If an unknown person is paying the property taxes, does that give them any rights to the property or affect who inherits it? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, simply paying someone else’s property taxes usually does not give the payer ownership rights and does not change who inherits the property under intestacy.…
When is a spousal allowance enough versus needing to open a full estate administration? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a spouse’s allowance (often called a “year’s allowance”) can be enough when the surviving spouse mainly needs quick access to up to $60,000 of the decedent’s personal property and there are few or…
How do I handle an item of jewelry being held for a minor so it counts toward the minor’s inheritance share? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a personal representative can usually treat jewelry being held for a minor as part of that minor’s inheritance by making a documented, irrevocable transfer of the…
What can we do if we suspect a deceased person’s ex-partner withdrew or redirected money before or after the death? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, the personal representative (executor/administrator) has the job of finding estate assets and can use court procedures to investigate and recover property that may have been taken or…
How do we handle tenant rent payments when co-trustees disagree about where the money should be deposited and how it should be tracked? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, co-trustees generally must act together unless the trust document says otherwise, so rent-collection and banking decisions should be set up in a way both…
If my parent’s property was transferred into the surviving spouse’s name while my parent was in the hospital, can that transfer be undone after death? – North Carolina Short Answer Yes, sometimes. In North Carolina, a property transfer made shortly before death can potentially be challenged and undone after death if the transfer was not…
Will I be responsible for the deceased person’s debts if I open the estate, and which debts are mine versus the estate’s? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, opening an estate (qualifying as the personal representative) does not automatically make a co-parent, family member, or heir personally responsible for the deceased person’s debts.…
When does an estate qualify for a small-estate process versus a full probate estate if one bank account is over the limit? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, the small-estate “collection by affidavit” process generally applies only when the decedent’s total probate personal property (after subtracting liens) stays within the statutory dollar cap.…
What happens to a pension and Social Security benefits after someone dies, and do those go through probate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, most pensions and Social Security-related payments do not go through probate if they have a named beneficiary or a built-in survivor benefit. Instead, they are usually paid directly to…
How can I protect my home from creditors while I’m administering my spouse’s estate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, whether a spouse’s creditors can reach the primary residence during probate usually turns on how the home is titled and whether the surviving spouse timely uses the protections North Carolina law gives to…
