Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

Re: Estate Question

Without seeing the will or knowing specific facts, it is hard to say but I tend to agree with you.

Nothing is "ironclad". Maybe the children don't have a good case but I think that they can always sue. It would be a caveat proceeding to set aside the will. For example, one of the grounds is undue influence. Another ground is lack of capacity. In either of these cases, I don't see that it even matters what the will says. The issue is did the Testator have the capacity or was the Testator unduly influenced.

Also depending on who the attorney is could make a difference to your question. If he is a guru on estate administration, has done estate litigation, writes manuscripts and speaks at CLEs, I'd trust his opinion more than my own. If not, it might behoove your Church to get a 2nd opinion (just like when you go to a doctor) and seek a qualified attorney - in this case look for someone whose practice consists of mainly estate administration and is specifically involved in estate litigation because that would tend to involve will disputes.

Now again, if the Church has acted above board, I'm not sure what you can do except go through the probate of the will and be prepared to defend or settle any will contest.

- Jeff