Articles related to Clerk of Superior Court - Page 3 of 6

UPDATE (June 28, 2021):  The federal moratorium on foreclosures and evictions from properties subject to foreclosure is extended for many loans. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that Fannie […]

A heightened level of service is required on a respondent to an incompetency proceeding in North Carolina.  G.S. 35A-1109 requires copies of the petition (SP-200) and the notice of hearing (SP-201) to be personally served on the respondent (the alleged incompetent adult).  As my colleague, Ann Anderson, discussed in an earlier post, because the use of private process servers is very limited in North Carolina, personal service is completed on the respondent by the sheriff in most cases.  Under the version of G.S. 35A-1109 in effect prior to May 4, 2020, service was not proper if the notice and petition were sent by FedEx, UPS, or regular mail or left with a family member at the respondent’s home or with a caregiver at a facility where the respondent resides. This heightened requirement of service on the respondent ensures that the respondent knows of the proceeding and knows the location, date, and time of the hearing. It reflects the significant impact an adjudication of incompetency has on a person’s rights to make decisions about his or her life and property.

UPDATE #3 (May 29, 2020): For more recent updates, refer to this blog post. UPDATE #2 (April 14, 2020):  The Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court entered two […]

During the 2019 legislative session, various changes were made to the laws impacting adoptions in North Carolina. Last week, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a Joint Resolution (Resolution 2020-1) adjourning the long session of the 2019 Regular Session and designating the start of the short session as April 28, 2020. This post summarizes the amendments impacting adoption proceedings that were made during the long session, all of which are currently in effect.

As I noted in a prior blog post, the US Congress restored the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) without expiration on June 23, 2018.   The PTFA has been […]

Financial exploitation of an older adult is a type of elder abuse.  It occurs in many forms.  A door-to-door home repairman defrauds an older adult out of her life savings.  […]

In connection with an upcoming class on guardianship, I recently surveyed a number of clerks of superior court (judicial officials who preside over guardianship cases in NC) about common post-appointment […]

If I had to guess, I would say the most common filing in a decedent’s estate is the year’s allowance.  Last year in NC, there were 18,000 filings for a year’s allowance.   There are two types of year’s allowance: one for children of the decedent and one for the spouse of the decedent.  This post focuses on some basics of the spousal year’s allowance.

UPDATE:  During the third extra session of 2018, the General Assembly passed House Bill 1025.  It was signed by Governor Cooper and became law effective December 14, 2018.  It is now Session Law 2018-142.  The full text is available here.  Senate Bill 778 did not pass.

UPDATE #2: Although SB 778 did not pass during the 2018 legislative session, Session Law 2019-178 incorporated identical provisions of SB 778 described in Sections A, C and D below.  Session Law 2019-178 went into effect on July 26, 2019.

In all of the hustle and bustle of news related to the budget, you may have missed a bill filed that impacts law regarding estates and powers of attorney.  Below are just some of the changes that would occur if Senate Bill 778 becomes law.  You can follow along with the progress of this bill here.   [Note, House Bill 1025 includes some of the changes in SB 778 related to powers of attorney as indicated below; HB 1025 does not include the living probate, estate administration, or electronic wills changes described in this post. You can follow along with the progress of HB 1025 here.]

I previously wrote about an agent’s authority to make gifts under the new North Carolina Uniform Power of Attorney Act (NCUPOAA) that went into effect in North Carolina on January 1, 2018.  There are two additional points to keep in mind if you are an agent, a third party, or a court examining the agent’s authority granted by the principal to make gifts under a POA.