Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

I don't know why you went ahead and re-assigned the titles until all of the debts were paid. Have you had the vehicles appraised to know what they are worth?

You need to have that so that you can do a bill of sale. You can't just arbitrarily decide on tax value which may or may not be accurate. Once you decide on a number and do the bills of sale the funds will be paid into the estate and used to pay the creditors. If there is enough money, the creditors' claims (those who have been properly notified and filed claims in a timely manner) will be paid in full. If there is not enough money then claims are paid in order of priority. Any time you run out of money, then if there are any remaining claims, those creditors get nothing. Heirs can only inherit assets AFTER all claims have been paid. If there is no money, then heirs get NOTHING.

Final tax returns will need to be filed. See a CPA about that. He/she may suggest also that you get some documentation to help establish value of the vehicles. It might be needed to back up the tax returns.

Anything else, you might just want to pay to have a consult with a probate attorney who practices in the county where your mother's estate is pending just to make sure that everything is in order before you pay off the claims and get ready to close the estate.