Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina
How does a homeowners association board find the name and address of the executor of the estate of a deceased person who owned a home in a planned unit development governed by the homeowners association? When the homeowner died, the property became part of her estate and taxes on the property are being paid by the estate. However, the association was never notified that the property would be in an executor's hands, so we have no name and address. The estate has not been paying the association dues that it is bound to pay; the dues provide services like lawn mowing, insurance on the outside of the building, roof repair, deck staining, etc. We need to notify the estate and be paid, or withdraw all services.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Typically in North Carolina property vests in the heirs upon the death of the decedent. It can be brought back into the estate to pay claims if the executor files a petition.
To answer your specific question, you can go to the estate division of the county where he died to see if an estate file has been opened. Your association may want to hire an attorney to help with the collections process to make sure you notify the proper parties.
Attorney Rosner is correct that the title to the land vests in the heirs. It is the heirs who are responsible, not the estate, unless the personal representative needs to sell the land to pay claims against the estate. My guess is that if nobody is paying the HOA then an estate has not been opened for the deceased.
The HOA probably has an attorney to file liens on property where dues have not been paid. He or she will locate the heirs, but for a fee. You could see check with the estates division of the court where the land is located to see if an estate has been opened. You do not mention when he died, so I do not know if it is too soon or not. However, you indicate that the taxes are being paid on the real property. Check with the tax office to learn who is paying the bills. That may indicate the name and location of the heirs.
If an estate has been opened, the HOA needs to file a proper claim with the court and serve a copy of the claim on the personal representative. The personal representative's information should be in the file. If an estate exists, there will also be a notice in the newspaper with the information as to how to file a claim. It may be that the estate has an attorney and the HOA should also contact him or her if directed to do so in the notice.
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