A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF THE YEAR'S ALLOWANCE FOR A SURVIVING SPOUSE and to make conforming changes to related provisions.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 30‑15 reads as rewritten:
"§ 30‑15.  When spouse entitled to allowance.
Every surviving spouse of an intestate or of a testator, whether or not he or she has petitioned for an elective share, shall, unless the surviving spouse has forfeited his or her right thereto, as provided by law, be entitled, out of the personal property of the deceased spouse, to an allowance of the value of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for the surviving spouse's support for one year after the death of the deceased spouse. Such allowance shall be exempt from any lien, by judgment or execution, acquired against the property of the deceased spouse, and shall, in cases of testacy, be charged against the share of the surviving spouse."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 30‑26 reads as rewritten:
"§ 30‑26.  When above allowance is in full.
If the estate of a deceased be insolvent, or if his or her personal estate does not exceed twenty  thousand dollars ($20,000), the allowances for the year's support of the surviving spouse and the children shall not, in any case, exceed the value prescribed in G.S. 30‑15 and G.S. 30‑17; and the allowances made to them as above prescribed shall preclude them from any further allowances."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 30‑29 reads as rewritten:
"§ 30‑29.  What complaint must show.
In the complaint the plaintiff shall set forth, besides the facts entitling plaintiff to a year's support and the value of the support claimed, the further facts that the estate of the decedent is not insolvent, and that the personal estate of which he or she died possessed exceeded twenty  thousand dollars ($20,000), and also whether or not an allowance has been made to plaintiff and the nature and value thereof."
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2010, and applies to estates of individuals dying on or after that date.