NC
North Carolina Senate Bill S122

North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina Senate Bill S122 Compare Versions

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11 GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
22 SESSION 2025
3-S 1
4-SENATE BILL 122
3+S D
4+SENATE BILL DRS45015-MUz-4
5+
56
67
78 Short Title: GSC Unif. Community Prop. Disp. at Death Act. (Public)
89 Sponsors: Senator Galey (Primary Sponsor).
9-Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
10-February 24, 2025
11-*S122 -v-1*
10+Referred to:
11+
12+*DRS45015 -MUz-4*
1213 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
1314 AN ACT TO ENACT THE UNIFORM COMMUNITY PROPERTY DISPOSITION AT 2
1415 DEATH ACT, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL STATUTES COMMISSION . 3
1516 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
1617 SECTION 1. Chapter 31C of the General Statutes is repealed. 5
1718 SECTION 2. Chapter 30 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article 6
1819 to read: 7
1920 "Article 5. 8
2021 "Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act. 9
2122 "§ 30-41. Title. 10
2223 This Article may be cited as the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death Act. 11
2324 "§ 30-42. Definitions. 12
2425 In this Article, the following definitions apply: 13
2526 (1) Community-property spouse. – An individual in a marriage or other 14
2627 relationship that satisfies all of the following: 15
2728 a. Community property could be acquired under the relationship. 16
2829 b. The relationship remains in existence at the time of death of either 17
2930 party to the relationship. 18
3031 (2) Electronic. – Relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, 19
3132 wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. 20
3233 (3) Jurisdiction. – The United States, a state, a foreign country, or a political 21
3334 subdivision of a foreign country. 22
3435 (4) Partition. – Voluntarily divide property to which this Article otherwise would 23
3536 apply. 24
3637 (5) Person. – Defined in G.S. 28A-1-1. 25
3738 (6) Personal representative. – Defined in G.S. 28A-1-1. 26
3839 (7) Property. – Defined in G.S. 32C-1-102. 27
3940 (8) Reclassify. – To change the characterization or treatment of community 28
4041 property to property owned separately by community-property spouses. 29
4142 (9) Record. – Information inscribed on a tangible medium or stored in an 30
4243 electronic or other medium and retrievable in perceivable form. 31
4344 (10) Sign. – With present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to do either of 32
4445 the following: 33
4546 a. Execute or adopt a tangible symbol. 34
4647 b. Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, 35
47-sound, or process. 36 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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48+sound, or process. 36
49+FILED SENATE
50+Feb 21, 2025
51+S.B. 122
52+PRINCIPAL CLERK General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
53+Page 2 DRS45015-MUz-4
4954 (11) State. – Consists of the following: 1
5055 a. A state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the 2
5156 United States Virgin Islands, or any other territory or insular 3
5257 possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. 4
5358 b. An Indian tribe or band or Alaskan native village that is recognized by 5
5459 federal law or formally acknowledged by an entity listed in 6
5560 sub-subdivision a. of this subdivision. 7
5661 "§ 30-43. Included and excluded property. 8
5762 (a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, this Article applies to all of the following 9
5863 property of a community-property spouse, without regard to how the property is titled or held: 10
5964 (1) If a decedent was domiciled in this State at the time of death, all of the 11
6065 following property: 12
6166 a. All or a proportionate part of each item of personal property, wherever 13
6267 located, that was community property under the law of the jurisdiction 14
6368 where the decedent or the surviving community-property spouse was 15
6469 domiciled either when the community property was acquired or, after 16
6570 acquisition, became community property. 17
6671 b. Income, rent, profit, appreciation, or other increase derived from or 18
6772 traceable to property described in sub-subdivision a. of this 19
6873 subdivision. 20
6974 c. Personal property traceable to property described in sub-subdivision a. 21
7075 or b. of this subdivision. 22
7176 (2) Regardless of whether a decedent was domiciled in this State at the time of 23
7277 death, all of the following property: 24
7378 a. All or a proportionate part of each item of real property located in this 25
7479 State traceable to community property or acquired with community 26
7580 property under the law of the jurisdiction where the decedent or the 27
7681 surviving community-property spouse was domiciled either when the 28
7782 community property was acquired or, after acquisition, became 29
7883 community property. 30
7984 b. Income, rent, profit, appreciation, or other increase, derived from or 31
8085 traceable to property described in sub-subdivision a. of this 32
8186 subdivision. 33
8287 (b) If community-property spouses acquired community property by complying with the 34
8388 law of a jurisdiction that allows for creation of community property by transfer of property to a 35
8489 trust, this Article applies to the property only to the extent the property is held in the trust or 36
8590 characterized as community property by the terms of the trust or the law of the jurisdiction under 37
8691 which the trust was created. 38
8792 (c) This Article does not apply to the following property: 39
8893 (1) Property that community-property spouses have partitioned or reclassified. 40
8994 (2) Property that is the subject of a waiver of rights granted by this Article. 41
9095 "§ 30-44. Form of partition, reclassification, or waiver. 42
9196 (a) Community-property spouses domiciled in this State may partition or reclassify 43
9297 property to which this Article otherwise would apply. The partition or reclassification must be in 44
9398 a record signed by both community-property spouses. Unless both community-property spouses 45
9499 agree otherwise, partition of community property is presumed to result in each spouse owning a 46
95100 one-half separate property interest in each item of property addressed in the record. 47
96101 (b) A community-property spouse domiciled in this State may waive a right granted by 48
97102 this Article only by complying with the law of this State, including this State's choice-of-law 49
98103 rules, applicable to waiver of a spousal property right. 50
99104 "§ 30-45. Community property presumption. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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101106 This Article is presumed to apply to all property acquired by a community-property spouse 1
102107 when domiciled in a jurisdiction where property acquired by the community-property spouse was 2
103108 presumed to be community property under the law of that jurisdiction. This presumption may be 3
104109 rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence. 4
105110 "§ 30-46. Disposition of property at death. 5
106111 (a) One-half of the property to which this Article applies belongs to the surviving 6
107112 community-property spouse of a decedent and is not subject to disposition by the decedent at 7
108113 death. 8
109114 (b) One-half of the property to which this Article applies belongs to the decedent and is 9
110115 subject to disposition by the decedent at death. 10
111116 (c) The property that belongs to the decedent under subsection (b) of this section is not 11
112117 subject to the surviving community-property spouse's right to petition for an elective share under 12
113118 Article 1A of this Chapter or the surviving community-property spouse's right to elect a life estate 13
114119 under Article 8 of Chapter 29 of the General Statutes. 14
115120 (d) This section does not apply to property transferred by right of survivorship or under 15
116121 a revocable trust or other nonprobate transfer. 16
117122 (e) This section does not limit the right of a surviving community-property spouse to the 17
118123 year's allowance under Article 4 of this Chapter or the property exemptions under Article X of 18
119124 the North Carolina Constitution and Article 16 of Chapter 1C of the General Statutes. 19
120125 (f) If at death a decedent purports to transfer to a third person property that, under this 20
121126 section, belongs to the surviving community-property spouse and transfers other property to the 21
122127 surviving community-property spouse, this section does not limit the authority of the court under 22
123128 other laws of this State to require that the community-property spouse elect between retaining 23
124129 the property transferred to the community-property spouse or asserting rights under this Article. 24
125130 "§ 30-47. Other remedies available at death. 25
126131 (a) At the death of a community-property spouse, the surviving community-property 26
127132 spouse or a personal representative, heir, or nonprobate transferee of the decedent may assert a 27
128133 right based on either of the following acts: 28
129134 (1) An act of the surviving community-property spouse or decedent during the 29
130135 marriage or other relationship under which community property then could be 30
131136 acquired. 31
132137 (2) An act of the decedent that takes effect at the death of the decedent. 32
133138 (b) In determining a right under subsection (a) of this section and corresponding remedy, 33
134139 the court shall apply equitable principles and may consider the community property law of the 34
135140 jurisdiction where the decedent or surviving community-property spouse was domiciled when 35
136141 the property was acquired or enhanced. 36
137142 "§ 30-48. Right of surviving community-property spouse. 37
138143 (a) The surviving community-property spouse of a decedent may assert a claim for relief 38
139144 with respect to a right under this Article in accordance with the following: 39
140145 (1) With respect to a claim for relief asserting a right in or to property, the 40
141146 surviving community-property spouse must do either of the following: 41
142147 a. Within one year of the decedent's date of death, commence a civil 42
143148 action in superior court against an heir, devisee, or nonprobate 43
144149 transferee that is in possession of the property. 44
145150 b. Within six months after the issuance of letters testamentary or letters 45
146151 of administration in connection with the decedent's testate or intestate 46
147152 proceeding, file a petition with the clerk of superior court or 47
148153 commence a civil action in superior court in the county in which the 48
149154 primary administration of the decedent's estate lies. A petition with the 49
150155 clerk of superior court shall be filed as an estate proceeding, and the 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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152157 proceeding shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures of 1
153158 Article 2 of Chapter 28A of the General Statutes. 2
154159 (2) With respect to a claim for relief other than a claim under subdivision (a)(1) 3
155160 of this section, the surviving community-property spouse must do either of the 4
156161 following: 5
157162 a. If a personal representative of the decedent's estate is not appointed, 6
158163 commence a civil action in superior court within one year of the 7
159164 decedent's date of death. 8
160165 b. Satisfy the procedural requirements of sub-subdivision (a)(1)b. of this 9
161166 section. 10
162167 (3) The incapacity of the surviving spouse does not toll the time for commencing 11
163168 an action or filing a petition as provided in this section. 12
164169 (b) Unless a timely demand is made under sub-subdivision (a)(1)b. or (a)(2)b. of this 13
165170 section, the personal representative may distribute the assets of the decedent's estate without 14
166171 personal liability for a community-property spouse's claim under this Article. 15
167172 "§ 30-49. Right of heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee. 16
168173 An heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee of a deceased community-property spouse may 17
169174 assert a claim for relief with respect to a right under this Article in accordance with the following: 18
170175 (1) With respect to a claim asserting a right in or to property, the heir, devisee, or 19
171176 nonprobate transferee must do either of the following: 20
172177 a. Within one year of the decedent's date of death, commence a civil 21
173178 action in superior court against the surviving community-property 22
174179 spouse who is in possession of the property. 23
175180 b. Satisfy the procedural requirements of G.S. 30-48(a)(1)b. 24
176181 (2) With respect to a claim for relief other than a claim under subdivision (1) of 25
177182 this section, the heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee must do either of the 26
178183 following: 27
179184 a. If a personal representative of the decedent's estate is not appointed, 28
180185 commence a civil action in superior court within one year of the 29
181186 decedent's date of death. 30
182187 b. Satisfy the procedural requirements of G.S. 30-48(a)(1)b. 31
183188 (3) The incapacity of the heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee does not toll the 32
184189 time for commencing an action or filing a petition as provided in this section. 33
185190 "§ 30-50. Protection of third person. 34
186191 (a) With respect to property to which this Article applies, a person is not liable under this 35
187192 Article if all of the following apply: 36
188193 (1) The person transacts in good faith and for value with either of the following: 37
189194 a. A community-property spouse. 38
190195 b. After the death of the decedent, a surviving community-property 39
191196 spouse, personal representative, heir, devisee, or nonprobate transferee 40
192197 of the decedent. 41
193198 (2) The person does not know or have reason to know that the other party to the 42
194199 transaction is exceeding or improperly exercising the party's authority. 43
195200 (b) Good faith under subdivision (a)(1) of this section does not require the person to 44
196201 inquire into the extent or propriety of the exercise of authority by the other party to the 45
197202 transaction. 46
198203 (c) With respect to real property to which this Article applies, a lien creditor or a 47
199204 purchaser for value of the property is not liable under this Article unless, before the lien was 48
200205 acquired or the purchase was made, the community-property spouses gave notice in a registered 49
201206 instrument of their intention for this Article to apply to the property. Priority among this 50
202207 registered instrument and other registered instruments is governed by G.S. 47-18. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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204209 "§ 30-51. Principles of law and equity. 1
205210 The principles of law and equity supplement this Article except to the extent inconsistent 2
206211 with this Article. 3
207212 "§ 30-52. Uniformity of application and construction. 4
208213 In applying and construing this Article, a court shall consider the promotion of uniformity of 5
209214 the law among jurisdictions that enact the Uniform Community Property Disposition at Death 6
210215 Act." 7
211216 SECTION 3. G.S. 28A-2-4 reads as rewritten: 8
212217 "§ 28A-2-4. Subject matter jurisdiction of the clerk of superior court in estate proceedings. 9
213218 (a) The clerks of superior court of this State, as ex officio judges of probate, shall have 10
214219 original jurisdiction of estate proceedings. Except as provided in subdivision (4) of this 11
215220 subsection, the jurisdiction of the clerk of superior court is exclusive. Estate proceedings include, 12
216221 but are not limited to, the following: 13
217222 … 14
218223 (4) Proceedings to ascertain heirs or devisees, to approve settlement agreements 15
219224 pursuant to G.S. 28A-2-10, to determine questions of construction of wills, to 16
220225 determine priority among creditors, to determine whether a person is in 17
221226 possession of property belonging to an estate, to order the recovery of property 18
222227 of the estate in possession of third parties, to determine a claim for relief 19
223228 regarding the disposition of community property at death as provided in 20
224229 Article 5 of Chapter 30 of the General Statutes, and to determine the existence 21
225230 or nonexistence of any immunity, power, privilege, duty, or right. Any party 22
226231 or the clerk of superior court may file a notice of transfer of a proceeding 23
227232 pursuant to this subdivision to the Superior Court Division of the General 24
228233 Court of Justice as provided in G.S. 28A-2-6(h). In the absence of a transfer 25
229234 to superior court, Article 26 of Chapter 1 of the General Statutes shall apply 26
230235 applies to an estate proceeding pending before the clerk of superior court to 27
231236 the extent consistent with this Article. 28
232237 (b) Nothing in this section shall affect affects the right of a person to file an action in the 29
233238 Superior Court Division of the General Court of Justice for declaratory relief under Article 26 of 30
234239 Chapter 1 of the General Statutes. In the event that either the petitioner or the respondent in an 31
235240 estate proceeding requests declaratory relief under Article 26 of Chapter 1 of the General 32
236241 Statutes, either party may move for a transfer of the proceeding to the Superior Court Division 33
237242 of the General Court of Justice as provided in Article 21 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes. 34
238243 In the absence of a removal to superior court, Article 26 of Chapter 1 of the General Statutes 35
239244 shall apply applies to an estate proceeding to the extent consistent with this Article. 36
240245 (c) Without otherwise limiting the jurisdiction of the Superior Court Division of the 37
241246 General Court of Justice, the clerk of superior court shall does not have jurisdiction under 38
242247 subsection (a) or (b) of this section or G.S. 28A-2-5 of the following: 39
243248 … 40
244249 (4) Proceeding Proceedings to determine proper county of venue as provided in 41
245250 G.S. 28A-3-2. 42
246251 …." 43
247252 SECTION 4. If a provision of this act or its application to a person or circumstance 44
248253 is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect another provision or application that can be given 45
249254 effect without the invalid provision. 46
250255 SECTION 5. The Revisor of Statutes shall cause to be printed, as annotations to the 47
251256 published General Statutes, all relevant portions of the Official Comments to the Uniform 48
252257 Community Property Disposition at Death Act and all explanatory comments of the drafters of 49
253258 this act as the Revisor may deem appropriate. 50 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
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255260 SECTION 6. If a right with respect to property to which this act applies is acquired, 1
256261 extinguished, or barred on the expiration of a limitation period that began to run under another 2
257262 statute before the effective date of this act, that statute continues to apply to the right even if the 3
258263 statute has been repealed or superseded by this act. 4
259264 SECTION 7. This act becomes effective January 1, 2026. Except as provided in 5
260265 Section 6 of this act, this act applies to a judicial proceeding commenced on or after that date, 6
261266 regardless of the date of death of the decedent. 7