What is a year’s allowance and how can it help me and my sibling secure our shares of the estate? – North Carolina Short Answer Under North Carolina law, a “year’s allowance” lets a surviving spouse and qualifying children quickly receive certain personal property or cash from the estate for support, ahead of most creditor…
How can I compel the executor to release my mother’s personal items and household furnishings? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, the personal representative (executor) must preserve estate property and generally should not distribute items until after the creditor claim period has run and the estate appears solvent. If delay continues without good…
What rights do I have as a minor beneficiary when the trustee delays returning a vehicle and other assets? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a personal representative may hold estate property during the creditor claim period and until valid debts and costs are paid. A trustee must safeguard assets, keep beneficiaries reasonably…
What rights do I have as an heir if a co-heir pays off a reverse mortgage on estate property? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, paying off a reverse mortgage does not give a co-heir sole ownership of the property. Title to nonsurvivorship real estate vests in all heirs at death, typically as…
How do I prevent a co-heir from forcing a partition or sale of inherited real estate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, any co-owner can ask the Clerk of Superior Court to partition inherited land. But heirs have important protections: the court must confirm title and parties, consider dividing the land instead of…
Can my child enforce their unwritten agreement to acquire part of the land from the estate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a contract to sell or convey land must be in writing, so an unwritten (oral) land deal is usually unenforceable. A court may enforce an oral agreement only in limited situations,…
Can I challenge the estate inventory if it omits bank accounts or other assets my mother held? – North Carolina Short Answer Yes. In North Carolina, any interested person (including a beneficiary) can ask the Clerk of Superior Court to require the personal representative to correct or supplement an incomplete inventory. The clerk can order…
What documents do I need to file to open probate in North Carolina? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a named executor typically files the original will and any codicils, an Application for Probate and Letters (AOC-E-201), and proof of death with the Clerk of Superior Court in the decedent’s county. If appointed,…
How long does probate typically take and what timelines should I expect? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, most straightforward estates take about 6–12 months. The key drivers are: getting appointed by the Clerk of Superior Court, publishing and mailing the Notice to Creditors, waiting out the creditor claim window (generally three months…
How can I confirm which relatives are legally entitled to inherit and need to sign off on a property sale? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, when someone dies without a spouse, children, parents, siblings, or grandparents, inheritance moves to the decedent’s aunts and uncles and then down to their descendants (including first…
