Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

You don't provide any relevant details - like when your father died, if he had a will, if he incliuded you in his distribution or specifcally excluded you. Since I or any other attorney has not seen the document, I can't comment on it. Generally, paternity has to be established in some kind of written acknowledgement or a paternity suit brought within a year of death.

Paternity would only be relevant if your father made a will and either left his assets to his children or if he made no will at all. If your father made a will and specifically disinherited you then it will not matter if paternity is established unless you can also show that the will disinheriting you is invalid. It also matters whether your father had any probate assets. If there are no assets, then your share of any inheritance is zero.

The fact that you made a promissory note and that your father sued you also is problematic. What kind of a parent sues a child? What kind of a child borrows funds and does not repay? Was the judgment satisfied by the time of your father's death? If not, then the executor can enforce it against you and if you establish paternity those funds are coming out of your share.

I would go to a probate lawyer in the county/state where your father resided at the time of his death and pay to have it along with any will reviewed. The attorney can then apprise you as to whether it would be worthwhile for you to pursue a paternity action and whether there would be any consequences regarding the judgmetn oif it has not been satisfied.