Local police and parks officials across Northern Virginia are working to raise awareness of how to safely ride and share paths with electric bicycles in response to reported upticks in complaints about reckless behavior.
Over the past month, the Vienna Police Department has been sharing information about safe and legal riding practices, while also stepping up patrols in areas where concerns have cropped up as part of an E-Bike Safety Awareness Campaign launched on May 29.
Dozens of volunteers gathered in Herndon last Thursday (June 18) to distribute thousands of pounds worth of food and hygiene items to combat food insecurity.
Volunteers at the fifth annual Resource Rally — hosted by Reston-based StarKist, the nonprofits Feed the Children and Cornerstones, and Floris United Methodist Church — loaded boxes for about 400 families, curbside pickup-style, who drove up to the Herndon church.
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.
Two men were injured in a stabbing earlier this month in the Hunters Woods area of Reston, police say.
Officers were dispatched to the 2200 block of Colts Neck Road on June 8 shortly after 7 p.m. for the reported stabbing, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
Fairfax County is bracing for cutbacks in federal funding for Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as a result of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump last July 4.
An approximately $6.7 million reduction in revenue — already reflected in the fiscal year 2027 budget adopted on May 5 — is the result of the federal government shifting more administrative costs for SNAP to the states, county staff told the Board of Supervisors during their Health and Human Services Committee meeting on June 16.
The SLHS PTSA Food Pantry will be hosting its 9th Annual “Do It Your Way 0.5K” on September 27th from 2-4pm at Lake Anne Plaza. Join others in our community for music provided by DJ Randy Platts, pre-race warm-ups led by Kurt Rose, Celebrity Starters, cookies based by SLHS culinary students, a live raffle, and the most rewarding 650 steps you’ll take all year. Register online now or in-person the day of the event. All proceeds will directly support over 500 local students and families in the SLHS Pyramid each week.
The Fairfax County Police Department is looking for a suspect involved in an alleged indecent exposure, followed by an attempted abduction of a woman in Wakefield Park in Annandale over the weekend.
A woman reported that as she was walking on a trail in the park around 1:40 p.m. Sunday (June 21), a man exposed his genitals. While officers were responding to the call about the indecent exposure, another call came in, this time regarding an attempted abduction in the park.
A community celebration is set for this coming Saturday, June 27 to mark the opening of a new shared-use bicycle and pedestrian trail adjacent to the Capital Beltway (I-495) in McLean.
A joint effort of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Transurban, the trail is one of the final multimodal features of the 495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project, which extended the interstate’s toll lanes past the GW Parkway in McLean and updated seven bridges.
Annandale Abduction Attempt — Fairfax County police are searching for a man who tried to abduct a woman in the 8000 block of Braddock Road in Annandale, according to authorities. Anyone with information is urged to call 911. [WJLA]
Deadly Crash on I-95 — Two people died and a third was injured when a speeding vehicle left Interstate 95 north near the Fairfax County Parkway exit early Sunday, struck a guardrail and a tree and caught fire, according to Virginia State Police. Bystanders pulled one passenger from the burning vehicle; the driver and another passenger died at the scene. [DC News Now]
Fiery End to Beltway Chase — A speeding driver led a state trooper on an early Sunday chase from the Capital Beltway near Telegraph Road, north onto I-395 and into an Edsall Road apartment complex, where the driver bailed out on foot and was caught, according to Virginia State Police. The abandoned car rolled into a parked vehicle and sparked a fire that destroyed both. [Fox 5]
FCPS Pressed on Anti-Black Bias — A Thoreau Middle School mother told FCPS Superintendent Michelle Reid at a Fairfax County NAACP forum that her son faced repeated anti-Black harassment, including racial slurs and being handed bananas and called a monkey. “We obviously need to do better,” Reid said, pledging to meet with the family. [Patch]
Teacher, Parent Win Defamation Suits — Fairfax County juries awarded an FCPS teacher and a parent a combined $1.05 million in their defamation suits against David Gordon, who runs the conservative X feed The Virginia Project, over 2025 posts linking them to grooming and child abduction. Teacher Robert Rigby was awarded $350,000 and parent Vanessa Hall $700,000. Gordon plans to appeal. [NBC 4]
Reston Native’s Olympic Heritage — Reston native Brooke Frishman will play for Israel at the World Lacrosse Championship in Tokyo on July 24, carrying the 1964 Olympic warm-up jacket worn by her grandfather, U.S. gymnast Greg Weiss. “I don’t know how many people can say that they’ll be able to bring something along that their grandfather wore before them in the Olympics. It feels like a movie,” she said. [Fairfax Times]
Data Centers Face Power Fee — A Virginia budget conference report would charge data centers $0.011 per kilowatt-hour of electricity, a fee projected to raise $1.2 billion over the two-year cycle as the industry strains the grid and water supplies, particularly in N. Va. “This budget agreement reflects our shared commitment to making Virginia more affordable for families,” Senate Finance Chair Louise Lucas (D) and House Appropriations Chair Luke Torian (D) said. The budget still needs approval from both chambers and Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D). [Virginia Scope]
Judge Backs Assault Weapons Ban — A Spotsylvania County judge declined to block Virginia’s ban on selling assault weapons, rejecting gun owners’ argument that the state constitution’s militia clause bars it. The ruling clears the way for the law, signed by Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D), to take effect July 1. “The commonwealth will defend against any appeal in this case,” Attorney General Jay Jones (D) said. [Courthouse News]
Complaints at Virginia ICE Center — As the Trump administration expands immigrant detention to about 68,000 people, complaints of inadequate medical care and harsh conditions are mounting at ICE facilities including the Farmville Detention Center in central Virginia, where roughly three-quarters of nearly 500 detainees have no criminal record. Sens. Mark Warner (D) and Tim Kaine (D) have both conducted oversight visits. [Virginia Mercury]
It’s Monday — Expect a humid high near 90 with strong to severe storms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. into the evening. Forecasters say damaging wind gusts are the primary threat, with a tornado or flooding downpours also possible. The overnight low is around 66. [Capital Weather/X, NWS/X]
New Legal Notice — Restaurant seeks ABC beer/wine on/off-premises license; objections due within 30 days. [Public Notices]
New Legal Notice — Retail day spa seeks on-premises beer and wine license. [Public Notices]
New Legal Notice — Custody complaint filed; response due August 17, 2026, or default. [Public Notices]
Good Friday evening, Fairfax County. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Jun 19, 2026.
Since it’s Friday, we’ve also compiled a list of the most-read articles of the week, below.
Here is what’s going on Saturday throughout the county, from our event calendar.
Here are the events planned for Sunday:
Expect a sunny day with a high of around 84°F and a west wind blowing at 7 to 13 mph, occasionally gusting up to 23 mph. Saturday night will be mostly clear with the temperature dropping to about 64°F. Winds will come from the northwest at 5 to 9 mph, becoming lighter after midnight. See more from Weather.gov.
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
We hope you have a great weekend! Feel free to discuss the most-read stories of the week, the upcoming weekend events or anything else of local interest in the comments. 👋
Calling the last 48 hours “a dangerous time on our roadways,” Fairfax County police are asking both pedestrians and drivers to pay attention and follow the rules of the road.
The Fairfax County Police Department held a press conference this afternoon (Friday) at the intersection of Richmond Highway and Frye Road in Woodlawn in the wake of five fatal crashes that have occurred over the last two days. Four of them killed pedestrians, while a fifth ended in the death of a motorcyclist.
