Where the estate is opened.
Only if the statute's conditions are met. Read the section below.
See the tax section for the exemption or the repeal.
Living trust or probate
A revocable living trust holds assets you title in the trustee's name. You can serve as trustee while you are able.
At death, the successor trustee handles those assets. Property you leave in your own name can still go through the probate court. A pour-over will sends leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may pass through probate first.
The probate path
In North Carolina, the estate is opened in the Clerk of Superior Court.
G.S. 28A-2-1 states that the clerk of superior court of each county, ex officio judge of probate, shall have jurisdiction of the administration, settlement, and distribution of estates of decedents. G.S. 28A-2-4 states that the clerks, as ex officio judges of probate, shall have original jurisdiction of estate proceedings and that, except as provided in subdivision (a)(4), the jurisdiction is exclusive. Estate proceedings include probate of wills and granting and revoking letters testamentary and letters of administration.
Source: G.S. 28A-2-1
Fees
In North Carolina, probate compensation is a statutory maximum.
G.S. 28A-23-3 states that personal representatives, collectors, or public administrators shall be entitled to commissions fixed in the discretion of the clerk of superior court not to exceed five percent upon the amounts of receipts, including the value of all personal property when received, and upon the expenditures made in accordance with law. If the gross value of an estate is two thousand dollars or less, the clerk may fix a commission the clerk deems just and adequate. Where real property is sold to pay debts or devises, the commission is computed only on the proceeds actually applied to those debts or devises. Commissions are not allowed on distribution of the shares of heirs or devisees. The section does not apply if the will specifies the compensation. This is a cap of five percent, not a graduated bracket schedule.
Source: G.S. 28A-23-3
Small estate
North Carolina's small-estate figure on this page is $20,000 when the statute's conditions are met.
G.S. 28A-25-1 allows collection of personal property by affidavit when a decedent dies intestate leaving personal property, less liens and encumbrances, not exceeding twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), at any time after 30 days from the date of death. The affiant is the public administrator or an heir or creditor not disqualified under G.S. 28A-4-2. The affidavit is filed with the clerk of superior court of the county where the decedent was domiciled before assets are recovered. If the affiant is the surviving spouse and sole heir, the personal property that may be collected may exceed $20,000 but shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), after reduction for any spousal allowance paid under G.S. 30-15. Real property is described in the affidavit but the collection procedure is for personal property.
Source: G.S. 28A-25-1
Estate or inheritance tax
North Carolina has no current estate tax on the page linked below.
A North Carolina Department of Revenue statistical table states that the inheritance tax was repealed effective January 1, 1999, and that SL 2013-316, section 7.(a), repeals the North Carolina estate tax effective January 1, 2013 and applies to the estates of decedents dying on or after that date.
Source: North Carolina Department of Revenue, Table 5, Estate Tax Collections
Questions
The answers use the same statute and court pages as the sections above.
Does a living trust avoid probate in North Carolina?
A revocable living trust holds the assets you title in the trustee's name. The successor trustee handles those assets. Property still titled in your own name can be a probate matter. A pour-over will can send leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may still pass through probate first.
What is the small-estate procedure in North Carolina?
G.S. 28A-25-1 allows collection of personal property by affidavit when a decedent dies intestate leaving personal property, less liens and encumbrances, not exceeding twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), at any time after 30 days from the date of death. The affiant is the public administrator or an heir or creditor not disqualified under G.S. 28A-4-2. The affidavit is filed with the clerk of superior court of the county where the decedent was domiciled before assets are recovered. If the affiant is the surviving spouse and sole heir, the personal property that may be collected may exceed $20,000 but shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), after reduction for any spousal allowance paid under G.S. 30-15. Real property is described in the affidavit but the collection procedure is for personal property.
How are probate fees set in North Carolina?
G.S. 28A-23-3 states that personal representatives, collectors, or public administrators shall be entitled to commissions fixed in the discretion of the clerk of superior court not to exceed five percent upon the amounts of receipts, including the value of all personal property when received, and upon the expenditures made in accordance with law. If the gross value of an estate is two thousand dollars or less, the clerk may fix a commission the clerk deems just and adequate. Where real property is sold to pay debts or devises, the commission is computed only on the proceeds actually applied to those debts or devises. Commissions are not allowed on distribution of the shares of heirs or devisees. The section does not apply if the will specifies the compensation. This is a cap of five percent, not a graduated bracket schedule.
Does North Carolina tax an estate or an inheritance?
A North Carolina Department of Revenue statistical table states that the inheritance tax was repealed effective January 1, 1999, and that SL 2013-316, section 7.(a), repeals the North Carolina estate tax effective January 1, 2013 and applies to the estates of decedents dying on or after that date.
Sources
These are the statute and court pages used above.