If an officer taking property under execution die before the sale thereof, and there be no deputies of such officer acting in the case, upon a suggestion of the fact a writ of venditioni exponas may be directed to the sheriff or other officer of the county or city wherein the property was taken. Whereupon the officer to whom the writ is directed shall take possession of the property previously levied upon, whether the same be in possession of the representatives of the deceased officer or the execution debtor, and proceed to advertise and sell it and account for the proceeds thereof in like manner as if the levy had been made by himself.
§ 8.01-486.Procedure when officer taking property under execution dies before sale.
Chapter 18. Executions and Other Means of Recovery · Article 3. Return and Venditioni Exponas · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceIf the officer who levied on property under execution dies before selling it and has no deputy still handling the matter, a venditioni exponas may be directed to another officer of the same county or city, who then takes possession, sells the property, and accounts for the proceeds as if he had made the original levy himself.
Full Text of § 8.01-486
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-486 covers a scenario the rest of the chapter does not otherwise address: what happens to a pending execution sale when the officer holding the property dies before completing it. If no deputy of that officer remains available to finish the job, the process does not stall out or start over from scratch.
Upon a suggestion of the fact to the court, a writ of venditioni exponas can be directed to the sheriff or another officer serving the same county or city. That successor officer then steps into the deceased officer’s shoes completely: taking possession of the previously levied property, whether it currently sits with the deceased officer’s representatives or with the debtor, and proceeding to advertise, sell, and account for the proceeds exactly as if the original levy had been the successor’s own.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers this section’s procedure?
An officer who has taken property under execution dying before the sale of that property, with no deputies of that officer acting in the case.
How does the court get a substitute officer involved?
Upon a suggestion of the fact, a writ of venditioni exponas may be directed to the sheriff or other officer of the county or city where the property was taken.
What must the successor officer do first?
Take possession of the property previously levied upon, whether it is in the possession of the deceased officer’s representatives or the execution debtor.
How does the successor officer handle the sale and proceeds?
The successor proceeds to advertise and sell the property and account for the proceeds in like manner as if the levy had been made by that officer directly.
What if the deceased officer had a deputy still handling the case?
The section applies when there are no deputies of the deceased officer acting in the case, implying an active deputy would continue the matter instead.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-419; 1977, c. 617.
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
Also known as: officer dies before execution sale virginiavenditioni exponas successor officer virginia8.01-486 virginia codesheriff dies during levy virginia procedure