Do I need to include life insurance proceeds in probate if there is a named beneficiary? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, life insurance that names a living beneficiary is generally a nonprobate asset and is not included in the probate estate. The beneficiary claims it directly from the insurer. If the estate…
How do I transfer vehicle titles and close bank accounts of a deceased person? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you can often handle vehicle titles and solely owned bank accounts without full probate by using a small estate affidavit after 30 days if the decedent’s personal property (not counting life insurance to…
How do I address a loan on the house that I didn’t remember signing after my spouse’s death? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, start by confirming whether you actually signed the note or the deed of trust that secures the loan against your home. If you did not sign, you may not…
Can I use a summary or small estate procedure for limited assets and avoid formal court probate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you can sometimes avoid full probate using two shortcuts: (1) a small-estate collection by affidavit for personal property worth no more than $20,000 (or $30,000 if the surviving spouse is…
What deadlines apply if probate wasn’t opened within a year of death? – North Carolina Short Answer North Carolina does not impose a one-year deadline to start probate. A will can be offered for probate years later, but waiting affects other timelines. After 60 days from death, any interested person may apply to probate the…
What steps do I need to open probate in the state where my spouse died and then ancillary probate in my home state? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you generally open the main estate (domiciliary probate) in the state where your spouse was domiciled at death, then open an ancillary estate here…
How can I claim or access my deceased parent’s stock account at Fidelity? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you first confirm how the account is titled (individual, joint with survivorship, or transfer-on-death). If no living beneficiary is on the account, a personal representative with current Letters from the Clerk of Superior Court…
What if the estate records show different social security numbers for my parent? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a Social Security Number (SSN) mismatch in an estate file is usually a clerical error the Clerk of Superior Court can correct on request with proper proof. If you’ve found a new asset (like…
What happens if the stock account has a direct beneficiary and bypasses probate? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, a brokerage account registered “transfer on death” (TOD) or similar passes directly to the named beneficiary and usually does not go through probate. The brokerage can transfer the shares on proof of death and…
Can I avoid reopening the closed estate to get the stock proceeds? – North Carolina Short Answer In North Carolina, you can avoid reopening only if the stock is set to transfer outside probate (for example, a valid transfer-on-death or named beneficiary) and the broker accepts death paperwork without new Letters. If the shares are…
