Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

Check and see if a will was filed in the county where your father lived at the time of his death. Given the length of time, your father's wife should have probated an estate by now. if there was no will, then it will not be in the court file. Conversely, if she did submit a will for probate then it will be in the file. Since it is a publci record any one can access it.

If your father's wife did not probate an estate, the question becomes what your father owned solely in his name. His wife would take 1/3 to 1/2 of his property (if there is 1 child she gets half and if there are two or more children she gets 1/3) unless there is a will. However,probate only addresses probate assets. If your father owned a house with his wife and a checking account, these assets would have automatically passed to her.

If you think your father's wife is hiding a will, go to the clerk of the court in the county where he died and file the papers to compel her to produce a will. She must then produce it or tell the clerk that there is no will. If she is deliberately concealing a will, this is a crime.

If there are some probate assets and no estate has been probated, then anyone can apply to probate her estate or you can ask the clerk to appoint a public administrator.