Chap. 346.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Section 20 of Chapter 379, Acts 1938,
approved March 31, 1938, of which the short title is “Virginia Public Assistance
Act of 1938.”, so as.to provide for the recordation of notices of claims against
the estates of deceased recipients of public assistance and to prescribe the effect
thereof. | [HB 446]

Approved March 31, 1942

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That section
twenty of chapter three hundred and seventy-nine of the Acts of the Gen-
eral Assembly of nineteen hundred and thirty-eight, of which the short
title is “Virginia Public Assistance Act of 1938.”, be amended and re-
enacted, as follows: |
“Section 20. Recovery from estate of recipient—On the death of
any recipient of assistance, the total amount paid as such assistance under
this act shall be allowed as a claim against the estate of such recipient,
prior to all other claims except prior liens and except funeral expenses not
in excess of one hundred dollars, and except hospital bills, doctors’ bills
and medical expenses not in excess of one hundred and fifty dollars.

The local board may require the superintendent of public welfare to
execute and acknowledge, as deeds are required to be acknowledged, a
notice of such claim showing the total amount paid as such assistance,
which notice may be filed within one year after the death of the deceased
recipient, with the clerk of the court authorized to record deeds in the
county or city where the real estate of such recipient subject to such
claim is situated, and when so filed the clerk shall record it in the current
deed book and index it in the names both of the local board and the de-
ceased recipient. No fees shall be charged or collected by the clerk for
filing, recording or indexing any such notice. After the expiration of said
period of one year, such notice, when filed, récorded and indexed as afore-
said, shall have, as to purchasers, the same effect as though a creditors’
suit had been instituted and a memorandum of lis pendens duly filed and
recorded. : a
, No such claim shall be enforced against any real estate of the estate
of the recipient, however, while such real estate is occupied by the sur-
viving spouse of the recipient so long as such spouse remains unmarried,
or is occupied by any dependent infant child or children of the recipient.