Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in North Carolina

Re: after exemptions are filed

The Clerk has to grant or deny your exemptions. If you have not received an Order in the mail, please check with the clerk's office. If your exemptions have been granted, all of the property you claimed as exempt is protected (Sheriff cannot take it).

The next thing that happens is depending on if the creditor asks for a writ of execution. If they do not, nothing happens. If they do, the Sheriff will either send you a letter or stop by and talk to you to let you know they have the writ and ask how you intend to pay the judgment. They normally do not just show up and sell things even if your exemptions are denied.

If you are still making payments, they cannot sell your property without getting past the bank you are making payments to.

Once the property is paid off, whether the sheriff will take it or not depends upon how much the property is worth and what kind of property it is (real estate versus a car, for example).

Nothing can be taken by the Sheriff unless there is a writ of execution pending. They can only serve you with a writ of execution once a year, and the writ is only active for a limited time.