What happens if there are two different wills and nothing has been filed with the court? – NC Short Answer In North Carolina, nothing is legally settled until a will is offered to the Clerk of Superior Court for probate. If two different wills exist and neither has been filed, the clerk must first determine…
What can I do if the person named as executor refuses to file the will or open the estate? – NC Short Answer In North Carolina, the person named as executor does not get to block probate by doing nothing. An interested person can go to the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where…
How can I challenge a later will if I believe my grandparent was pressured into changing it before passing away? – NC Short Answer In North Carolina, a later will can usually be challenged by filing a caveat in the decedent’s estate file with the clerk of superior court. A caveat is the formal way…
Can I ask the court to make someone turn over estate property like vehicles, jewelry, and other assets they have kept? – NC Short Answer Yes. In North Carolina, the court can be asked to require a person to appear, answer questions, and turn over property that belongs to a decedent’s estate. The usual path…
How can I get bank statements for my deceased spouse’s account when the bank keeps refusing to release them? – NC Short Answer In North Carolina, a surviving spouse usually cannot force a bank to release a deceased spouse’s account statements based on marriage alone. The bank will often require proof that the requester is…
What happens if I need to update an estate filing after discovering a bank account that was left out? – NC Short Answer In North Carolina, a personal representative usually must update the estate record when a bank account is discovered after the original inventory was filed or when the original value was incomplete or…
What documents do I need to prove I can access my deceased spouse’s bank records? – NC Short Answer In North Carolina, a surviving spouse usually needs more than a death certificate to get a deceased spouse’s bank records. In most cases, the bank will want proof of legal authority over the estate, such as…
Can I get access to a deceased spouse’s financial records if we were still married but living separately? – NC Short Answer Usually, not based on marriage alone. In North Carolina, a surviving spouse who was still legally married may be able to get a deceased spouse’s bank records if the spouse is the personal…
Can a bank refuse to give account information if the estate paperwork did not list the account at first? – NC Short Answer Yes. In North Carolina, a bank may refuse to release account information until the proper estate representative shows authority to act for the estate and provides enough information to identify the account.…
Who has the legal right to sell a car after the owner passes away? – NC Short Answer In North Carolina, the person with legal authority to sell a deceased owner’s car is usually the estate’s personal representative, such as an executor named in a will or an administrator appointed by the clerk of superior…
