Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

I would recommend that you hire an attorney on behalf of your family to take over the probate. If your brother truly hasn't done his job then the clerk may allow you, through an attorney, to take over the case. Please call attorney Rebecca Long @ (336)547-9999, if you want to discuss hiring us to help you.

The duties of a personal representative in a nutshell are to find out what your mother owned and what she owed, to pay any debts, sell real property if necessary, and to distribute whatever is left to the heirs as per the will, if there is one, or per the state intestacy laws. So I do not understand how your brother legally can exclude you from any settlement.

That said, I don't understand what your brother is doing. Clearly, he does not have an attorney as he would not be acting this way. While nothing mandates that he keep the beneficiaries informed, this would be the better practice. Since your brother has not filed the things he is supposed to, you and any other siblings need to run, not walk, to a probate attorney in the county/state where your mother's estate is pending. You do not indicate when your mother died or how long the estate has been pending. However, you need to get a copy of the file from the court and let a probate attorney review it and advise as to what needs to be done at this stage. If necessary, the attorney can file a motion to remover your brother if he is not doing his job or a motion to compel him to explain what he is doing.

One note of caution - lawyers can be pricey. Make sure that there are sufficient assets in your mother's estate to make any litigation worthwhile.