North Carolina General Statutes 41-61. Reimbursement for expenditures made on entireties property
(a) In the case of property held as tenants by the entirety, neither spouse is entitled to reimbursement from the other for expenditures made with respect to the property during the existence of the tenancy by the entirety, including payments made for recurring expenses, improvements, and payments made on indebtedness secured by a lien on the property.
(b) When the tenancy by the entirety is converted to a tenancy in common by absolute divorce or otherwise, responsibility for expenditures made with respect to the property held as tenants in common is allocated as provided by the law governing tenants in common.
(c) When the tenancy by the entirety is terminated by death, neither the surviving spouse nor the personal representative of the deceased spouse is entitled to reimbursement from the other for expenditures made with respect to the property during the existence of the tenancy by the entirety, including payments made for recurring expenses, improvements, and payments made on indebtedness secured by a lien on the property.
(d) Nothing in subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section does any of the following:
(1) Applies in any proceeding for equitable distribution or constitutes any limitation on the power of the court in any equitable distribution proceeding.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 41-61
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Tenancy by the entirety: A type of joint tenancy between husband and wife that is recognized in some States. Neither party can sever the joint tenancy relationship; when a spouse dies, the survivor acquires full title to the property.
- Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent
(2) Renders unenforceable the terms of any otherwise valid and enforceable provisions in a premarital agreement, postmarital agreement, or promissory note given by one spouse to the other.
(3) Affects any otherwise valid and enforceable lien or judgment. (2020-50, s. 1(a), (c); 2022-12, s. 1.)