{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/45.2-604.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/45.2-604.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/45.2-604.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/45.2-604.html"}],"law_id":79463,"edition_id":1,"section_id":79463,"structure_id":15376,"section_number":"45.2-604","catch_line":" Court may declare trust; trustee sale of lease","history":"2003, c. 775, \u00a7 45.1-161.311:5; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.","full_text":"A\n\nIf, upon presentation of a petition pursuant to § 45.2-602 to the circuit court in the county or city containing the majority of the tract of coal, it appears to the court that development of the interests in such tract of coal will be advantageous to the unknown or missing owners, the court shall declare a trust in the coal interests and appoint a trustee for such interests. The court shall authorize the trustee to execute a lease covering the coal interests in the identified tract of coal. The order of the court shall provide for all the terms and provisions of the lease that the trustee is authorized to make.B\n\nThe trustee shall proceed in compliance with the provisions of the order to execute the lease and after executing the lease shall submit a report thereof to the court.C\n\nThe court shall not authorize a trustee’s lease upon the coal interests of any owner whose identity and location are known, can be ascertained, or are discovered as a result of the action brought under this article. Any such owner may intervene as a matter of right at any time prior to the judgment approving the trustee’s lease for the purpose of establishing his title to the coal interests. If such coal owner’s claim is established to the satisfaction of the court, the court shall dismiss the action at the plaintiff’s cost.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":284673,"text":"If, upon presentation of a petition pursuant to § 45.2-602 to the circuit court in the county or city containing the majority of the tract of coal, it appears to the court that development of the interests in such tract of coal will be advantageous to the unknown or missing owners, the court shall declare a trust in the coal interests and appoint a trustee for such interests. The court shall authorize the trustee to execute a lease covering the coal interests in the identified tract of coal. The order of the court shall provide for all the terms and provisions of the lease that the trustee is authorized to make.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":284674,"text":"The trustee shall proceed in compliance with the provisions of the order to execute the lease and after executing the lease shall submit a report thereof to the court.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":284675,"text":"The court shall not authorize a trustee’s lease upon the coal interests of any owner whose identity and location are known, can be ascertained, or are discovered as a result of the action brought under this article. Any such owner may intervene as a matter of right at any time prior to the judgment approving the trustee’s lease for the purpose of establishing his title to the coal interests. If such coal owner’s claim is established to the satisfaction of the court, the court shall dismiss the action at the plaintiff’s cost.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B"}},"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}],"previous_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},"next_section":{"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},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/45.2-604\/","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":false,"refers_to":[{"id":79067,"section_number":"45.2-602","catch_line":" Petition to establish a trust for missing coal owners","order_by":null,"url":"\/45.2-602\/"}],"permalink":{"id":223023,"object_type":"law","relational_id":79463,"identifier":"45.2-604","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-604","url":"\/45.2-604\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/45.2-604\/","token":"45.2\/II\/A\/6\/2\/45.2-604","dublin_core":{"Title":" Court may declare trust; trustee sale of lease","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 45.2-604","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> If, upon presentation of a petition<\/span> pursuant to § 45.2-602<\/a> to the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> in the county or city containing the majority of the tract of coal, it appears to the court<\/span> that development of the interests in such tract of coal will be advantageous to the unknown or missing owners, the court<\/span> shall declare a trust in the coal interests and appoint a trustee for such interests. The court<\/span> shall authorize the trustee to execute a lease covering the coal interests in the identified tract of coal. The order<\/span> of the court<\/span> shall provide for all the terms and provisions of the lease that the trustee is authorized to make. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> The trustee shall proceed in compliance with the provisions of the order<\/span> to execute the lease and after executing the lease shall submit a report thereof to the court<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> The court<\/span> shall not authorize a trustee’s lease upon the coal interests of any owner whose identity and location are known, can be ascertained, or are discovered as a result of the action brought under this article. Any such owner may intervene as a matter of right at any time prior to the judgment<\/span> approving the trustee’s lease for the purpose of establishing his title to the coal interests. If such coal owner’s claim is established to the satisfaction of the court<\/span>, the court<\/span> shall dismiss the action at the plaintiff<\/span>’s cost. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\n COURT MAY DECLARE TRUST; TRUSTEE SALE OF LEASE (\u00a7 45.2-604)\n\nA. If, upon presentation of a petition pursuant to § 45.2-602 to the\ncircuit court in the county or city containing the majority of the tract of\ncoal, it appears to the court that development of the interests in such tract of\ncoal will be advantageous to the unknown or missing owners, the court shall\ndeclare a trust in the coal interests and appoint a trustee for such interests.\nThe court shall authorize the trustee to execute a lease covering the coal\ninterests in the identified tract of coal. The order of the court shall provide\nfor all the terms and provisions of the lease that the trustee is authorized to\nmake.\n\nB. The trustee shall proceed in compliance with the provisions of the order to\nexecute the lease and after executing the lease shall submit a report thereof to\nthe court.\n\nC. The court shall not authorize a trustee’s lease upon the coal interests\nof any owner whose identity and location are known, can be ascertained, or are\ndiscovered as a result of the action brought under this article. Any such owner\nmay intervene as a matter of right at any time prior to the judgment approving\nthe trustee’s lease for the purpose of establishing his title to the coal\ninterests. If such coal owner’s claim is established to the satisfaction\nof the court, the court shall dismiss the action at the plaintiff’s cost.\n\nHISTORY: 2003, c. 775, \u00a7 45.1-161.311:5; 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}}