Written by Jonathan Breeden
If you die without a will in North Carolina, your assets and estate will be handled by North Carolina probate law administrators. This is commonly referred to as “dying intestate.”
North Carolina intestacy laws help ensure your final wishes are carried out upon your death. However, without a will, understanding what your desires would have been may be difficult or impossible.
Dying intestate means that the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court — the county probate court where you lived before passing — will assign an administrator to distribute your assets. However, without a valid will, the state decides how your assets will be distributed amongst your descendants.
Most individuals who write wills leave their assets to their closest immediate family members. For this reason, North Carolina estate laws similarly distribute your property unless you have left sufficient information for administrators to utilize. Without a will, there may be little information on how you would have distributed your assets as you see fit.
Unfortunately, when you die intestate, there may be many issues among your family members accessing your assets or ensuring your wishes are fulfilled upon your passing. Family disagreements are not uncommon when a loved one dies without a will. For this reason, you can take steps to protect your family by having your estate lawyer draw up a will.
However, if you do die intestate, the probate court estate administrator takes an inventory of your assets, paying off any outstanding tax debts or other collectors, covering the costs of your funeral and burial expenses, and distributing any remaining assets to the applicable family members according to the North Carolina Intestate Succession Act.
When you die intestate, many issues could arise. First and foremost, you will not have a say in who receives your assets upon your passing. This decision will be made by the probate court estate administrator assigned to your estate.
This often results in a lengthy probate process where the probate court needs to identify creditors and heirs, determine which portion of the estate should cover outstanding debts, and provide assets to beneficiaries.
Although you might have assumed that your spouse will be entitled to everything without a will, this may not be the case. Certain assets may not be distributed because of contractual terms. This may be seen in retirement accounts or insurance policies, for example. Here is more about who will receive your assets under the state’s intestacy laws when you pass away without a will.
If you die without a will and have children but no spouse, all your assets and property will be divided equally between your children. If you only have one child, they will be entitled to all your assets.
If you die without a will and have a spouse but no children, your spouse will be entitled to the first $100,000 of your personal property and half of your real estate. Your parents will be entitled to the other half of the real estate and personal property.
However, if your personal property assets are worth more than $100,000, your spouse will be entitled to inherit half of the value of your personal property.
If you die without a will and have a spouse and one child, your spouse will be entitled to the first $30,000 in personal property. The remaining value of your personal property, and the total value of your real estate, will be divided equally between your child and your spouse.
If you die without a will and have a spouse and two or more children, your spouse will be entitled to the first $30,000 in personal property. Your spouse will also be entitled to 1/3 of the remaining value of your personal property and 1/3 of your real estate. Your children will divide the remaining real estate and personal property equally.
If you die without a will and have a spouse and parents still living, your spouse will be entitled to the first $100,000 worth of personal property. The remaining value of personal property and real estate will be split equally between your parents and your spouse.
If you die without a will and you’re not married, you have no children, and your parents are still living, Your estate will be passed on to your parents and divided equally among them. However, if only one parent is still living, they will be entitled to your estate.
If you have no surviving parents, no surviving spouse, no surviving children, your assets can be distributed equally between your siblings. However, if you do not have any surviving blood relatives, your assets will go to the state of North Carolina.
According to NC § 29-17, adopted children are entitled to the same benefits as legitimate children of adoptive parents in regard to personal property. However, adopted children are not entitled to any real estate to be passed down by their adoptive parents without a will.
If you hope to avoid the implications of dying intestate, but you are unsure how to get started in drawing up a will, reach out to an experienced North Carolina estate planning lawyer at Breeden Law Office. Fill out our online contact form or call our office at (919) 661-4970 to schedule your confidential case evaluation today.