Article X - Homesteads And Exemptions

N.C. Const. (1971)

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Section 1

The personal property of any resident of this State, to a
value fixed by the General Assembly but not less than $500, to be selected by
the resident, is exempted from sale under execution or other final process of
any court, issued for the collection of any debt.

Section 2

(1) Exemption from sale; exceptions. Every homestead
and the dwellings and buildings used therewith, to a value fixed by the General
Assembly but not less than $1,000, to be selected by the owner thereof, or in
lieu thereof, at the option of the owner, any lot in a city or town with the
dwellings and buildings used thereon, and to the same value, owned and occupied
by a resident of the State, shall be exempt from sale under execution or other
final process obtained on any debt. But no property shall be exempt from sale
for taxes, or for payment of obligations contracted for its purchase.
(2) Exemption for benefit of children. The homestead,
after the death of the owner thereof, shall be exempt from the payment of any
debt during the minority of the owner's children, or any of them.
(3) Exemption for benefit of surviving spouse. If the
owner of a homestead dies, leaving a surviving spouse but no minor children,
the homestead shall be exempt from the debts of the owner, and the rents and
profits thereof shall inure to the benefit of the surviving spouse until he or
she remarries, unless the surviving spouse is the owner of a separate
homestead.
(4) Conveyance of homestead. Nothing contained in
this Article shall operate to prevent the owner of a homestead from disposing
of it by deed, but no deed made by a married owner of a homestead shall be
valid without the signature and acknowledgement of his or her spouse.

Section 3

The General Assembly shall provide by proper legislation for
giving to mechanics and laborers an adequate lien on the subject-matter of
their labor. The provisions of Sections 1 and 2 of this Article shall not be
so construed as to prevent a laborer's lien for work done and performed for the
person claiming the exemption or a mechanic's lien for work done on the
premises.

Section 4

The real and personal property of any female in this State
acquired before marriage, and all property, real and personal, to which she
may, after marriage, become in any manner entitled, shall be and remain the
sole and separate estate and property of such female, and shall not be liable
for any debts, obligations, or engagements of her husband, and may be devised
and bequeathed and conveyed by her, subject to such regulations and limitations
as the General Assembly may prescribe. Every married woman may exercise powers
of attorney conferred upon her by her husband, including the power to execute
and acknowledge deeds to property owned by herself and her husband or by her
husband.

Section 5

A person may insure his or her own life for the sole use and
benefit of his or her spouse or children or both, and upon his or her death the
proceeds from the insurance shall be paid to or for the benefit of the spouse
or children or both, or to a guardian, free from all claims of the representatives
or creditors of the insured or his or her estate. Any insurance policy which
insures the life of a person for the sole use and benefit of that person's
spouse or children or both shall not be subject to the claims of creditors of
the insured during his or her lifetime, whether or not the policy reserves to
the insured during his or her lifetime any or all rights provided for by the
policy and whether or not the policy proceeds are payable to the estate of the
insured in the event the beneficiary or beneficiaries predecease the insured.