§28B-10. Specific property valued at more than $5,000; summary procedure

(a)        If the spouse, or the next of kin if there is no spouse, of any person defined as an absentee in military service under this Chapter shall wish to sell, lease, or mortgage specific property having a gross value of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more owned by the absentee in military service or in which the absentee has an interest, or take specific action with respect to any interest of the absentee in military service having a gross value of five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more, such spouse may file a complaint with the superior court for an order authorizing the action with respect to such property or interest.

(b)        The complaint shall contain all of the information called for by G.S. 28B-2(b) and, in addition, shall contain a description of the  specific property or interest and the disposition to be made of it.

(c)        The court shall hear evidence on the question of whether the person alleged to be missing or captured is an absentee in military service as defined by G.S. 28B-1 and on the question of whether the action in question should be authorized. Any person interested in such proceedings may intervene with leave of the court.

(d)       The court may in its discretion appoint a guardian ad litem to  represent the alleged absentee in military service at the hearing.

(e)        If, after hearing, the court is satisfied that the person alleged to be an absentee in military service is, in fact, an absentee in military service as defined in G.S. 28B-1, and that the action is in the best interest of the absentee in military service and his dependents, the court shall enter an order appointing the petitioner as receiver for the purposes of the specific action which is the subject of the complaint and authorizing the receiver to take the specific action requested in the complaint. The court shall require the receiver to account for the proceeds of the specific sale, the specific lease, or other specific action. The court may retain jurisdiction of the proceeding to make such further orders as it deems proper.

(f)        Such order shall be prima facie evidence of the validity of the proceedings and the authority of the petitioner to take the specific action requested.

(g)        Other property of the absentee in military service not the specific subject of the complaint is not affected in any manner by the filing of such complaint as provided for in this section.

(1973, c. 522, s. 10.)