How do I handle final tax returns and debts in my parent’s estate after probate opens? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, the personal representative must publish and mail a notice to creditors, file a 90‑day inventory, receive and evaluate claims, and pay valid debts in the statutory order before distributing anything to…
How can I locate and claim my parent’s unclaimed bank accounts and funds when they died without a will? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you can access a deceased parent’s bank funds either by filing a small-estate “collection by affidavit” if the probate personal property is within the statutory limit, or by…
How do beneficiary designations or joint accounts affect what goes through probate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, assets with a valid beneficiary designation (like POD bank accounts or TOD securities) and joint accounts with a properly created right of survivorship usually pass directly to the named person and do not go through…
How do I determine if the estate must file an income tax return for dividends before closing probate? – North Carolina Short Answer Under North Carolina law, the estate is a separate taxpayer. If the estate has $600 or more of gross income during its tax year—or makes any distributions to beneficiaries—it generally must file…
Can I decide on stock disposition as power of attorney or does my parent need to approve every step? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a power of attorney lets you act for a living parent, but your authority ends at their death. For the deceased parent’s stocks, only the court-appointed personal representative…
How do I protect the home from foreclosure if the surviving spouse won’t pay the mortgage? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, start by qualifying as the estate’s administrator so you have legal authority to act. Then ask the Clerk of Superior Court for an order giving you possession and control of the…
How can I gather and resolve creditor claims and manage my late parent’s debts and pension in probate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, the personal representative gathers assets, publishes and mails a Notice to Creditors, and then pays valid claims in a strict statutory order before distributing what remains. Secured lenders (like…
How can I be appointed administrator of my parent’s estate when there is no will? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, the Clerk of Superior Court appoints an “administrator” when someone dies without a will. The surviving spouse has first priority to serve, but if the spouse is unwilling, unresponsive, disqualified, or does…
What steps do I need to force a sale or partition of a house co-owned with an unresponsive spouse? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you have two main paths. First, open the estate and, as the court-appointed administrator, ask the Clerk of Superior Court to authorize a sale of the home if…
Do I need to open a probate estate or be appointed administrator before transferring property title? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, real estate generally passes to a decedent’s heirs at death, so you do not always have to open an estate to transfer title. If the death was more than two years…
