Estate Special Proceedings
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Estate Special Proceedings
I am administrator of my brother’s estate and he has a lot of debt and no money.
He had a house and I was told I need to go through Special Proceedings to bring
the house into the estate so I can sell it to pay debt. I want to know if I can
sell it without going through Special Proceedings and pay his debt on my own or
if not, how much does it cost to handle something like this.
Asked on August 28, 2018 under Estate Planning, North Carolina
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry for your loss. It is my understanding that in North Carolina property must be willed to the estate in order to be part of the estate proceeding. If it is not, then it can be brought in to the estate through what they call a Special Proceeding. Here is what I found in the court web pages:
If real property not willed to the estate is needed to pay claims, it can be brought into the estate by filing a special proceeding before the Clerk. [G.S. 28A-17-2].
Since it is not titled to you, you would not be able to legally transfer title in a sale. You would have to do so as the Personal Representative of the estate. And unless the property is in the estate you have no power.
Here is a booklet from one of the counties in North Carolina.
https://www.co.iredell.nc.us/DocumentCenter/View/1799/North-Carolina-Estate-Procedure-Pamphlet-PDF?bidId=
Good luck.
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