diff --git a/libqpdf/QPDFFormFieldObjectHelper.cc b/libqpdf/QPDFFormFieldObjectHelper.cc
index 7d92c2a..d307bdf 100644
--- a/libqpdf/QPDFFormFieldObjectHelper.cc
+++ b/libqpdf/QPDFFormFieldObjectHelper.cc
@@ -210,23 +210,17 @@ FormField::mapping_name() const
 QPDFObjectHandle
 QPDFFormFieldObjectHelper::getValue()
 {
-    return Null::if_null(m->getValue());
-}
-
-QPDFObjectHandle
-FormField::getValue()
-{
-    return inheritable_value<QPDFObjectHandle>("/V");
+    return Null::if_null(m->V<QPDFObjectHandle>());
 }
 
 std::string
 QPDFFormFieldObjectHelper::getValueAsString()
 {
-    return m->getValueAsString();
+    return m->value();
 }
 
 std::string
-FormField::getValueAsString()
+FormField::value() const
 {
     return inheritable_string("/V");
 }
@@ -353,7 +347,7 @@ QPDFFormFieldObjectHelper::isChecked()
 bool
 FormField::isChecked()
 {
-    return isCheckbox() && Name(getValue()) != "/Off";
+    return isCheckbox() && V<Name>() != "/Off";
 }
 
 bool
@@ -936,7 +930,7 @@ FormField::generateTextAppearance(QPDFAnnotationObjectHelper& aoh)
     }
     QPDFObjectHandle::Rectangle bbox = bbox_obj.getArrayAsRectangle();
     std::string DA = default_appearance();
-    std::string V = getValueAsString();
+    std::string V = value();
     std::vector<std::string> opt;
     if (isChoice() && (getFlags() & ff_ch_combo) == 0) {
         opt = getChoices();
diff --git a/libqpdf/qpdf/FormField.hh b/libqpdf/qpdf/FormField.hh
index c1361c3..fe46825 100644
--- a/libqpdf/qpdf/FormField.hh
+++ b/libqpdf/qpdf/FormField.hh
@@ -189,10 +189,59 @@ namespace qpdf::impl
         /// if the mapping name is absent.
         std::string mapping_name() const;
 
-        QPDFObjectHandle getValue();
+        /// @brief Retrieves the field value (`/V` attribute) of a specified field, accounting for
+        ///        inheritance through thehierarchy of ancestor nodes in the form field tree.
+        ///
+        /// This function attempts to retrieve the `/V` attribute. If the `inherit`
+        /// parameter is set to `true` and the `/V` is not found at the current level, the
+        /// method traverses up the parent hierarchy to find the value. The traversal stops when
+        /// `/V` is found, when the root node is reached, or when a loop detection mechanism
+        /// prevents further traversal.
+        ///
+        /// @tparam T The return type.
+        /// @param inherit If set to `true`, the function will attempt to retrieve `/V` by
+        ///        inheritance from the parent hierarchy of the form field. Defaults to `true`.
+        /// @return Returns the field's value if found; otherwise, returns a default-constructed
+        /// value of type `T`.
+        template <class T>
+        T
+        V(bool inherit = true) const
+        {
+            return inheritable_value<T>("/V", inherit);
+        }
 
-        // Return the field's value as a string. If this is called with a field whose value is not a
-        std::string getValueAsString();
+        /// @brief Retrieves the field value (`/V` attribute) of a specified field, accounting for
+        ///        inheritance through the hierarchy of ancestor nodes in the form field tree.
+        ///
+        /// This function attempts to retrieve the `/V` attribute. If the `inherit`
+        /// parameter is set to `true` and the `/V` is not found at the current level, the
+        /// method traverses up the parent hierarchy to find the value. The traversal stops when
+        /// `/V` is found, when the root node is reached, or when a loop detection mechanism
+        /// prevents further traversal.
+        ///
+        /// @param inherit If set to `true`, the function will attempt to retrieve `/V` by
+        ///        inheritance from the parent hierarchy of the form field. Defaults to `true`.
+        /// @return Returns the field's value if found; otherwise, returns a default-constructed
+        /// object handle.
+        QPDFObjectHandle const&
+        V(bool inherit = true) const
+        {
+            if (auto& v = get("/V")) {
+                return v;
+            }
+            return {inherit ? inherited("/V") : null_oh};
+        }
+
+        /// @brief Retrieves the field value `/V` attribute of the form field, considering
+        ///        inheritance, if the value is  a String.
+        ///
+        /// This function extracts the value of the form field, accounting for potential inheritance
+        /// through the form hierarchy. It returns the value if it is a String, and an empty string
+        /// otherwise.
+        ///
+        /// @return A string containing the actual or inherited `/V` attribute of the form field, or
+        ///         an empty string if the value is not present or not a String.
+        std::string value() const;
 
         QPDFObjectHandle getDefaultValue();