Insolvent Probate Estate Claim-Payment Priority in Virginia
At a glance
| Statutory payment order | Ten classes for insufficient assets in representative's possession (§ 64.2-528). |
|---|---|
| Administration costs | First: administration costs and expenses (§ 64.2-528(1)). |
| Funeral and last illness | Funeral expenses third, up to $5,000; last-illness hospital/nursing-home $4,000 each and persons furnishing services/goods $550 each, fifth (§ 64.2-528(3),(5)). |
| Family and homestead allowances | Article 2 allowances second (§ 64.2-528(2)). |
| Taxes and public claims | Federal-preference debts/taxes fourth; Commonwealth debts/taxes sixth; locality/municipal debts/taxes ninth (§ 64.2-528(4),(6),(9)). |
| Secured claims | Collateral priority of secured debt preserved (§ 64.2-531(F)); § 64.2-528 orders representative-held assets. |
| Support and special debts | Entrusted/fiduciary debts seventh; child-support arrears eighth (§ 64.2-528(7)–(8)). |
| General claims | All other claims tenth (§ 64.2-528(10)). |
| Underfunded class | No preference within a class or because a claim is already due (§ 64.2-528). |
Requirements one by one
Funeral and last illness
Section 64.2-528 puts funeral expenses in the third class, preferred only up to $5,000. Its fifth class covers last-illness medical and hospital expenses, with a $4,000 limit for each hospital and nursing home and $550 for each person furnishing services or goods.
Public and special debts
The statute separates federal-preference debts and taxes in class four from debts and taxes due the Commonwealth in class six and localities or municipal corporations in class nine. Class seven reaches specified debts arising from fiduciary appointments and money collected for another but not paid over. Child-support arrears occupy class eight.
Collateral and equal rank
Under § 64.2-531(F), a secured debt keeps its priority in its collateral. The ten-class rule in § 64.2-528 applies to assets in the representative's possession and forbids preferring one claim over another within the same class merely because it is already due.
What trips people up
Article 2 allowances take the second payment place, before funeral expenses. The fifth-class dollar limits are stated separately for each hospital or nursing home and each person furnishing services or goods; § 64.2-528 does not state a single combined last-illness cap.
Common questions
Does a state tax debt share the federal preference class? Section 64.2-528 places federal-preference debts and taxes fourth and Commonwealth debts and taxes sixth.
Where do claims outside the named classes go? Section 64.2-528(10) puts all other claims in the tenth class.
Statutes and sources
- Va. Code §§ 64.2-528 and 64.2-531(F). Verbatim current official text, URLs, and access dates appear in the source fields above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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