The persons entitled to the benefit of any decree or order requiring the payment of money shall be deemed judgment creditors, although the money be required to be paid into a court, or a bank, or other place of deposit. In such case, an execution on the decree or order shall make such recital thereof, and of the parties to it, as may be necessary to identify the case; and if a time be specified in the decree or order within which the payment is to be made, the execution shall not issue until the expiration of that time.
§ 8.01-427.Persons entitled under decree deemed judgment creditors; execution on decree.
Chapter 17. Judgments and Decrees Generally · Article 1. In General · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-427 treats anyone entitled to payment under a money decree or order as a judgment creditor even when the money must first be paid into a court, bank, or other depository, and requires execution on such a decree to identify the case and wait until any court-specified payment deadline has passed.
Full Text of § 8.01-427
Plain-English Summary
This section picks up where § 8.01-426 leaves off, filling in a practical detail about decrees requiring money to be paid. Someone entitled to that money is a judgment creditor in every sense that matters — even though the decree routes the payment through an intermediate step, into a court, a bank, or some other place of deposit, rather than straight to that person’s hands.
Because the underlying document is a decree rather than an ordinary money judgment, execution on it looks a little different. The writ of execution has to recite enough about the decree and the parties to it to identify the case. And if the decree or order set a deadline for payment, execution cannot issue until that deadline has passed — the debtor gets whatever grace period the decree allowed before enforcement can begin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is someone owed money under a court decree considered a judgment creditor?
Yes, even if the decree requires the money to be paid into a court, bank, or other place of deposit rather than directly to that person.
What must an execution on a decree include that an ordinary judgment execution might not?
A recital of the decree or order and of the parties to it sufficient to identify the case.
Can execution issue immediately after a money decree is entered?
Not if the decree specifies a time for payment — execution cannot issue until that time has expired.
Does it matter whether the money is paid to the judgment creditor directly or into a depository?
No. The person entitled to the benefit of the decree is deemed a judgment creditor either way.
Which section explains why a decree can be treated as a judgment at all?
Section 8.01-426, which gives a decree for money or specific property the effect of a judgment.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-344; 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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