NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1967 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 960

HOUSE BILL 562

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND G.S. 143-126 PROVIDING FOR THE RECORDATION OF A LIEN FOR STATE MENTAL HOSPITALS' CHARGES UPON THE DEATH OF A PATIENT.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 143-126 is hereby amended by designating the present Section as subsection (a) thereof and by adding new subsections to read as follows:

"(b)      Upon the death of a patient, the Board of Mental Health or their duly authorized agents shall file a statement containing the following:

(1)        The name of the patient;

(2)        The date of the patient's death;

(3)        The inclusive dates of hospitalization;

(4)        The name of the hospital or hospitals providing care; and

(5)        The amount of the unpaid balance as evidenced by a certified statement of account.

Such statement shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county of residence of the deceased patient and may be filed in the county or counties in which real property is located in which the deceased patient owns an interest. The statement shall be filed and indexed by the Clerk.

"(c)       From the time of filing, such statement shall be and constitute due notice of a lien against the real property then owned in whole or in part by the deceased patient and lying in such county to the extent of the total amount of the unpaid balance for the patient's support and maintenance as evidenced by the certified statement of account. Payments made by a fiduciary including those made by a Clerk of Superior Court, in full or partial satisfaction of such lien, shall constitute a valid expenditure as provided in G.S. 143-119.

"(d)      No action to enforce such lien may be brought more than three years from the date of death of the patient. The failure to bring such action or the failure of the Board or its duly authorized agents to file such statement shall not be a complete bar against recovery but shall only extinguish the lien and priority thereby established.

"(e)       Upon receipt of the unpaid balance by the State institution or Board or upon agreement of compromise of such unpaid balance, the Board of Mental Health or its duly authorized agents shall notify the Clerks of Superior Court who shall have recorded the lien and shall indicate that such unpaid balance has been paid and the Clerks shall cancel the lien of record."

Sec. 3.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 4.  This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 27th day of June, 1967.