Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

A residue clause reads something like this - "anything else I own, whether real, personal or mixed, not otherwise disposed of above, goes to X, Y and Z."

When I draft a will, I usually make separate provisions for items of personal property (money, clothes, jewelry or other special items) usually, but sometimes land, that gets left to specific persons. After these specific dispositions, anything else left is called "residue" and is handled in a residue clause like above sample. It provides a way of telling the court and your loved ones what is going to happen to everything else in your estate and how you want it distributed.

Really, if you are the one making a will, this should be left up to an estate planning attorney. Wills are more affordable than you think and if you are interested in having your estate plan done, then please email me at [email protected].

If you are an executor or beneficiary of a will for someone who has died, then I suggest you take the will to a probate attorney who practices in the state/county where the dead person lived at prior to death and pay the attorney to review the will for you.