Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

How do you know an attorney is handling the will at all? If you are a co-executor, your step-brother's behavior does not bode well because as co-executors you will have to cooperate.

How do you know for a fact that you are even a co-executor? Have you seen your stepmother's will or do you have a copy of it?

When did the stepmother die? Where did she live? Was she survived by a husband?

What I would do, if the stepmother has been dead for at least 30 days, is contact the probate court in the county where your step-mother lived at the time of her death and see if an estate has been opened. It would be very difficult for an estate to be opened if you are indeed an executor but if you are not, then perhaps your brother has filed the will and started to probate the estate. If there is an estate, the file should indicate who the attorney is for the estate if there is one. However, if there is a will, see if you are a beneficiary of the estate.

If you are not a beneficiary, I am not sure why you wish to be involved. You have no right to inherit from your step-mother unless she adopted you or made a will listing you as a beneficiary. If the will was altered, challenging the will and getting it tossed out will not help you because you would not be a beneficiary under the intestate laws.

What assets did your stepmother own and how were they titled? What debts, if any did she have? If there are few assets, then it may not make sense to even probate an estate and if there are many debts then the heirs/beneficiaries may not get anything anyway.

What was your step-mother's health like prior to her demise and did your step-brother have a power of attorney over your step-mother?