Events terminating a tenancy by the entirety other than the death of a spouse and the effects of termination include the following:

(1)        The voluntary sale and conveyance of property held as tenants by the entirety to a third party, including a foreclosure sale pursuant to a power of sale in a deed of trust. Proceeds of the sale, including surplus funds generated from a foreclosure sale, are personal property held by the spouses as tenants in common.

(2)        The voluntary partition between the spouses executing a joint instrument conveying the property held as tenants by the entirety to themselves as tenants in common or in severalty.

(3)        The involuntary transfer of title of property held by spouses as tenants by the entirety. The proceeds resulting from the transfer are held by the spouses as tenants by the entirety. An involuntary transfer of title includes:

a.         A sale pursuant to Article 15 of Chapter 35A of the N.C. Gen. Stat. as to an incompetent spouse.

b.         An appropriation in a condemnation proceeding by the North Carolina State Highway Commission.

(4)        The conveyance from one spouse to the other spouse of his or her interest in property held as tenants by the entirety. The conveyance vests the property or interest formerly held as tenants by the entirety in the other spouse. The joinder of a spouse in a conveyance made by the grantor pursuant to this subdivision is not necessary, but the conveyance is subject to the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52-10 or N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52-10.1, except that an acknowledgment by the spouse of the grantor is not necessary.

(5)        An absolute divorce of the spouses. An absolute divorce converts property held as tenants by the entirety to a tenancy in common.

(6)        A judgment of forfeiture ordering divestment of an interest in tenancy by the entirety pursuant to Chapter 75D of the N.C. Gen. Stat.. The effect of a judgment when one spouse is an innocent person as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75D-5(i) is governed by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75D-8(a). ?(1957, c. 598, s. 1; 1965, c. 878, s. 3; 1977, c. 375, s. 9; 2020-50, s. 1(a)-(c).)

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Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 41-63

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • 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
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • 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
  • 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