Legal Question in Civil Litigation in North Carolina

Yes and no. First, if a judgment is issued against you, the exemption process is initiated. This is where you are served forms to protect property that the law allows. If you get these, you shoudl consult Legal Aid or an attorney on how to fill them out as if they are completed incorrectly, you could waive your protections.

Finally, judgment creditors cannot take assets of others including spouses, but this really only applies to items in which ownership can be proven such with cars or home that have titles. It will be difficult to show for instance that your wife owns the couch and not you. In NC, it is presummed that all non-titled property is marital property unless prove can be shown that the proeprty is in fact owned by one spouse. In all reality, judgment creditors typically only take cars, homes, and other very expensive items as they will be sold at auction and most household personal property will not bring much if anything at an auction.