For some strange reason most of our early Virginia ancestors put off the task of writing a will until just before their death. You will find many wills signed a month or two before they were submitted for probate. There are exceptions but many that I have seen are about three months from date of signature until date of filing for probate. Often the widow remarried and it was her new husband who handled the affairs. There are exceptions of course but many took this route. A will was the only way a man could include all of his children in the division of land. Intestacy gave the land to the eldest son. It is safe to assume the death occurred before the presentation of the will for probate at which time the witnesses had to attest to the validity of the will in court. To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html