerk will pull the document in question.
- Sixteen days after the document was received from the Commissioner of Accounts, the exception, accounting/report and fiduciary file will be forwarded to the Court for review.
- If the accounting/report was admitted to record prior to the filing of the exception, the exception, accounting/report and fiduciary file will be immediately forwarded to the Court for review.
- The Court will enter an order with instructions on how the movant and/or clerk’s office should proceed. There are three possible outcomes:
- The Court confirms the accounting/report. The clerk will be directed to record the document in the Will Book and no further action will be taken.
- The Court orders the clerk to return the document to the Commissioner of Accounts for further review.
- The Court orders the movant to appear at the next Civil Term Day and further orders the movant to file a Certificate of Service which notifies all interested parties that the case will appear on the Civil Term Day Docket to set a hearing date regarding the exception.
- The clerk’s office will send the movant or movant’s attorney a certified copy of the order, along with a letter of explanation.
- All documents are filed in the Probate Division and are kept in the fiduciary file unless the court enters an order transferring the matter to a civil action file. If the matter is transferred to a civil action file, the filing fees are waived.
- Failure to comply with the Court’s order will result in the Court’s issuance of a show cause order to the movant as to why the document in question should not be admitted to record, as approved by the Commissioner of Accounts.
- If the time has passed allowing the filing of an exception, the Court’s order will indicate the same and state that no further action is needed.
