I often get asked what I do here at the School of Government. My work focuses on the areas of law where clerks of superior court exercise judicial authority. This response often elicits confusion – especially for people who work outside the NC court system. The next question is inevitably – clerks are judges? Well, the short answer is yes. In addition to carrying out the more traditional roles of a courthouse clerk, such as record-keeper, administrator, comptroller, and supervisor, the clerks of superior court of North Carolina also serve as judicial officials. This is unique to North Carolina. I am not aware of any other state where clerks carry out such a significant, if any, judicial role. So just who is the clerk of superior court and what are the areas of the clerk’s judicial authority? I thought I’d use this post to go over some of the highlights. Continue Reading
Archive
Tag: Clerk of Superior Court
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Preparing for the Effective Date: UAGPPJA Resources
Tomorrow, December 1, 2016, G.S. Chapter 35B goes into effect in North Carolina. The law incorporates provisions of the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA). As I noted in this earlier post, it applies to all new incompetency and adult guardianship proceedings filed on or after December 1st and requires the court to ensure jurisdiction is proper under Chapter 35B before proceeding with the case. Keep in mind that if a case is already pending as of December 1st, the court is not required to apply the G.S. Chapter 35B analysis related to jurisdiction for initial filings, even if the hearing takes place after December 1st.
UAGPPJA, as adopted in G.S. Chapter 35B, also provides a new mechanism for transferring existing adult guardianship cases to and from North Carolina and for registering out of state guardianship orders in North Carolina. The transfer and registration provisions apply as of December 1, 2016 to all cases in NC, regardless of whether they were filed before, on, or after that date.
The text of G.S. Chapter 35B is now available on the N.C. General Assembly’s website. Note the statutes were renumbered when they were codified. Therefore, the statutory references in the session law, S.L. 2016-72, are no longer correct. In addition to the primary law, I wanted to use this post to identify some other resources now available to assist with the implementation of UAGPPJA in N.C. Continue Reading
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A Parent’s Right to Inherit Intestate from a Child
A. The Statute
When a person dies without a will, the person dies intestate and the person’s property is distributed in accordance with the Intestate Succession Act (the “Act”) found in Chapter 29 of the North Carolina General Statutes. The Act states that if a person dies intestate without a spouse or lineal descendants (meaning children, grandchildren, etc.), the person’s parents are entitled to take equal shares of the person’s estate if both parents are alive. G.S. 29-2(4); G.S. 29-15(3). If only one parent is alive, then that surviving parent takes the entirety of the intestate estate. G.S. 29-15(3).
The parental right to inherit via intestate succession from a child is not an unqualified right. Under G.S. 31A-2, a parent who willfully abandons the care and maintenance of his or her child shall lose all rights to intestate succession in any part of the child’s estate. This bar includes any recovery from a wrongful death action because, pursuant to G.S. 28A-18-2(a), wrongful death proceeds are disposed of as provided in the Act, even though such assets pass outside of the estate.
Although a parent may have willfully abandoned a child, the parent may still inherit from a child if the parent is able to show an exception to the bar applies. The two exceptions listed in the statute are if the abandoning parent:
- Resumed care and maintenance at least one year prior to the death of the child and continued the same until the child’s death; or
- Was deprived of the custody of his or her child under an order of a court of competent jurisdiction and the parent has substantially complied with all orders of the court requiring contribution to the support of the child. G.S. 31A-2(1) and (2).
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Some Things to Remember About Interim Guardianship
Betty is 75 years old and lives alone. She was recently diagnosed with dementia. Betty’s daughter, Pam, helps look after her mother and pay her monthly bills, but has noticed a decline in Betty’s memory and ability to communicate. Upon reviewing Betty’s monthly bank statement, Pam noticed three large payments to companies Pam did not recognize. After some investigation, Pam discovered that the drafts were the result of a telemarketer scam. To stop future drafts, Pam went to the bank and asked them to close Betty’s account. However, the bank refused to close the account without Betty’s authorization and told Pam that she would need to obtain guardianship of Betty to be able to close the account. Betty refused to consent to close the account as she was afraid Pam was trying to take too much control over her life.
Pam went online, did some research, and decided to seek interim guardianship of her mother so that she can quickly block the telemarketers from accessing her mom’s account. What are some things Pam should keep in mind about interim guardianship before heading down to the courthouse? Continue Reading
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You Have a Right to Appeal My Incompetency?
** UPDATE: On October 4, 2016, the N.C. Court of Appeals published a decision, In re Dippel, in which the court applied G.S. 35A-1115 and G.S. 1-301.2 to hold that an aggrieved party has the right to appeal from the clerk’s order dismissing an incompetency proceeding. In that case, the court determined that the petitioner was an aggrieved party and could appeal from the clerk’s order. However, the court did not provide any analysis as to how the petitioner is aggrieved by the clerk’s order dismissing the incompetency proceeding pertaining to the respondent’s competency. The opinion therefore provides limited guidance going forward as to whether a person that is entitled to notice and is not the petitioner has a right to appeal the clerk’s order dismissing the incompetency proceeding as an aggrieved party. **
Bob and Mary have been married for 60 years. They live at home together but recently Mary’s health has started to decline significantly. Due to a concern over Mary’s ability to care for herself, a friend of Mary’s makes a report to the county department of social services (DSS). After an investigation, DSS decides to file a petition to adjudicate Mary incompetent and an application to have a guardian appointed on her behalf. DSS sends notice of the proceeding to both Bob and Jane, their daughter, as Mary’s next of kin. After a hearing, the clerk of superior court finds that Mary is incompetent and appoints Jane as her general guardian.
Bob comes to you as his attorney and states that he wants to appeal the clerk’s decision. Does he have standing to appeal? Continue Reading
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The Guardian of Last Resort
After receiving a report and finding a need for protective services, the county department of social services (DSS) requests the DSS attorney file a petition with the court to adjudicate Jane Doe an incompetent adult under G.S Chapter 35A. The matter is heard by the clerk of superior court. DSS, as the petitioner, has the burden of proof. Through the presentation of testimony and other evidence at the hearing, including a multidisciplinary evaluation ordered by the clerk and prepared by DSS, the clerk determines that there is clear, cogent and convincing evidence that Jane is incompetent and that her best interests will be served by appointing DSS as her guardian of the person. Continue Reading
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In re Foreclosure of Kenley: Proving Possession of the Note in a Power of Sale Foreclosure Proceeding
In an opinion published on January 5, 2016, a three-judge panel of the NC Court of Appeals addressed a frequently contested issue in power of sale foreclosure proceedings: whether the party seeking to foreclose by power of sale provided sufficient evidence to establish it was the holder of the note under G.S. 45-21.16(d)(i). See In re Foreclosure of Kenley, ____ N.C. App. ____ (Jan. 5, 2016). Continue Reading
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LME/MCOs and MDEs
What is an LME/MCO?
It often feels like the mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse (MH/DD/SA) fields and acronyms go hand in hand. These acronyms can be confusing and intimidating to people who are not intimately familiar with this area of the law and practice. This confusion is exacerbated by the fact that over the last few decades, there have been a number of changes to the delivery of public MH/DD/SA services in North Carolina. One of the major changes was the creation of local management entities/managed care organizations (LME/MCOs).
The purpose of the LME/MCO is to deliver MH/DD/SA services by using primarily state and federal resources appropriated to them by state government to authorize, pay for, manage, and monitor services provided by their network of private providers. See Mark F. Botts, Mental Health Services, in County and Municipal Government in North Carolina Ch. 40, at 683 (Frayda S. Bluestein ed., 2014). As of today, there are eight LME/MCOs under contract with the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to provide public MH/DD/SA services in North Carolina.
What is an MDE?
LME/MCOs overlap with the world of incompetency and adult guardianship proceedings filed before the clerk of superior court when it comes to the preparation and assembly of multidisciplinary evaluations (MDEs). An MDE is an important tool in an incompetency proceeding under G.S. Chapter 35A that is used to assist the court in determining: Continue Reading
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Rule 17 Stands Alone: The NC Rules of Civil Procedure and Estate Proceedings before the Clerk of Superior Court
Way back when in 2011, there was a significant legislative overhaul of estate proceedings in North Carolina. See G.S. 28A-2-4 (defining estate proceedings). With those changes, the primary statute governing the procedures for an estate proceeding is now G.S. 28A-2-6. Subsection (e) of G.S. 28A-2-6 addresses the application of the NC Rules of Civil Procedure to estate proceedings. Each rule of civil procedure generally falls into one of three categories when it comes to estate proceedings before the clerk of superior court:
- It applies (unless the clerk directs that it does not apply);
- It does not apply (unless the clerk directs that it does apply); or
- It is Rule 17.
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New(ish) Protections for Tenants Occupying Foreclosed Property
UPDATE: The federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act was restored without expiration, effective June 23, 2018. This federal law must be read in conjunction with G.S. 45-21.29 and G.S. 45-21.33A provisions. The full text of the PTFA is available here.
UPDATE #2: In response to the restoration of the federal PTFA, Session Law 2019-53 repealed G.S. 45-21.33A and references to G.S. 45-21.33A in G.S. 45-21.29.
The protections afforded to tenants in foreclosure proceedings under the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) of 2009 ended on December 31, 2014. The act expired and Congress did not extend it. Effective October 1, 2015, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted a law that partially fills the hole left by the expiration of the PTFA. This post covers some of the key changes and protections resulting from a new section G.S. 45-21.33A created by S.L. 2015-178 (H 174). Continue Reading