                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

WHEN SOLD, LEASED OR EXCHANGED (§ 8.01-94)

Whenever an interest in property, real or personal, is held by a person, natural
or artificial, with remainder or limitation over contingent upon any event, or
for his life or for the life of another, and there is limited thereon any other
estate, vested or contingent, to any other such person, whether in being or to
be thereafter born or created in any manner whatsoever, such person holding an
interest in the property so subject to remainder or limitation over or for his
own life, or his committee, guardian, if a minor, or conservator, or, if the
estate so held be for the life of another, then his heir or personal
representative, as the case may be, may for the purpose of obtaining a sale or
leasing or exchange of the fee simple interest or absolute estate in such
property, if the sale or leasing or exchange thereof is not prohibited by the
instrument creating the estate, and the remaindermen, or any of them, whether in
being or hereafter to be born or created, are from any cause incapable at the
time of filing the bill as herein provided or of giving their assent, or the
remainder or limitation over is contingent or defeasible, file a bill in equity
in the circuit court stating plainly the property to be sold or leased or
exchanged and all facts calculated to show the propriety of such sale or lease
or exchange. A like bill may be filed for the sale or leasing or exchange of the
remainder in such estate by a remainderman, his guardian, conservator or
committee. All persons interested in the property presently or contingently,
other than the plaintiff, shall be made defendants, and if such remaindermen be
not born or created at such time of filing such bill, such suit shall not for
such cause abate, but such unborn person or uncreated artificial person shall be
made defendant and subject to the decree of the court by the name of
&#8220;person unknown or person yet to be born or created,&#8221; and the court
shall upon the filing of such bill appoint a guardian ad litem to defend the
interest of such unborn person or uncreated artificial person. If it be clearly
shown independently of any admissions in the pleadings that the interest of the
plaintiff will be promoted and the rights of no other person will be violated
thereby, the court may decree a sale or lease or exchange of the property or any
part thereof, or of the remainder therein. In case of a sale on credit, the
court shall take ample security. If such sale on credit be of real estate, a
lien thereon shall be reserved. The title to any land acquired in any exchange
herein provided for shall be held and owned by the same persons in the same way,
to the same extent and subject to the same conditions that they owned the land
given in such exchange.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 8-703.1; 1958, c. 271; 1977, c. 617; 1997, c. 801.