Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

You were not obligated to pay for the funeral and I don't know why you did that. Funeral expenses are only a priority of up to $2500 and even those come after administrative expenses (attorney's fees, fees for the personal representative, probate fees etc.).

You do not really provide enough facts regarding the personal representative's and attorney's search for the missing heirs. There are services and just because neither has clued you in to their efforts (they need not file a report to you) does not mean they have not been diligently searching.

However, you have questions. What I would do is get a copy of the will, inventory and any accounting that has been filed and pay a probate attorney to review the documents. You will need an attorney in the county/state where the estate for the deceased is pending.

If the attorney and personal representative are truly doing nothing, the personal representative can be removed from the estate. However, if the estate assets are not sufficient to pay any claims, then the real estate will be sold and the funds used to reimburse you (up to $2500) and pay for the other expenses.

Regarding title to the home, title automatically passed at death to the heir designated in the will. However, the personal representative needs to inventory the home. The personal representative would need permission to sell the home if the assets were insufficient to pay any claims for the estate. Once the inventory is complete and there are sufficient assets to pay any claims, I don't understand why the personal representative has not made distribution to you. You may want to ask the probate attorney to look into this matter. WSho has been paying the mortgage, if any, and taxes on the home? Technically, this is your responsibility if you are the owner.