{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/45.2-602.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/45.2-602.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/45.2-602.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/45.2-602.html"}],"law_id":79067,"edition_id":1,"section_id":79067,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-602","catch_line":" Petition to establish a trust for missing coal owners","history":"2003, c. 775, \u00a7 45.1-161.311:3; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.","full_text":"A\n\nAny coal owner or lessee who (i) has more than a 50 percent interest in the coal on a particular tract and (ii) seeks to impress a trust upon unknown or missing owners of such tract of coal may petition the circuit court in the county or city containing the majority of the tract of coal to establish a trust to protect the interests of all coal owners and lessees.B\n\nThe petition shall:1\n\nDescribe the particular tract of coal at issue;2\n\nList all known, missing, and unknown owners of interests in such tract of coal and set forth the efforts to locate and identify the missing or unknown owners of the interests and provide any other information known to the petitioner that could be helpful in identifying or locating every present owner thereof; and3\n\nInclude the proposed terms of a lease to be offered to the trust. Such lease shall be typical of other arm’s-length leases in the area.C\n\nThe petitioner shall establish to the satisfaction of the court that a diligent effort has been made to identify and locate the present owners of such interests.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":283227,"text":"Any coal owner or lessee who (i) has more than a 50 percent interest in the coal on a particular tract and (ii) seeks to impress a trust upon unknown or missing owners of such tract of coal may petition the circuit court in the county or city containing the majority of the tract of coal to establish a trust to protect the interests of all coal owners and lessees.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":283228,"text":"The petition shall:","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"B1"},"2":{"id":283229,"text":"Describe the particular tract of coal at issue;","type":"section","prefixes":["B","1"],"prefix":"1","entire_prefix":"B1","prefix_anchor":"B1","level":2,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"B2"},"3":{"id":283230,"text":"List all known, missing, and unknown owners of interests in such tract of coal and set forth the efforts to locate and identify the missing or unknown owners of the interests and provide any other information known to the petitioner that could be helpful in identifying or locating every present owner thereof; and","type":"section","prefixes":["B","2"],"prefix":"2","entire_prefix":"B2","prefix_anchor":"B2","level":2,"prior_prefix":"B1","next_prefix":"B3"},"4":{"id":283231,"text":"Include the proposed terms of a lease to be offered to the trust. Such lease shall be typical of other arm’s-length leases in the area.","type":"section","prefixes":["B","3"],"prefix":"3","entire_prefix":"B3","prefix_anchor":"B3","level":2,"prior_prefix":"B2","next_prefix":"C"},"5":{"id":283232,"text":"The petitioner shall establish to the satisfaction of the court that a diligent effort has been made to identify and locate the present owners of such interests.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B3"}},"ancestry":[{"id":15376,"edition_id":1,"name":"Trusts for Coal Interests","identifier":"2","label":"article","depth":5,"order_by":1,"parent_id":15154,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:54:26","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:54:26","permalink":{"id":223013,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15376,"identifier":"2","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2","url":"\/45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":15154,"edition_id":1,"name":"Coal Mining Property, Interests, Adjacent Owners, and Dams","identifier":"6","label":"chapter","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13784,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:52:34","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:52:34","permalink":{"id":223001,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15154,"identifier":"6","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6","url":"\/45.2\/II\/A\/6\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13784,"edition_id":1,"name":"Coal Mines Generally","identifier":"A","label":"part","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12985,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:52","permalink":{"id":222649,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13784,"identifier":"A","token":"45.2\/II\/A","url":"\/45.2\/II\/A\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12985,"edition_id":1,"name":"Coal Mining","identifier":"II","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12713,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:06","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:06","permalink":{"id":222647,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12985,"identifier":"II","token":"45.2\/II","url":"\/45.2\/II\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12713,"edition_id":1,"name":"Mines, Minerals, and Energy","identifier":"45.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":222539,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12713,"identifier":"45.2","token":"45.2","url":"\/45.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":79067,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-602","catch_line":" Petition to establish a trust for missing coal owners","url":"\/45.2-602\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-602","metadata":false},{"id":58553,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-603","catch_line":" Advertisement upon filing of petition","url":"\/45.2-603\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-603","metadata":false},{"id":79463,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-604","catch_line":" Court may declare trust; trustee sale of lease","url":"\/45.2-604\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-604","metadata":false},{"id":68365,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-605","catch_line":" Duty of trustee; sale of lease; distribution of funds","url":"\/45.2-605\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-605","metadata":false},{"id":86073,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-606","catch_line":" Payment of attorney fees, expenses, and court costs","url":"\/45.2-606\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-606","metadata":false},{"id":72096,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-607","catch_line":" Production of coal by majority interest owner; petition to establish trust for known coal owners","url":"\/45.2-607\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-607","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":58553,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-603","catch_line":" Advertisement upon filing of petition","url":"\/45.2-603\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-603","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/45.2-602\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2003. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 775<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":[{"id":58553,"section_number":"45.2-603","catch_line":" Advertisement upon filing of petition","order_by":null,"url":"\/45.2-603\/"},{"id":79463,"section_number":"45.2-604","catch_line":" Court may declare trust; trustee sale of lease","order_by":null,"url":"\/45.2-604\/"}],"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":223015,"object_type":"law","relational_id":79067,"identifier":"45.2-602","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-602","url":"\/45.2-602\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/45.2-602\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-602","dublin_core":{"Title":" Petition to establish a trust for missing coal owners","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 45.2-602","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> Any coal owner or lessee who (i) has more than a 50 percent interest in the coal on a particular tract and (ii) seeks to impress a trust upon unknown or missing owners of such tract of coal may petition<\/span> the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> in the county or city containing the majority of the tract of coal to establish a trust to protect the interests of all coal owners and lessees. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> The petition<\/span> shall: <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

1.<\/span> Describe the particular tract of coal at issue<\/span>; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

2.<\/span> List all known, missing, and unknown owners of interests in such tract of coal and set forth the efforts to locate and identify the missing or unknown owners of the interests and provide any other information known to the petitioner that could be helpful in identifying or locating every present owner thereof; and <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

3.<\/span> Include the proposed terms of a lease to be offered to the trust. Such lease shall be typical of other arm’s-length leases in the area. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> The petitioner shall establish to the satisfaction of the court<\/span> that a diligent effort has been made to identify and locate the present owners of such interests. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\n PETITION TO ESTABLISH A TRUST FOR MISSING COAL OWNERS (\u00a7 45.2-602)\n\nA. Any coal owner or lessee who (i) has more than a 50 percent interest in the\ncoal on a particular tract and (ii) seeks to impress a trust upon unknown or\nmissing owners of such tract of coal may petition the circuit court in the\ncounty or city containing the majority of the tract of coal to establish a trust\nto protect the interests of all coal owners and lessees.\n\nB. The petition shall:\n\n 1. Describe the particular tract of coal at issue;\n\n 2. List all known, missing, and unknown owners of interests in such tract of\n coal and set forth the efforts to locate and identify the missing or unknown\n owners of the interests and provide any other information known to the\n petitioner that could be helpful in identifying or locating every present\n owner thereof; and\n\n 3. Include the proposed terms of a lease to be offered to the trust. Such\n lease shall be typical of other arm’s-length leases in the area.\n\nC. The petitioner shall establish to the satisfaction of the court that a\ndiligent effort has been made to identify and locate the present owners of such\ninterests.\n\nHISTORY: 2003, c. 775, \u00a7 45.1-161.311:3; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}