A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO UPDATE and clarify THE second class PRIORITY EXPENSEs and the gravestone authorization IN PROBATE PROCEEDINGS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 28A‑19‑6(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	After payment of costs and expenses of administration, the claims against the estate of a decedent must be paid in the following order:
First class. Claims which by law have a specific lien on property to an amount not exceeding the value of such property.
Second class. Funeral expenses to the extent of five thousand dollars ($5,000), costs associated with gravestone markers as provided in G.S. 28A‑19‑9(a), and reasonable costs for the purchase of a suitable burial place. The preferential limitation herein granted shall be construed to be only a limit with respect to preference of payment and shall not be construed to be a limitation on reasonable funeral expenses which may be incurred. The preferential limitation herein granted shall not be diminished by any Veterans Administration, social security or other federal governmental benefits awarded to the estate of the decedent or to his or her beneficiaries.
Third class. All dues, taxes, and other claims with preference under the laws of the United States.
Fourth class. All dues, taxes, and other claims with preference under the laws of the State of North Carolina and its subdivisions.
Fifth class. Judgments of any court of competent jurisdiction within the State, docketed and in force, to the extent to which they are a lien on the property of the decedent at his death.
Sixth class. Wages due to any employee employed by the decedent, which claim for wages shall not extend to a period of more than 12 months next preceding the death; or if such employee was employed for the year current at the decease, then from the time of such employment; for medical services within the 12 months preceding the decease; for drugs and all other medical supplies necessary for the treatment of such decedent during the last illness of such decedent, said period of last illness not to exceed 12 months.
Seventh class. A claim for equitable distribution.
Eighth class. All other claims."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 28A‑19‑9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 28A‑19‑9.  Gravestone and burial place authorized.
(a)	It is lawful for a personal representative to provide a suitable gravestone to mark the graves of the testator or intestate and to pay for the cost of erecting the same. The cost thereof shall be treated as a second class claim under G.S. 28A‑19‑6 and credited as such in final accounts. The costs thereof shall be in the sound discretion of the personal representative, having due regard to the value of the estate and to the interests of creditors and needs of the surviving spouse and the heirs and devisees of the estate. Where the personal representative desires to spend more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for the purpose of a gravestone and the will does not grant specific authority to the personal representative for such expenditures in excess of that amount, the personal representative shall file a petition before the clerk of the court, and such order as will be made by the court shall specify the amount to be expended for such purpose. Provided, however, that if the net estate is of a value in excess of  seventy‑five thousand dollars ($75,000), the personal representative may, in the personal representative's discretion, expend not more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) for this purpose without securing the order of the court required herein. If the estate is of a value in excess of seventy‑five thousand dollars ($75,000) and the personal representative desires to spend more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) for such purpose, and the will does not grant specific authority for such expenditure the personal representative shall file a petition and secure the order of the court herein required before expending funds for such purpose.
(b)	It is lawful for a personal representative to provide a suitable burial place for the testator or intestate. The cost of a suitable burial place shall be in the sound discretion of the personal representative, having due regard to the value of the estate and to the interests of creditors and needs of the surviving spouse and the heirs and devisees of the estate, and shall be treated as a second class claim under G.S. 28A‑19‑6."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009, and applies to estates of individuals dying on or after that date.