How can an heir access insurance claim records filed in the decedent’s name to verify dates and amounts?

How North Carolina Heirs Can Retrieve a Decedent’s Insurance Claim Records Detailed Answer Insurance claim files confirm when a claim was opened, the amount paid, and to whom the funds went. In North Carolina, an heir cannot simply call the insurance company and demand those papers. Instead, state probate rules give the personal representative (executor or…

What Remedies Exist for Challenging an Executor’s Accounting of Estate Assets and Recovering Misappropriated Funds?

What Remedies Exist for Challenging an Executor’s Accounting of Estate Assets and Recovering Misappropriated Funds in North Carolina? Detailed Answer North Carolina Gives Heirs Powerful Tools to Monitor and Correct an Executor’s Work Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-21-1, every personal representative must file verified accountings with the Clerk of Superior Court. If those filings…

What actions can an heir take if an administrator breaches fiduciary duties or commits fraud with estate property?

Detailed Answer Under North Carolina probate law, the personal representative—commonly called an administrator if there is no will—owes every heir a strict fiduciary duty. That means the representative must collect, safeguard, and distribute estate property with the same care an ordinarily prudent person would use with their own assets. When the representative mismanages funds, self-deals,…

What Procedures Govern Court-Ordered Mediation Between Co-Owners Before a Property Sale in North Carolina?

What Procedures Govern Court-Ordered Mediation Between Co-Owners Before a Property Sale in North Carolina? Detailed Answer North Carolina encourages co-owners who are locked in a partition action to settle their differences through mediation before the court orders a sale. Two legal frameworks control the process: Chapter 46A of the North Carolina General Statutes (the Partition Act),…

What Steps Are Required to Obtain a Court-Ordered Survey Funded From the Property’s Sale Proceeds in North Carolina?

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…

How Can One Locate a Surveyor Willing to Accept Payment Out of Sale Proceeds After Completion?

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…