Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

The state in questions: is North Carolina.

The situation is this:

My mom died last week. I am the sole heir. We were cordial but not very close. There is no will. Her estate is insolvent. She has two derelict mobile homes in poor condition and sitting on rented lots. It will cost 2x or 3x more to demo/remove than they are worth. There is no savings account. Checking has less than $700. She has an old truck that runs but is in poor shape. I've paid out of pocket for her funeral arrangements. (I don't care to be reimbursed) There's nothing in the estate I care to have. In fact, I want to avoid getting any inheritance from it. My name isn't on any of it. She was the sole owner/account holder.

Questions:

What am I legally required to do with this estate?

Can I just walk away from it?


Asked on 6/11/16, 7:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rachel Hunter

The short answer is nothing and yes, you can walk away. You are under no obligation to do anything. Its kind of dumb to walk away from the money in the bank. You should be able to use the affidavit (its a simplified process) in NC rather than go through full-blown probate. The $700 will cover any probate fees, personal representative's commission and funeral expenses, all of which are a priority. The mobile homes should be either sold to whoever wants or scrapped if they truly are junk as they are not going to be worth the cost to move. Maybe the owner of the lots will buy them for $25 and rehab them. I don't know - but at least it would get it off your hands. The truck can likewise be sold. However, if you do not want bothered then don't do anything. If she owes any bills, just send the creditors certified letters with a copy of the death certificate explaining that mother died, that mother had the account, that you are not responsible for the debt and that no estate will be probated.

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Answered on 6/14/16, 10:01 pm


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