Chapter 3. Actions · Article 8. Actions for the Sale, Lease, Exchange, Redemption and Other Disposition of · Last amended 1997 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-68 gives circuit courts sitting in equity the power to order the sale, lease, exchange, encumbrance, redemption, or other disposition of a disabled landowner’s real estate whenever independent evidence shows the disposition will serve that owner’s interest, and it directs that such sales follow the same practices as judicial sales generally.
Full Text of § 8.01-68
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Circuit courts in the exercise of their equity jurisdiction, upon being satisfied by competent evidence independent of the admissions in the pleadings or elsewhere in the proceedings, that one or more of the types of relief hereinafter specified will promote the interest of an owner of land, or any interest therein, who is a person under a disability as defined in this chapter for whom a conservator has not been appointed pursuant to Chapter 20 (§ 64.2-2000 et seq.) of Title 64.2, and taking into consideration the rights of any other party interested in such land, may order the sale, exchange, lease, encumbrance, redemption, or other disposition of such real estate as to the court may seem just and equitable.
In the case of the sales of such lands or interest therein, the court shall be governed by the established practices for judicial sales generally except as they may be specifically modified by provisions of this article.
Plain-English Summary
This section is the source of a circuit court’s authority to act under Article 8. Sitting in equity, the court may order a sale, exchange, lease, encumbrance, redemption, or other disposition of land — or an interest in land — belonging to a person under a disability, but only after the court is satisfied by evidence independent of anything admitted in the pleadings that the disposition will promote the owner’s interest. The section applies when no conservator has been appointed for that owner under Title 64.2’s conservatorship provisions, and it requires the court to weigh the rights of every other interested party before acting.
When the relief the court orders is a sale, the second paragraph ties the proceeding back to the established practices that govern judicial sales generally, except where this article specifically modifies them. A reader looking for the mechanics of how such a sale proceeds — appraisal, marketing, confirmation — has to look past Article 8 to the general judicial-sale provisions this section incorporates.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a court find before it can order the sale of a disabled person’s land?
The court must be satisfied by evidence independent of any admissions in the pleadings that the sale, lease, exchange, encumbrance, redemption, or other disposition will promote the owner’s interest, and it must weigh the rights of other interested parties before ordering it.
Does this section apply if a conservator has already been appointed?
No. Section 8.01-68 covers a person under a disability “for whom a conservator has not been appointed” under Chapter 20 of Title 64.2. Once a conservator is in place, that appointment governs instead.
What kinds of relief can a circuit court order under this section?
Sale, exchange, lease, encumbrance, redemption, or other disposition of the real estate, whichever the court finds just and equitable on the evidence before it.
How does a sale ordered under this section proceed?
The court follows the practices established for judicial sales generally, except to the extent Article 8’s other sections specifically modify them.
Can the court rely on statements in the pleadings to justify a sale?
Not on their own. The statute requires evidence independent of admissions in the pleadings or elsewhere in the proceedings — the court needs proof beyond what the parties assert.
Amendment History
Code 1950, §§ 8-675, 8-677, 8-681, 8-682, 8-683; 1952, c. 360; 1977, c. 617; 1997, c. 921.
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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