Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

You do not indicate what documents the surviving spouse intends to sign. It will depend on what the documents are for and how the property was owned. For example on real property owned as tenancy by the entireties, the deceased spouse's share automatically passes to the survivor. If it is title to a car, then it does not pass. Really, before anything is signed, the surviving spouse needs to speak with a probate attorney. If there is a will, then he or she needs to see if he/she is named as the personal representative. If so, the attorney will need to help probate the estate and get the named person officially appointed. Then the surviving spouse can sign on behalf of the deceased spouse in his/her representative capacity. If the survivor is not named as personal representative, it is still necessary to speak to an attorney to make a claim for his/her yearly allowance. Depending on the amount, things like a car can be assigned to him/her as part of his/her share.

There is no period if the spouse is signing something in his/her own name already.