PUBLISHED

N.C.G.S. § 41-63

Termination of tenancy by the entirety other than upon death of a spouse; effects of termination.

Effective date: 2026-08-08
Last verified: 2026-08-09
Source: official source
Revision history: view all versions

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 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 General Statutes 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. The conveyance does not waive or release any of the following rights or claims that the grantor may have acquired by marriage in the property conveyed: a. A right to an elective life estate under G.S. 29-30, unless the instrument of conveyance expressly waives the right, as provided in G.S. 29-30(a)(2a). b. A right or claim to an equitable distribution with respect to the property under G.S. 50-20. A right or claim for equitable distribution shall not be waived or released in the instrument of conveyance. (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 General Statutes. The effect of a judgment when one spouse is an innocent person as defined in G.S. 75D-5(i) is governed by G.S. 75D-8(a). (1957, c. 598, s. 1; 1965, c. 878, s. 3; 1977, c. 375, s. 9; 2020-50, s. 1(a)-(c); 2025-25, s. 48(b).)