How North Carolina Courts Split Attorney Fees When Co-Owners Battle Over a Partition Detailed Answer When two or more co-owners cannot agree on what to do with shared real estate, one may file a partition action to force either a physical division (partition in kind) or a court-ordered sale. Because each owner may hire separate…
Steps to Obtain a Court-Ordered Survey Paid From Sale Proceeds in a North Carolina Partition Action Detailed Answer In a North Carolina partition action, the court may require a current survey to establish metes and bounds, locate improvements, or confirm acreage before an in-kind division or a court-ordered sale. Below is the step-by-step roadmap for…
Detailed Answer In many North Carolina partition actions the property must be surveyed before the court can approve either a physical division (partition in kind) or a court-ordered sale. Paying a surveyor out of the eventual sale proceeds—rather than writing a check up front—can ease cash-flow for the co-owners. Below is a step-by-step approach that…
Sharing Survey Costs in a North Carolina Partition – What If Some Co-Owners Stay Silent? Quick Answer North Carolina law gives a cooperative co-owner several tools to fund a land survey when other owners refuse to respond. You may: Sign a private cost-sharing agreement with the willing owners and reserve repayment rights against the quiet…
Old Will Found Decades Later? How to Verify and Probate It in North Carolina Quick Answer You may still probate a decades-old North Carolina will if you can (1) present the original or prove a lost copy, (2) satisfy the signature and witness requirements in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 31-3.3 and § 31-3.4, and (3)…
Detailed Answer: The North Carolina Process to Appoint an Executor (Will) or Administrator (No Will) When someone who owned North Carolina property passes away, the Clerk of Superior Court in the county of the decedent’s domicile controls the opening of the estate. Whether you become an executor (named in a will) or an administrator (no…
Detailed Answer North Carolina probate begins with the Clerk of Superior Court issuing Letters of Administration. The Clerk must follow the priority list in G.S. 28A-4-2, starting with the surviving spouse and moving to the closest intestate heir. Every proposed personal representative must be: At least 18 years old; Of sound mind and not adjudicated…
North Carolina Intestacy Rules Explained: What Happens When No Valid Will Exists? Detailed Answer When a North Carolina resident dies without a valid will (or with a will that is ruled invalid), the estate is distributed according to the state’s Intestate Succession Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 29). The Clerk of Superior Court appoints an administrator…
North Carolina Probate Guide: Locating, Inventorying, and Distributing Estate Assets While Settling Debts Detailed Answer 1. Open the Estate and Secure Authority File an Application for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will) in the clerk of court’s office of the county where the decedent lived. Once the clerk issues…
North Carolina Probate: What Supporting Documentation Is Needed to Confirm Estate Charges and Payment Reconciliation? Detailed Answer: Required Records Under North Carolina Law North Carolina probate courts require the personal representative (also called an executor or administrator) to back up every dollar collected or spent on behalf of the estate. When you submit an Inventory (AOC-E-505),…
