Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

I don't really understand your question but I assume that it is something like an insurer makes a check out to a dead person. If that is the case, then yes, the funds are part of the dead person's estate, and have to be deposited into the estate account and included on the inventory.

If your question is whether something like life insurance proceeds were paid to a living beneficiary, the answer would be no. In that case, the funds go directly to the living named beneficiary and do not get deposited into the estate of the dead person because they are not probate assets. The beneficiary is then not obligated to use the money for anything related to the deceased but is free to spend the money however he or she chooses.

Do you see the difference? So you have to see if the check is made out to a person who is living or dead and whether that person is a named designated beneficiary. If the named designated beneficiary is also dead and there is no back-up beneficiary then the funds are also deposited into the estate account of the deceased.