No gift, conveyance, assignment, transfer, or charge, which is not on consideration deemed valuable in law, or which is upon consideration of marriage, shall be avoided in whole or in part for that cause only, unless within five years from its recordation, and if not so recorded within five years from the time the same was or should have been discovered, suit be brought for that purpose, or the subject thereof, or some part of it, be distrained or levied on by or at the suit of a creditor, as to whom such gift, conveyance, assignment, transfer, or charge, is declared to be void by § 55.1-401.
§ 8.01-253.Limitation of suits to avoid voluntary conveyances, etc.
Chapter 4. Limitations of Actions · Article 5. Miscellaneous Limitations Provisions · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-253 gives creditors five years from a voluntary conveyance’s recordation — or, if unrecorded, five years from when the conveyance was or should have been discovered — to sue to avoid a gift or transfer made without valuable consideration under § 55.1-401, unless the property has already been distrained or levied on.
Full Text of § 8.01-253
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-253 limits how long a creditor has to unwind a gift, conveyance, assignment, transfer, or charge made without valuable consideration, or made in consideration of marriage, when that transfer would otherwise be avoidable as fraudulent against creditors under § 55.1-401. The clock runs five years from the transfer’s recordation, or, if it was never recorded, five years from when the transfer was or should have been discovered. Once that five years passes without a suit, or without the property being distrained or levied on by a creditor, the transfer cannot be avoided on this ground alone.
The section’s structure gives a recorded transfer more certainty than an unrecorded one: recordation starts a fixed five-year clock regardless of when a creditor learns about it, while an unrecorded transfer’s clock does not start until the creditor discovers it or reasonably should have. Either way, a creditor who acts by distraining or levying on the property, or by filing suit, before the five years run keeps the right to challenge the transfer alive.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a creditor have to challenge a fraudulent voluntary conveyance in Virginia?
Five years from the conveyance’s recordation, under Section 8.01-253, or, if it was not recorded, five years from when it was or should have been discovered.
What kind of transfers does this section cover?
A gift, conveyance, assignment, transfer, or charge not made for valuable consideration, or made upon consideration of marriage, of the kind declared void as to creditors under § 55.1-401.
What happens if a creditor distrains or levies on the transferred property instead of suing?
That also satisfies the section’s requirement; the transfer is not protected from challenge if the property, or part of it, is distrained or levied on by or at the suit of a creditor within the relevant period.
Does the five-year period run differently for a recorded conveyance than an unrecorded one?
Yes. A recorded conveyance’s five years runs from recordation; an unrecorded conveyance’s five years runs from when it was or should have been discovered.
What law makes these voluntary conveyances avoidable in the first place?
Section 55.1-401, which this section cross-references as declaring such gifts, conveyances, assignments, transfers, or charges void as to creditors.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-19; 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
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