During the two-year interims between, respectively, the 1964 and 1966 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly, and between the 1966 and 1968 Regular Sessions, the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council has conducted studies of the laws concerning commissioners of accounts and fiduciaries, pursuant to directives of the General Assembly at the 1964 and 1966 Sessions. In its reports resulting from these two studies, the Council made many recommendations concerning statutes relating to this subject. One of the recommendations in the 1968 Report urged a further continuation of the study because of the vast scope of the laws pertinent to this subject. The General Assembly, accordingly, at its 1968 Regular Session adopted Senate Joint Resolution No. 33, directing the Council to continue this study.

J. C. Hutcheson, of Lawrenceville, a member of the Senate of Virginia and a member of the Council, was again selected as Chairman of the Committee to make the preliminary study and report to the Council. Senator Hutcheson served as Chairman of the two previous committees which made the preliminary studies and reports to the Council. The following persons were chosen to serve as members of the Committee with Senator Hutcheson: Edward L. Breeden, Jr., Attorney at Law, and Assistant Commissioner of Accounts and a member of the Senate of Virginia, Norfolk; Hale Collins, Attorney at Law and a former member of the Senate of Virginia, Covington; William P. Dickson, Jr., Attorney at Law, Norfolk; George T. Ellis, Senior Vice-President and Trust Officer, First National Exchange Bank of Virginia, Roanoke; Brockenbrough Lamb, former Judge of the Chancery Court of the City of Richmond, now retired, Richmond; Robert J. McCandlish, Jr., Attorney at Law and Commissioner of Accounts, Fairfax; Miles Poindexter, II, Vice-President and Trust Officer, American National Bank and Trust Company, Danville; Charles H. Ryland, Attorney at Law and Commissioner of Accounts, Warsaw; Virginius R. Shackelford, Jr., Attorney at Law and Commissioner of Accounts, Orange; Ken McFarlane Smith, Attorney at Law, Arlington; and McDonald Wellford, Attorney at Law and Commissioner of Accounts, Richmond. All of these individuals served on the two previous committees. The Division of Statutory Research and Drafting, represented by Wildman S. Kincheloe, Jr., served as Secretariat for the Committee.

At the first meeting of the Committee, the Chairman presented the resignation of Judge Lamb from the membership of the Committee, which resignation was tendered by Judge Lamb on account of illness. The Committee was reluctant to accept this resignation and instead gave Judge Lamb a leave of absence. However, at the next meeting Mr. Wellford, who had communicated to Judge Lamb in person the Committee's action on his resignation, reported that Judge Lamb, although appreciative of the Committee's attitude, nevertheless preferred and desired to resign. The Committee then reluctantly accepted Judge Lamb's resignation.

The Committee held several meetings and thoroughly considered suggestions for changes in many of the sections of the Code of Virginia relating to the subject under study. Some of these suggestions were presented to the Committee by individuals outside of the membership of the Committee. This report will reflect only those suggestions which resulted in the recommendations set forth herein.

As to the far-reaching issues of whether dower and curtesy should be abolished and whether the distinctions between real and personal property in the administration of estates should be abandoned, the Committee was fortunate in being able to retain, as Consultant, Karl Schwartz, Ill, Vice-President and Trust Officer of the Virginia National Bank, Norfolk. Mr. Schwartz, in the relatively short period of time available to him for this assignment, engaged in considerable research. On the basis of this research, Mr. Schwartz drafted and furnished the Committee an excellent report, which is included in this Report as an appendix.

The Committee, after completing its deliberations, made its Report to the Council. Having reviewed the Committee's Report, the Council now makes the following recommendations.