8.01-94 - When sold, leased or exchanged.
§ 8.01-94. When sold, leased or exchanged.
Whenever an interest in property, real or personal, is held by a person,natural or artificial, with remainder or limitation over contingent upon anyevent, or for his life or for the life of another, and there is limitedthereon any other estate, vested or contingent, to any other such person,whether in being or to be thereafter born or created in any mannerwhatsoever, such person holding an interest in the property so subject toremainder 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 ofanother, then his heir or personal representative, as the case may be, mayfor the purpose of obtaining a sale or leasing or exchange of the fee simpleinterest or absolute estate in such property, if the sale or leasing orexchange thereof is not prohibited by the instrument creating the estate, andthe remaindermen, or any of them, whether in being or hereafter to be born orcreated, are from any cause incapable at the time of filing the bill asherein provided or of giving their assent, or the remainder or limitationover is contingent or defeasible, file a bill in equity in the circuit courtstating plainly the property to be sold or leased or exchanged and all factscalculated to show the propriety of such sale or lease or exchange. A likebill may be filed for the sale or leasing or exchange of the remainder insuch estate by a remainderman, his guardian, conservator or committee. Allpersons interested in the property presently or contingently, other than theplaintiff, shall be made defendants, and if such remaindermen be not born orcreated at such time of filing such bill, such suit shall not for such causeabate, but such unborn person or uncreated artificial person shall be madedefendant and subject to the decree of the court by the name of "personunknown or person yet to be born or created," and the court shall upon thefiling of such bill appoint a guardian ad litem to defend the interest ofsuch unborn person or uncreated artificial person. If it be clearly shownindependently of any admissions in the pleadings that the interest of theplaintiff will be promoted and the rights of no other person will be violatedthereby, the court may decree a sale or lease or exchange of the property orany 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 realestate, a lien thereon shall be reserved. The title to any land acquired inany exchange herein provided for shall be held and owned by the same personsin the same way, to the same extent and subject to the same conditions thatthey owned the land given in such exchange.
(Code 1950, § 8-703.1; 1958, c. 271; 1977, c. 617; 1997, c. 801.)