The residue of a decedent‘s estate consisting of real property belonging to the Commonwealth, or subject to escheat to the Commonwealth, and any such property abandoned or derelict, or having no rightful owner, may be recovered from any person in possession thereof by an escheator by a complaint in the name of the Commonwealth. For his services in such recovery, the escheator shall be entitled to such fee as may be approved by the State Treasurer, but in no event shall such fee exceed 10 percent of the value of such recovered property.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 55.1-2435

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245

Code 1919, § 518; Code 1950, § 55-197; 1956, c. 15; 1966, c. 251; 1977, c. 583; 1981, c. 514; 1984, c. 315; 2019, c. 712.

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