How do I file for letters of administration and what documentation is required? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you apply for letters of administration with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the decedent lived, using a sworn application and supporting documents. You must show your priority to serve, file…
What steps do I need to handle jointly held bank accounts and co-owned real property during probate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, confirm how each asset is titled. Joint bank and brokerage accounts with a valid right of survivorship or POD/TOD beneficiary usually pass outside probate, but the personal representative can pull…
Can I recover funeral and other estate-related expenses I paid on behalf of my cousin? – North Carolina Short Answer Yes. In North Carolina, reasonable funeral costs and other necessary estate expenses you paid can be reimbursed from estate assets if you timely present a written claim and the estate has funds. Funeral expenses have…
How does the anti-lapse statute work when a will beneficiary predeceases the decedent and leaves children? – North Carolina Short Answer Under North Carolina’s anti-lapse law, if a will beneficiary who is a grandparent of the testator or a descendant of a grandparent dies before the testator, that beneficiary’s children (their “issue”) generally take the…
What happens if the person named as executor can’t serve or effectively renounces after the 90-day window? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, if the person named as executor cannot serve or is treated as having renounced, the Clerk of Superior Court issues letters to the next eligible person—either a named successor in…
How can I probate an out-of-state will in North Carolina when it isn’t self-proving and lacks a notary affidavit? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you can probate an out-of-state will that is not self-proving by proving its valid execution and genuineness to the Clerk of Superior Court. If the original witnesses are…
How do I seek removal of an agent’s child occupying property taken under a questionable POA? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, the personal representative of the parent’s estate typically must act to remove an occupant from real property wrongfully transferred under a power of attorney. First, restore or confirm the estate’s title…
What legal procedures apply when contesting a transfer made under a durable power of attorney? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you can challenge a transfer made under a durable power of attorney (POA) by seeking court oversight of the agent’s conduct, demanding an accounting, and asking the court to void self-dealing transfers,…
Can I recover the real property or its value after it was improperly moved into the agent’s trust? – North Carolina Short Answer Yes. Under North Carolina law, courts can void an agent’s improper transfer, impose a constructive trust, trace assets into the agent’s trust, order return of the property, eject occupants, or award money…
What steps do I take to prove undue influence or breach of fiduciary duty by my sibling as agent? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you prove an agent’s undue influence or breach of fiduciary duty by showing a fiduciary relationship (created by the power of attorney), self-dealing or actions not in the…
