Wherever by any will, the testator devises any real estate to some person and requires such person to pay some other person a specified sum of money, or provides a legacy for some person which constitutes a charge against the real estate of the testator, or any part thereof, no suit or action shall be brought to subject such real estate to the payment of such specified sum of money or such legacy, as the case may be, after twenty years from the time when the same shall have been payable, and if the will specifies no time for the payment thereof, it shall be deemed to have been payable immediately upon death of the testator.
§ 8.01-254.Limitation on enforcement of bequests and legacies.
Chapter 4. Limitations of Actions · Article 5. Miscellaneous Limitations Provisions · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-254 bars suits to enforce a will-based charge on real estate for a legacy or specified payment more than twenty years after the payment became due, treating it as due immediately at the testator’s death if the will sets no other time.
Full Text of § 8.01-254
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-254 caps how long a beneficiary can wait to enforce a payment obligation a will places on real estate. Where a will devises real estate to someone and requires that person to pay a specified sum to another beneficiary, or provides a legacy that becomes a charge against the testator’s real estate, no suit to subject that real estate to payment of the sum or legacy can be brought more than twenty years after the payment became due.
The section also fixes the starting point when the will itself is silent on timing. If the will specifies no particular time for payment, the obligation is deemed to have been payable immediately upon the testator’s death, so the twenty-year clock starts running from that date rather than remaining open-ended.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does someone have to sue to enforce a will-based charge on real estate for a legacy?
Twenty years from when the specified sum or legacy became payable, under Section 8.01-254.
What if the will doesn’t say when the payment is due?
The payment is deemed to have been payable immediately upon the testator’s death, so the twenty-year period runs from the date of death.
What kind of will provisions does this section address?
A devise of real estate conditioned on the devisee paying another person a specified sum, or a legacy that constitutes a charge against the testator’s real estate.
Does this section apply to charges against personal property, or only real estate?
Only real estate; it addresses subjecting the testator’s real estate, or part of it, to payment of the specified sum or legacy.
What happens to the right to enforce the charge after twenty years pass?
No suit or action may be brought to subject the real estate to payment after that twenty-year period expires.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-21; 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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