Overview of Virginia probate process and common estate planning techniques designed to avoid or minimize it.

Christopher T. Leighton
Partner
Hughes & Leighton PLLC 

Chris focuses his practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, wealth transfer and gifting, and elder law. He works with individuals, families, and family-controlled businesses to develop thoughtful, tailored strategies for preserving and transferring wealth. His practice includes the design and implementation of comprehensive estate plans, closely held business planning and governance, fiduciary and guardianship matters, probate and trust administration, trust modification and reformation, and the preparation of federal estate and gift tax returns.

A native of the Washington, D.C. area, Chris is a graduate of Gonzaga College High School, the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Baltimore School of Law. After law school, he served as a judicial law clerk in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County before spending eight years on active duty with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

Chris continues to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he represents officers and soldiers in administrative and other military personnel matters. He is also accredited by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans with claims for VA benefits, including disability compensation. Chris is admitted to practice in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia.

Outside the office, Chris enjoys coaching youth sports and spending time with his wife, three children, and their famously unaffectionate Goldendoodle.