Estate Planning & Elder Law Attorneys in Winchester, Virginia
3113 Valley Ave Ste 110, Winchester, VA 22601 Monday to Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Planning ahead, planning for care, and everything after.
Planning ahead
Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning
The documents that decide what happens to what you own, who cares for your children, and who speaks for you if you cannot speak for yourself.
- Last Wills and Testaments
- Revocable living Trusts
- Durable financial powers of attorney
- Advance medical directives
- Minor's Trusts and Special Needs Trusts
- Deed work and Trust funding
Va. Code § 64.2-403 · § 64.2-700 et seq. · § 64.2-1600 et seq. · § 54.1-2981 et seq.
Planning for care
Elder Law & Long-Term Care
Planning for aging, incapacity, and the cost of care, so a health crisis does not become a financial one. This is a large part of what we do in Winchester.
- Long-term care planning
- Incapacity planning
- Guardianship and conservatorship
- Planning for a spouse already in care
- Special needs planning
Va. Code § 64.2-2000 et seq. (guardianship & conservatorship)
After a loss
Probate & Estate Administration
Guiding executors and families through qualification, inventory, accounting, and distribution at a pace that respects grief.
- Qualification as executor or administrator
- Inventories and accountings
- Intestate estates, where there is no Will
- Trust administration
- Real estate transfers and deeds
Va. Code § 64.2-601 · § 64.2-1300 · §§ 64.2-200 to 64.2-206
Passing on more than assets
Ethical Wills
An ethical Will is not a legal document. It is a written record of what you believe, what you have learned, and what you want the people you love to carry forward, the part of an inheritance families tend to treasure most.
- Your values, beliefs, and life lessons
- Letters to children and grandchildren
- The reasoning behind decisions in your Will
- Family history and stories worth keeping
- Written alongside your legal documents
Keeping your plan current
The Guardian Program
Signing your documents is the beginning, not the end. The Guardian Program is an ongoing membership for clients who have created a Trust-based Relational Estate Plan that keeps your plan reviewed, funded, and current as your family, your assets, and the law change.
- Everything in our Enhanced package
- Annual review and updates
- Assistance with keeping Trust kept current and well-funded
- An ongoing relationship with our team
- Annual fee applies
Estate planning, elder law and probate are all we do. We do not handle divorce, real estate disputes, personal injury, disability claims or criminal matters — but we are glad to point you toward a Winchester firm that does.
Most people come to us at one of these moments.
It's finally time
You have been meaning to write a Will for years, and something recently made it feel less like a someday task.
Aging parents
Your parents are getting older and no one in the family has managed to start the conversation about what happens next.
When care comes up
A doctor has begun using the word "care," and you do not know what it costs or what can be protected.
Named executor
Someone has died, you have been named executor, and you are not sure what the court expects of you.
Old documents
You signed documents a long time ago and you are no longer confident they say what you would want today.
Property in two states
You own property in Virginia and in West Virginia, and you have been told that complicates things.
What happens if nothing is in place.
If there is no Will
Virginia decides who inherits
The intestacy statutes set a fixed order of inheritance and the court follows it, whether or not it reflects what you would have chosen. They make no allowance for a stepchild you raised, an unmarried partner, a promise made to one child, or a cause that mattered to you. Where a family owns land, the result is often several heirs holding undivided shares of the same property, each able to force a sale.
Va. Code §§ 64.2-200 to 64.2-206
If you cannot speak for yourself
No one has automatic authority
Without a durable power of attorney and an advance medical directive, there is no guarantee that someone can step in to manage your finances or make medical decisions, not a spouse, not an adult child. The alternative is a guardianship or conservatorship petition, which means going to court at the point your family is least able to take it on.
Va. Code § 64.2-1600 et seq. · § 54.1-2981 et seq. · § 64.2-2000 et seq.
If care becomes necessary
Costs are met from what you saved
Long-term care is the largest single expense most families meet late in life, and paying for it without a plan usually means spending down assets that could have been protected. Waiting until someone has entered care narrows the options considerably, though it rarely closes them altogether.
Where estate paperwork is filed in Winchester and Frederick County.
City of Winchester and Frederick County are separate
An estate for someone who lived inside the city limits is filed with the Winchester Circuit Court clerk. An estate for someone in Frederick County — Stephens City, Middletown, Gore, Gainesboro — goes to the Frederick County Circuit Court clerk. The two courts sit in the same judicial center, which is exactly why the mistake is easy to make.
Two deadlines to know early
An inventory of the estate is due to the Commissioner of Accounts within four months of qualifying. An estate valued under $75,000 may avoid full administration through the small estate affidavit procedure.
Va. Code § 64.2-1300 · § 64.2-601
Without a Will, Virginia decides
Virginia's intestacy statutes set out who inherits when there is no Will. The default order rarely matches what a family expected, and it does not account for stepchildren, unmarried partners or long-standing informal arrangements.
Va. Code §§ 64.2-200 to 64.2-206
Deeds are recorded where the land is
If you own property in Clarke, Warren or Shenandoah County, or across the line in West Virginia, the deed is recorded in that jurisdiction — not where you live. Plans that overlook this leave property stranded.
Living on one side of the line and working on the other.
The attorneys you’ll work with in Winchester.
Joshua E. Hummer, Esq.
B. Scott Livengood, Esq.
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Our Winchester office, at a glance.
- Address
- 3113 Valley Ave Ste 110 Winchester, VA 22601
- Phone
- (540) 931-7078
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
- Parking
- Free parking directly outside the unit. Ground-floor, step-free access throughout.
- Who you'll meet
- One of our attorneys and a paralegal who will help guide you through the estate planning process.
- What to bring
- All we ask you to bring is your completed questionnaire. It helps us understand your situation and make the most of our time together. There's no need to gather additional documents for your first meeting.
- Also serving
- Frederick, Clarke, Warren and Shenandoah Counties, and the West Virginia Eastern Panhandle
- Home visits
- Available for clients who cannot travel, including at care facilities and hospitals in the Winchester area.
Estate planning, elder law and probate in Winchester.
Where do I file if my parent lived in Winchester rather than Frederick County?
What is the small estate threshold in Virginia?
My mother may need nursing home care. Is it too late to plan?
I live in Winchester but own land in West Virginia. Do I need two plans?
Where is your Winchester office, and is parking easy?
How long does an estate plan take, and what does it cost?
Our published pricing is on the pricing page, and our case studies show how plans came together for families in situations like yours.
Serving Winchester and the northern Shenandoah Valley.
- Winchester
- Frederick County
- Clarke County
- Stephens City
- Middletown
- Berryville
- Front Royal
- Warren County
- Strasburg
- Woodstock
- Martinsburg, WV
- Charles Town, WV
Let’s create a plan that gives your family clarity and peace of mind.
3113 Valley Ave Ste 110 Winchester, VA 22601 (540) 931-7078