Administration of Decedents' Estates in Virginia". (I'm going through the estate administration process for my father's estate.)

In response to your specific question: "If the decedent resided in a nursing home because of advanced age or impaired health at the time of his death, then usually proper jurisdiction for probate and qualification is determined by the location of the decedent’s residence prior to admission to the nursing home. If the decedent resided in a retirement complex (but not a nursing home) at the time of his or her death, then usually the location of the retirement complex determines which court has jurisdiction."

As others have said, make sure you get plenty of copies of the death certificate and the letter of qualification (if you are the executor). I got 15 copies of the death certificate and am starting to wonder if that was enough. I also got 10 copies of the letter of qualification. That was probably overkill, but they were only $2 each (with the first two free) and I did not want to have to go back to the Clerk's office again. (It's out of town for me.)

I am sorry for your loss.