GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2011
SESSION LAW 2011-29
SENATE BILL 248
AN ACT to update certain terminology in reference to persons with disabilities, as recommended by the general statutes commission.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 1-255 reads as rewritten:
"§ 1-255. Who may apply for a declaration.
Any person interested as or through an executor,
administrator, trustee, guardian or other fiduciary, creditor, devisee, legatee,
heir, next of kin, or cestui que trust, in the administration of a trust, or of
the estate of a decedent, an infant, lunatic, or insolvent,a minor,
an incompetent person, or an insolvent person, may have a declaration of
rights or legal relations in respect thereto:
(1) To ascertain any class of creditors, devisees, legatees, heirs, next of kin or others; or
(2) To direct the executors, administrators, or trustees to do or abstain from doing any particular act in their fiduciary capacity; or
(3) To determine any question arising in the administration of the estate or trust, including questions of construction of wills and other writings.
(4) To determine the apportionment of the federal estate tax, interest and penalties under the provisions of Article 27 of Chapter 28A."
SECTION 2. Rule 601 of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence, as contained in G.S. 8C-1, reads as rewritten:
"Rule 601. General rule of competency; disqualification of witness.
(a) General rule. - Every person is competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided in these rules.
(b)
Disqualification of witness in general. - A person is disqualified to testify
as a witness when the court determines that he the person is (1)
incapable of expressing himself or herself concerning the matter as to
be understood, either directly or through interpretation by one who can
understand him,him or her, or (2) incapable of understanding the
duty of a witness to tell the truth.
(c) Disqualification
of interested persons. - Upon the trial of an action, or the hearing upon the
merits of a special proceeding, a party or a person interested in the event, or
a person from, through or under whom such a party or interested person derives
his or her interest or title by assignment or otherwise, shall not be
examined as a witness in his or her own behalf or interest, or in behalf
of the party succeeding to his or her title or interest, against the
executor, administrator or survivor of a deceased person, or the committee
of a lunatic,guardian of an incompetent person, or a person deriving
his or her title or interest from, through or under a deceased or
incompetent person or lunatic, by assignment or otherwise,
concerning any oral communication between the witness and the deceased person
or lunatic.or incompetent person. However, this subdivision shall
not apply when:
(1) The executor,
administrator, survivor, committee guardian, or person so
deriving title or interest is examined in his or her own behalf
regarding the subject matter of the oral communication.
(2) The testimony of
the lunatic or deceased or incompetent person is given in
evidence concerning the same transaction or communication.
(3) Evidence of the
subject matter of the oral communication is offered by the executor,
administrator, survivor, committee guardian or person so deriving
title or interest.
Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude testimony as to the identity of the operator of a motor vehicle in any case."
SECTION 3. G.S. 14-113 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-113. Obtaining money by false representation of
physical defect.disability.
It shall be unlawful for any person to falsely represent
himself or herself in any manner whatsoever as blind, deaf, dumb, or
crippled unable to speak, or otherwise physically defective disabled
for the purpose of obtaining money or other thing of value or of making
sales of any character of personal property. Any person so falsely representing
himself or herself as blind, deaf, dumb, crippled or otherwise physically
defective, and securing aid or assistance on account of such
representation, shall be deemed guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor."
SECTION 4. G.S. 43-12 reads as rewritten:
"§ 43-12. Effect of decree; approval of judge.
Every decree rendered as hereinbefore provided shall bind the
land and bar all persons and corporations claiming title thereto or interest
therein; quiet the title thereto, and shall be forever binding and conclusive
upon and against all persons and corporations, whether mentioned by name
in the order of publication, or included under the general description,
"to whom it may concern"; and every such decree so rendered, or a
duly certified copy thereof, as also the certificate of title issued thereon to
the person or corporation therein named as owner, or to any subsequent
transferee or purchaser, shall be conclusive evidence that such person or
corporation is the owner of the land therein described, and no other evidence
shall be required in any court of this State of his his, her, or
its right or title thereto. It shall not be an exception to such conclusiveness
that the a person is an infant, lunatic a minor, is
incompetent, or is under any disability, but such person may have recourse
upon the indemnity fund hereinafter provided for, for any loss he the
person may suffer by reason of being so concluded. Notwithstanding the
provisions of G.S. 43-10, such decrees shall not be binding on and include
the State of North Carolina or any of its agencies unless the State of North
Carolina is made a party to the proceeding and notice of said proceeding and
copy of petition, etc., are served upon the State of North Carolina as provided
in this Chapter. Such decrees shall, in addition to being signed by the clerk
of the court, be approved by the judge of the superior court, who shall review
the whole proceeding and have power to require any reformation of the process,
pleading, decrees or entries."
SECTION 5. On the next occasion that the State Banking Commission amends 04 NCAC 03D .0301, the Commission shall revise the definition of "fiduciary" so that it no longer contains the word "lunatics."
SECTION 6. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 4th day of April, 2011.
s/ Walter H. Dalton
President of the Senate
s/ Dale R. Folwell
Speaker Pro Tempore of the House of Representatives
s/ Beverly E. Perdue
Governor
Approved 10:35 a.m. this 7th day of April, 2011