Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

While your grandfather probably could do a better job of keeping you informed, your grandfather is right. Distribution of any property really cannot not be done until your grandfather gets final approval from any taxing authorities after the final returns are filed. And your grandfather has to wait for any claims to come in against the estate. So there is nothing that can be done except wait.

You say your father does not own anything, but you say there are guns. Are these valuable? There are rules about transferring guns in NC. Do you have a proper permit? What about any vehicles that your father owned? Was your father married or did he have a spouse who was living that he was married to? Are there any other children? Did your father have a will?

All of these things may affect whether you are entitled to anything at all. I suggest that you go and get a copy of the estate file from the county in which the estate is pending. In the file will be a will, if any, an order entered by the appointing your grandfather as personal representative, an inventory of the property and its value an accounting and an accounting. There will also be proof of the notice of publication as well as any claims.

Estate files are matters of public record and can be seen by anyone. If you are not in NC, then you will have to decide how big the file is and make arrangements to have the file copied and sent to you.

This will tell you what is going on. If your grandfather is not doing his job, then he can be removed as personal representative. If you have questions about what is being done, it may be wise for you to take a copy of the file to a probate attorney (other than the attorney for the estate) and pay the attorney for 30-60 minutes to review the file and see if anything is amiss and explain your rights to you.

The lawyer for the estate works for the estate. While you might be a beneficiary of the estate, the lawyer does not work for you and will most likely not discuss any issues. That is why you need to get your own independent attorney to review the file and explain things to you.