HB306 • 2026

Wills and estates; claims to exempt property and allowances.

An Act to amend and reenact § 64.2-313 of the Code of Virginia, relating to wills and estates; claims to exempt property and allowances; title to real estate of a bona fide purchaser.

Children

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Carnegie
Last action: 2026-04-08
Official status: Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changes to Wills and Estates; Claims to Exempt Property

This act changes when family allowances, exempt property, or homestead allowances can be claimed and how real estate titles are affected by these claims.

What This Bill Does

Extends the time for claiming a family allowance, exempt property, or homestead allowance from one year after death to one year after either probate of the will or qualification of an administrator if there is no will.
Requires that any claim must be made in person before the court or recorded in writing with the court clerk's office.
Protects a buyer who purchases real estate without knowing about these claims, unless the claim is officially recorded within one year after death.

Who It Names or Affects

People making claims on estates
Courts handling probate and administration of estates
Real estate buyers

Terms To Know

bona fide purchaser: A person who buys property in good faith, without knowing about any existing claims against it.
homestead allowance: Money or property set aside to support a surviving spouse and children after someone dies.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if the claim is made late.
It's unclear how this change will affect existing claims that were made before the new law was passed.

Bill History

2026-04-08 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 381 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-08 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0381)
2026-03-31 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-31 House
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-30 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-30 House
Enrolled
2026-03-30 House
Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB306ER)
2026-03-10 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-10 Senate
Read third time
2026-03-10 Senate
Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-09 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-03-09 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-03-09 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-09 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-03-05 Courts of Justice
Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N)
2026-02-04 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
2026-02-04 Courts of Justice
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
2026-02-03 House
Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-02 House
Read second time
2026-02-02 House
committee substitute agreed to
2026-02-02 House
Engrossed by House - committee substitute
2026-01-30 House
Read first time
2026-01-28 Courts of Justice
Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (19-Y 0-N)
2026-01-28 Courts of Justice
Committee substitute printed 26106133D-H1
2026-01-26 Civil
Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N)
2026-01-26 Civil
House subcommittee offered
2026-01-22 Civil
Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
2026-01-09 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103487D
2026-01-09 Courts of Justice
Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

Official Summary Text

Wills and estates; claims to exempt property and allowances; title to real estate of a bona fide purchaser.
Directs that any election to take a family allowance, exempt property, or homestead allowance be made one year after the (i) time of admission of a decedent's will to probate or (ii) qualification of an administrator of the decedent's intestate estate, whichever is later. Current law requires such election of exempt property or allowances to be made within one year of the decedent's death. The bill also provides that the title to real estate of a bona fide purchaser acquired without notice of such election shall not be affected by such election unless such election is recorded in the appropriate circuit court clerk's office within one year after the decedent's death.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend and reenact §
64.2-313
of the Code of Virginia, relating to wills and estates; claims to exempt property and allowances; title to real estate of a bona fide purchaser.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
64.2-313
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
64.2-313
. When and how exempt property and allowances may be claimed; title to real estate of a bona fide purchaser.
Any election to take a family allowance, exempt property, or
a
homestead allowance shall be made
within
no later than
one year
from
after the later of the (i) time of admission of
the decedent's
death
will to probate or (ii) qualification of an administrator of the decedent's intestate estate
. The election shall be made either in person before the court having jurisdiction over probate or administration of the decedent's estate, or by a writing recorded in the court, or the clerk's office thereof, upon such acknowledgment or proof as would authorize a writing to be admitted to record under Chapter 6 (§
55.1-600
et seq.) of Title 55.1.
The title to real estate of a bona fide purchaser, as defined in §
64.2-100
, acquired without notice of such election, shall not be affected by such election unless the election is recorded in the clerk's office of the circuit court in which the real estate lies within one year after the decedent's death.