Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

I have a question as to why you are only finding out about this now. I also question what you were "told" and by whom.

When a person dies, a personal representative is appointed for the estate and the estate is probated. The personal representative must locate any beneficiaries or heirs. There are services which specialize in the location of missing heirs. If an heir trult cannot be located, the personal representative does just give away the share to someone else unless the will was so specific and read that if a beneficiary could not be located within a certain time then the beneficiary forfeits the share and it goes to someone else. Where a missing heir exists, there is a specific process in North Carolina and most other states for handling the share of the missing heir.

However, if no estate was ever probated and your family failed to follow the law, then anything is possible. I do question how they could have legally transferred the car from the dead person to your family member. Titles have to be signed and notarized and if someone forged the dead person's name this is criminal.

Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to seek out some kind of equitable relief to the extent that you can prove that the heir or personal representative engaged in some kind of wrongdoing and you can trace the proceeds of the car that was sold. This is going to be difficult and costly, so it would depend on hom much was taken by them and how much still exists. If they sold the car and spent the proceeds and there is nothing left, suing them will not do a whole lot of good unless they happen to live in a state that allows wage garnishment (North Carolina does not).

There is also the question of why you did not act sooner. You can be sure that any attorney is going to want to know this as if you did sue, the other side is certainly going to question this. Your answer will dictate whether a lawsuit can proceed or not.

The starting point will be the probate court located in the county/state where your father resided at the time of his death. Contact tjhe clerk and see if an estate was ever opened for your father. If it was, then copy the file - at a minimum this should be the will (if any), 90-day inventory and final accounting. If there was a personal representative and attorney for the estate, get their names and contact information along with that of any heirs. See if you are listed as a beneficiary/heir in any of thw paperwork.

Depending on if their was an estate file and what it contains, it may answer your questions. If not, then take the file to a probate attorney and pay him/her to review the file and apprise you of your rights. If there is no file, then you are going to have to provide the attorney with as much information as possible. I don't know if an estate can be probated after this much time or not. The statute of limitation has run on any claims and the assets have been disbursed. Again, whether you can go against the personal representative and/or the person who allegedly received your share will depend on why you are only acting now and whether any wrongdoing was involved as well as whether any assets still exist or can be traced.

Good luck.