Various General Statutes Commission Recommendations.
HB 40 is a technical correction bill that revises North Carolina's inheritance law regarding surviving spouses' property rights. It clarifies that a surviving spouse can choose between taking a life interest in one-third of the deceased spouse's real estate or a life interest in their primary residence (including household furnishings), whichever provides greater value. The bill details the election process, requiring a court filing within specific timeframes after death, and specifies how property must be formally allotted by a court-appointed jury. This change directly affects surviving spouses in probate cases involving real estate inheritance. The bill is currently pending in the House Judiciary Committee (as of February 2025).
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Jun 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Jun 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Feb 3, 2025
Signed Jun 26, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 6 comparisons
What changed between versions
Ratified
→
SL 2025-25
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was formally ratified and renumbered from HB 40 to Session Law 2025-25. A minor formatting change was made to the version identifier, and a blank line was added to a section regarding property exemptions for surviving spouses.
TECHNICAL
The bill title was updated from 'Ratified Bill' to 'Session Law 2025-25' to reflect its official enactment status.
The version identifier was updated from H40-v-5 to H40-v-6, indicating a revision in the legislative tracking system.
A blank line was inserted in the section detailing property exemptions for surviving spouses, likely a formatting adjustment.
Floor votes · Senate Jun 17, 2025 · House Jun 18, 2025
How they voted
47–0
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 51
Jun 17, 2025
D
Democratic20
85% Yea
R
Republican31
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
35
Key actions
11
Committee
9
Amendments
2
Jun 26, 2025
Signed into law
Signed by Gov. 6/26/2025
executive
Jun 18, 2025
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (111-0-10)
house
Jun 18, 2025
Lower · Passed
Concurred In S Com Sub
lower
Jun 17, 2025
Upper · Passed
Passed 3rd Reading
upper
Jun 16, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reptd Fav
upper
Jun 10, 2025
Committee
Re-ref Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
upper
Jun 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Com Substitute Adopted
upper
Jun 10, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reptd Fav Com Substitute
upper
May 27, 2025
Committee
Re-ref to Judiciary. If fav, re-ref to Rules and Operations of the Senate
upper
Feb 27, 2025
Committee
Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
upper
Feb 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed 3rd Reading
lower
Feb 26, 2025
Lower · Passed
Amend Adopted A1
lower
Feb 24, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reptd Fav
lower
Feb 11, 2025
Committee
Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
lower
Feb 11, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reptd Fav Com Substitute
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Committee
Ref to the Com on Judiciary 1, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
lower
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
Filed
lower
0 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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