Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in North Carolina

This is a probate question, not a civil rights question. Did your father-in-law have a will? If so, who is the personal representative? That person needs to take the will to the court and have it probated.

If there is no will, then your husband needs to speak with the clerk about becoming the personal representative. Since this is going to get complicated, I recommend that he obtain a probate attorney in the city/county where his father lived at the time of his death. There are missing heir services and it may be that your husband's sister can be found. If not, it will not hold up anything. Your husband will administer his father's estate and pay any valid claims. If there is anything left to inherit, it will be split between your husband and his sister. If the sister absolutely cannot be located, then the value of her share can get turned over to the clerk of court. There is a mechanism to handle the estates of missing heirs.