How do I claim or waive the surviving spouse’s yearly allowance under intestacy? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a surviving spouse can claim a $60,000 year’s allowance from the decedent’s personal property, regardless of whether there is a will, unless the spouse is disqualified or has waived the right. To claim, the…
What can I do if my sibling conflicts with my role as executor of my husband’s estate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, your first step is to open your husband’s estate and qualify as executor so the Clerk of Superior Court can issue Letters Testamentary. Those letters give you legal authority to…
How do I obtain letters testamentary so I can manage and distribute my husband’s assets? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you obtain Letters Testamentary by filing your husband’s original will, a death certificate, and an Application for Probate and Letters with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where he lived.…
How can I regain access to my late husband’s home and personal belongings when my sibling-in-law is blocking me? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you must first open your husband’s estate and qualify as executor to receive Letters Testamentary. With those letters, you have legal authority to collect and protect his personal…
Can I start my husband’s probate administration before his mother’s estate is fully closed? – North Carolina Short Answer Yes. In North Carolina, you can open your husband’s estate now; you do not have to wait for his mother’s estate to close. Once you qualify as executor and receive Letters Testamentary, you have authority to…
What steps do I need to open probate for my husband’s estate as the named executor? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, bring your husband’s original will to the Clerk of Superior Court (Estates Division) in the county where he lived, file the Application for Probate and Letters, take your oath, and—if required—post…
How do I pursue a wrongful death claim on her behalf? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, only a court-appointed personal representative (executor or administrator) can bring a wrongful death claim. If your child died without a will, you apply with the Clerk of Superior Court for Letters of Administration and then pursue…
Can I collect the accident insurance payout through her estate and how? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, accident (AD&D) or life insurance pays to the named beneficiary, not the estate. If the policy names the estate—or if no living beneficiary is listed—the proceeds become a probate asset and the personal representative (PR)…
What steps are needed to transfer inherited real property under a will after two years? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you generally probate the will (often without appointing a personal representative) to establish record title in the devisees and then convey by deed. Because more than two years have passed, a sale…
What do I need to do to clear back taxes on inherited real estate and avoid foreclosure? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, property tax liens attach to the land and must be paid to pass clear title or stop a county tax foreclosure. Because your mother died more than two years ago,…
