§ 44-86. Lien on real and personal property of person owing past-due child support; definitions; filing required; discharge. - North Carolina Statutes

Article15.

Liens for Overdue ChildSupport.

§ 44‑86.  Lien on realand personal property of person owing past‑due child support;definitions; filing required; discharge.

(a)        Definitions. – Asused in this Article, the terms "designated representative", "obligee",and "obligor" have the meanings given them in G.S. 110‑129.

(b)        Lien Created. –There is created a general lien upon the real and personal property of anyperson who is delinquent in the payment of court‑ordered child support.For purposes of this section, an obligor is delinquent when arrears under acourt‑ordered child support obligation equals three months of payments orthree thousand dollars ($3,000), whichever occurs first. The amount of the lienshall be determined by a verified statement of child support delinquencyprepared in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.

(c)        Contents ofStatement; Verification. – A verified statement of child support delinquencyshall contain the following information:

(1)        The caption and filedocket number of the case in which child support was ordered;

(2)        The date of theorder of support;

(3)        The amount of thechild support obligation established by the order; and

(4)        The amount of thearrearage as of the date of the statement.

The statement shall be verifiedby the designated representative in a IV‑D case and by the obligee in anon‑IV‑D case.

(d)        Filing andPerfection of Lien. – The verified statement shall be filed in the office ofthe clerk of superior court in the county in which the child support wasordered. At the time of filing the verified statement, the designatedrepresentative in a IV‑D case and the obligee in a non‑IV‑Dcase shall serve notice on the obligor that the statement has been filed. Thenotice shall be served and the return of service filed with the clerk of courtin accordance with Rule 4 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. Thenotice shall specify the manners in which the lien may be discharged. Uponperfection of the lien, as set forth herein, the clerk shall docket and indexthe statement on the judgment docket. The clerk shall issue a transcript of thedocketed statement to the clerk of any other county as requested by thedesignated representative in a IV‑D case or the obligee in a non‑IV‑Dcase. The clerk receiving the transcript shall docket and index the transcript.A lien on personal property attaches when the property is seized by thesheriff. A lien on real property attaches when the perfected lien is docketedand indexed on the judgment docket.

(1)        IV‑D Cases. –In IV‑D cases, the filing of a verified statement with the clerk of courtby the designated representative shall perfect the lien. The obligor maycontest the lien by motion in the cause.

(2)        Non‑IV‑DCases. – In a non‑IV‑D case, the notice to the obligor of thefiling of the verified statement shall state that the obligor has 30 days fromthe date of service to request a hearing before a district court judge tocontest the validity of the lien. If the obligor fails to contest the lienafter 30 days from the time of service, the obligee may make application to theclerk, and the clerk shall record and index the lien on the judgment docket. Ifthe obligee files a petition contesting the validity of the lien, a hearingshall be held before a district court judge to determine whether the lien isvalid and proper. In contested cases, the clerk of court shall record and indexthe lien on the judgment docket only by order of the judge. The docketing of averified statement in a non‑IV‑D case shall perfect the lien whenduly recorded and indexed.

(e)        Lien Superior toSubsequent Liens. – Except as otherwise provided by law, a lien established inaccordance with this section shall take priority over all other lienssubsequently acquired and shall continue from the date of filing untildischarged in accordance with G.S. 44‑87.

(f)         Execution on theLien. – A designated representative in a IV‑D case, after 30 days fromthe docketing of the perfected lien, or an obligee in a non‑IV‑Dcase, after docketing the perfected lien, may enforce the lien in the samemanner as for a civil judgment.

(g)        Liens Arising Out‑of‑State.– This State shall accord full faith and credit to child support liens arisingin another state when the child support enforcement agency, party, or otherentity seeking to enforce the lien complies with the requirements relating torecording and serving child support liens as set forth in this Article and withthe requirements relating to the enforcement of foreign judgments as set forthin Chapter 1C of the General Statutes. (1997‑433, s. 7; 1998‑17,s. 1.)