NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 226

HOUSE BILL 590

 

 

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE A NOTARY PUBLIC TO EXAMINE WITNESSES TO A WILL AND TO REENACT G.S. 10-12, G.S. 10-13 AND G.S. 31-31.1 TO VALIDATE CERTAIN ACTS PERFORMED BY NOTARIES SINCE 1977.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 31-24 is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"§ 31-24.  Examination of witnesses before notary public. — The examination of witnesses to a will may be had, taken and subscribed in the form of an affidavit, before a notary public residing in the county and state in which the witnesses reside without regard to whether or not the will has been filed for probate in that county. The affidavits, so taken and subscribed, shall be transmitted by the notary public under his hand and official seal, to the clerk of the court before whom the will has been filed for probate. If such affidavits are, upon examination by the clerk, found to establish the facts necessary to be established before the clerk to authorize the probate of the will if the witnesses had appeared before him personally, then it shall be the duty of the clerk to order the will to probate, and record the will with the same effect as if the subscribing witnesses had appeared before him in person and been examined under oath."

Sec. 2.  G.S. 10-12, G.S. 10-13 and G.S. 31-31.1 as the same appear in the 1977 Cumulative Supplements to Volume 1B and 2A of the General Statutes are hereby reenacted in their entirety.

Sec. 3.  Nothing herein contained shall affect pending litigation.

Sec. 4.  Section 2 of this act shall apply only to those acts performed on or before the effective date of this act.

Sec. 5.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 29th day of March, 1979.