When, in any suit involving a decedent's estate or a trust, the number of parties exceeds 30, and any one of the parties jointly interested with others in any question arising therein, dies, the court may, notwithstanding, if in its opinion all classes of interests are represented and no one will be prejudiced thereby, proceed to render a decree in such suit as if such party were alive; decreeing to the heirs, devisees, legatees, distributees, or personal representatives, as the case may be, such interest as the deceased person, if alive, would be entitled to. The provisions of § 8.01-322 shall apply to decrees entered hereunder.
§ 8.01-23.Decree in suit when number of parties exceeds 30 and one of them dies.
Chapter 2. Parties · Article 3. Death or Change of Parties · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-23 lets a court in a suit involving a decedent’s estate or trust with more than thirty parties render a decree as if a deceased party were alive, decreeing to that party’s heirs, devisees, legatees, distributees, or personal representatives the interest the deceased would take, if all interests are represented and no one prejudiced.
Full Text of § 8.01-23
Plain-English Summary
Large estate and trust suits can involve dozens of parties with overlapping and interconnected interests, and requiring every one of them to be formally revived and substituted after death would bog such a case down. Section 8.01-23 offers relief in that specific setting: when a suit involving a decedent’s estate or a trust has more than thirty parties, and one of those jointly interested with others in a question in the suit dies, the court may still proceed to render a decree as if that party were alive.
That shortcut is conditioned on the court’s own judgment that all classes of interests are represented and that no one will be prejudiced by proceeding this way. When those conditions hold, the decree awards to the deceased party’s heirs, devisees, legatees, distributees, or personal representatives, as the case may be, the same interest the deceased person would have been entitled to had he lived. The section also directs that § 8.01-322 applies to decrees entered under it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if one party dies during a large estate or trust suit with more than thirty parties?
Section 8.01-23 lets the court proceed to render a decree as if the deceased party were still alive, so long as it finds all classes of interests represented and no one prejudiced.
Does this exception apply to any lawsuit with a lot of parties?
No. It applies specifically to a suit involving a decedent’s estate or a trust where the number of parties exceeds thirty.
Who receives the interest the deceased party would have been entitled to?
Section 8.01-23 decrees that interest to the heirs, devisees, legatees, distributees, or personal representatives of the deceased party, as the case may be.
What must the court find before proceeding this way?
The court must be of the opinion that all classes of interests are represented in the suit and that no one will be prejudiced by proceeding as if the deceased party were alive.
Does another section govern decrees entered under this provision?
Yes. Section 8.01-23 states that the provisions of § 8.01-322 apply to decrees entered under it.
Amendment History
Code 1950, §§ 8-155, 8-156; 1977, c. 617; 2005, c. 681.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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