Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

If a deed of real property was recorded conveying real estate to all three children, the will cannot impact what has already been done unless the deed is later set aside for some reason.

That is the general answer. Each case is different and it is always important for an attorney to review the will and the deed before he/she could comment on your specific situation.

Not clear on what you are asking. Wills can be superceded by conveyances of the property during the lifetime of the parents.

Assuming that the parents conveyed their land to their three children as tenants in common, then the children now own the land, not the parents. The parents wills, if they discuss the real property, are overwritten as the gifts are considered "adeemed." Wills can only dispose of the assets a person actually owns and if the person does not own it anymore then the will cannot dispose of it.

There would be exceptions depending on what the will says. For example, if a will said "I leave any land that I own to my children A, B and C" and if the person owned Blackacre at the time the will was made but the person sold the will and acquired Whiteacre then A, B and C would inherit Whiteacre. If the will said "I leave my property Blackacre to my children A, B and C" and the person owned Blackacre when the will was made but sold it prior to death, then the gift of Blackacre is adeemed. If the person owned another parcel of land at death called Whiteacre but the will made no mention of Whiteacre, then Whiteacre would either be distributed as per the "residue" clause of the will (if the will was properly drafted by an attorney the will would have a residue clause). Whoever gets the residue would get Whiteacre. If there is no residue clause, then a partial intestacy results and Whiteacre would pass to whoever the heirs are (usually the surviving spouse and children or grandchildren, if any).

This is all really complicated. Your parents need to see an estate planning lawyer to make sure that their wills are up to date (if your parents had the wills done 20 or more years ago, that is reason enough to look at them) and convey their assets in accordance with their wishes.

Of course, I assume in my answer that the land and your parents is in NC and that your parents are trying to dispose of land in their will which they have already given away. If you are referring to personal property (anything other than land) then yes, the will can dispose of that separately from the deeds.

Wills are not all that expensive. Please encourage your parents to seek out a competent estate planning attorney.