The secretary or secretary-treasurer of each burial association shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, and for the faithful performance thereof, execute a bond payable to the Board of Funeral Service as trustee for the burial association in some bonding company licensed to do business in this State, to be approved by the Board of Funeral Service. Said bond shall be in an amount not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000), nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), in the discretion of the Board, for those associations whose assets, as determined by the Board’s audit, are ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or less. For those associations whose assets, as determined by the Board’s audit, are in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000), said bond shall be in an amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) plus twenty-five per centum (25%) of all assets over ten thousand dollars ($10,000); provided, however, that the bond required by this section shall not in any event exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). If any association operates a branch or subsidiary and the officers of both associations are the same, for purposes of this section, it shall be treated as one association. Any burial association, with the consent of the Board of Funeral Service, may give a bond secured by a deed of trust on real estate situated in North Carolina, in lieu of procuring said bond from a bonding company. The bond thus given shall not be acceptable in excess of the ad valorem tax value for the current year of the real estate securing said bond. The deed of trust shall be recorded in the county or counties wherein the land lies and shall be deposited with the Board of Funeral Service, name the Board as trustee for the burial association and must constitute a first lien on the property secured by the deed of trust. Said deed of trust shall contain a description of the encumbered property by metes and bounds together with evidence by title insurance policy or by certificate of an attorney-at-law, certifying that said trustor is the owner of a marketable fee simple title to such lands. (1941, c. 130, s. 15; 1943, c. 272, s. 5; 1967, c. 985, s. 2; 1975, c. 837; 1987, c. 864, s. 12; 1997-313, s. 5; 2003-420, ss. 1, 17(b).)