North Carolina Probate Legal Questions

You cannot dictate to your probate lawyer how you think things should be done. Get an experienced North Carolina probate lawyer and follow his or her advice, exactly. If you continue to have issues gaining access, your lawyer will pursue appropriate court orders. To your success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLCwww.theallisonfirm.comwww.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com ... Read More

You can challenge a will within three years of the date of your father's death and the probate of that will.  In order to be successful, you will need to show that he executed the will under duress, or undue influence, or that he lacked the mental capacity to execute a will.  I suggest that you speak with a North Carolina firm that has experience in handling estate disputes to get additional information.  Good luck going forward.  -Jay Mills... Read More

Forgive me for being direct, but you should make the time to clean up this mess, and you will need the help of a good, experienced attorney to do it. Here are your priorities: First, you must get your ex-wife's name off the title to the house in Georgia. Find the time and take care of that important piece of business. Second, a notarized letter is a meaningless exercise and can never do in place of a Will. If you die intestate (without a Will) you are saddling your heirs with an expensive, messy situation that undoubtedly must be resolved in Court. Because you own property in two states, whether you have a Will or not, your estate must be probated in both states unless you make sure that you retitle your property so it is not subject to probate. This is best accomplished with a Living (Revocable) Trust which, when you die, is simply a Will substitute. At death, the main difference between a properly funded Living Trust and a Will is that no probate at all is required (in either state) and the estate can be settled rather quickly with a minimum of legal fees. Get a North Carolina estate planning lawyer and start today! To your success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyThe Allison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/GaleAllison... Read More

Where I practice in IL the court may authorize and direct the guardian of the estate to make conditional gifts from the estate of a disable person to any spouse, parent, brother or sister  of the disabled person who dedicated himself or herself to the care of the disabled person by living with and personally caring for the disabled person for at least 3 years.  It shall be presumed the disabled person intends to make such conditional gifts. Your case is a tough one because your dad left no will and your siblings are correct, you all own the house equally per intestate laws.  If you want to keep the house, you'll have to buy them out or somehow get them to quitclaim their interest to you.  A probate estate may HAVE to be opened merely because there is a piece of real estate (not sure what NC law is on that one) involved.  If a probate estate is opened if I were you I would petition to be given more than your 1/3 intestate share because of the time you invested in your daddy's care.  Your worst case scenario is that you will have proceeds from the house sale to locate hopefully affordable housing.  Good luck to you.... Read More

In most states, like in Oklahoma, the beneficiary would get the money. The beneficiary is sort of like a "runner-up" owner, who gets the crown if the owner dies and is therefore unable to carry out the role of owner. In these cases, title to property trumps (or overrules) a Will. So, if a deposit account has a beneficiary, that beneficiary gets the account rather than anyone named in the Will.No Will has any authority over property that has a beneficiary. The only way a Will controls who inherits property is when a judge orders it because the property was in the deceased's name only and no beneficiary was named or there was no joint owner. If you believe your situation was not the intention of the deceased and can prove it, the only way to resolve things would be to hire a local NC attorney. He or she can help you decide if you have enough evidence to file a lawsuit to straighten it out. To your success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyThe Allison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com  ... Read More

A hand-written Will is known as a "holographic Will" and is a perfectly legal document when written so that it follows the laws of the person's home state. North Carolina will have a statute explaining how to make a holographic will effective. Here is what the Oklahoma statutes require to make an effective basic holographic Will: The hand-written Will must be dated and signed by the person who wrote it. It must also clearly state that it is that person's last Will and whether it revokes or amends (changes) any previous Will that the person had made. In Oklahoma it is not required that the Will be filed or recorded at the court clerk's office until the person is deceased So, although you do not need an attorney to write the Will or file it, it is always wise to at least consult a local attorney for instruction, to be sure you are following the laws of your particular state. That attorney can ask you the necessary questions to determine your situation and give you the best instruction to prevent problems later. To your success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyThe Allison Firm, PLLCTulsa, OKhttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/GaleAllison... Read More