§ 8.01-81.1.Determination of value.

This section builds a valuation step into every partition case before the court decides how to divide or dispose of the property. The default rule in subsection A requires the court to order an appraisal, with the plaintiff — and any other parties the court designates — advancing the expense, which is then taxed as costs and shared according to each party’s interest in the property.

Two exceptions relax that default. Under subsection B, if every party agrees on the property’s value, or on another method for valuing it, the court adopts that agreed value or method. Under subsection C, if the court decides an appraisal’s evidentiary value is outweighed by its cost, the court can skip it and instead hold an evidentiary hearing to determine fair market value directly.

When an appraisal is ordered, subsection D requires the court to appoint a disinterested, Virginia-licensed real estate appraiser to value the property as if it were owned outright in fee simple. The appraiser files a sworn or verified appraisal and, within three business days, mails all counsel of record a notice stating the appraised value, that the appraisal is available at the clerk’s office, and that any party may object within 30 days by stating grounds. Once that appraisal is filed, subsection E requires a hearing — held no sooner than 31 days after the notice went out, whether or not anyone objected — where the court may also weigh other evidence of value, including opinions from appraisers the parties retained on their own. Subsection F then requires the court to enter an order fixing the fair market value before it turns to the merits of the partition action itself.