Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 116B-2.2

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • personal property: shall include moneys, goods, chattels, choses in action and evidences of debt, including all things capable of ownership, not descendable to heirs at law. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Testate: To die leaving a will.

Whenever the owner of any real or personal property situated or located within this State dies intestate, or dies testate but did not dispose of all real or personal property by will, without leaving surviving any heirs, as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 29-2(3), to inherit said property under the laws of this State, such real and personal property shall escheat. The State Treasurer shall have the right to institute a civil action in the superior court of any county in which such real or personal property is situated, against any administrator, executor, and unknown heirs or unknown claimants as party defendants, which unknown heirs or unknown claimants may be served with summons and notice of such action by publication as is now provided by the laws of this State. If an administrator or executor has been appointed, he shall make a determination that there are no known heirs or unknown claimants and shall inform the State Treasurer of that determination. The superior court in which such civil action is instituted shall have the authority to enter a judgment therein declaring the real and personal property unclaimed as having escheated, and the real property may be sold according to the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 116-2.1 [N.C. Gen. Stat. § 116B-2.1]. A default final judgment may be entered by the clerk of the superior court in such cases when no answer is filed by the administrator, executor, unknown heirs or unknown claimants to the complaint, or if any answer is filed, the allegations of the complaint are either admitted or not denied by such party defendants, and no claim is made in the answer to the property left by said deceased person. The funds derived from such sale shall be paid into the Escheat Fund where said funds, together with all other escheated funds, shall be held without liability for profit or interest, subject to any just claims therefor. (1957, c. 1105, s. 1; 1971, c. 1135, s. 2; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1311, s. 1; 2020-48, s. 3.1(c)-(e).)