North Carolina § 28A-2A-4 - Clerk shall compel production of will.

§ 28A-2A-4. Clerk shall compel production of will.

Every clerk of the superior court having jurisdiction, on application by affidavit setting forth the facts, shall, by summons, compel any person in the State, having in possession the last will of any decedent, to exhibit the same in his court for probate; and whoever being duly summoned refuses, in contempt of the court, to produce such will, or (the same having been parted with by him) refuses to inform the court on oath where such will is, or in what manner he has disposed of it, shall, by order of the clerk of the superior court, be committed to the jail of the county, there to remain without bail till such will be produced or accounted for, and due submission made for the contempt. History (C.C.P., s. 442; Code, s. 2154; Rev., s. 3124; C.S., s. 4141; 2011-344, ss. 3, 4.) Cross References. - As to larceny, concealment, or destruction of wills, see G.S. 14-77 . Editor's Note. - This section was formerly G.S. 31-15. It was recodified as G.S. 28A-2A-4 by Session Laws 2011-344, s. 3, effective January 1, 2012, and applicable to estates of decedents dying on or after that date. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-344, s. 4, effective January 1, 2012, and applicable to estates of decedents dying on or after that date, substituted "shall compel" for "may compel" in the section catchline. Legal Periodicals. - For note on the problem of after-discovered wills, see 47 N.C.L. Rev. 723 (1969).