Serves Lee, Chatham, Harnett, and Moore counties from Sanford, with a second by-appointment office in Pittsboro. W. Woods Doster, a board-certified specialist in estate planning and probate law for 25 years, and partner J. Grant Brown handle estate administration, guardianship petitions, and special-needs trusts. The firm serves as Public Administrator for Lee and Chatham counties.
Probate in Durham County
Probate Court Record
Durham County Clerk of Superior Court
Durham County · Superior Court District 16
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Office
510 South Dillard Street, Durham, NC 27701
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Durham County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Durham County? →Settling an estate in Durham County →
Guardianship Firms Serving Durham County
Serves Wake County and central North Carolina from north Raleigh, with offices in Charlotte and Charleston, South Carolina. Its trust and estate administration attorneys represent executors, administrators, guardians, and trustees — initiating probate with the clerk of court, valuing assets, preparing estate accountings, paying claims and taxes, and distributing property — and handle will caveats.
Serves Orange County and the Triangle from Chapel Hill, with a practice concentrated on wills, trusts, and estates. The firm settles decedents' estates through the court probate process — distribution of assets, creditor claims, and tax returns — and handles guardianship proceedings. Beth Tillman is a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
Serves Wake County and the Triangle from three offices — Raleigh, Cary, and Wake Forest. The firm represents executors, administrators, and trustees through probate administration with and without a will, trust administration, and guardianship proceedings, and litigates will caveats, trust disputes, and financial elder abuse claims. It also runs an elder law and Medicaid practice.
Serves Wake County and the Triangle from a single Raleigh office, under the Young Moore and Henderson name since 1954. The trusts and estates group counsels executors and trustees on fiduciary duties, prepares probate filings and fiduciary tax returns, and litigates will and trust challenges. Three attorneys are Board Certified Specialists in Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law.
Headquartered in Raleigh with offices in Asheville, Winterville (Greenville), Morehead City, New Bern, and Wilmington. Its attorneys and paralegals commence, administer, and formally close estate and probate proceedings, whoever prepared the original estate plan, and its litigation group handles will caveats. Six attorneys are Board Certified Specialists in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
All 9 North Carolina guardianship firms serving Durham County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in North Carolina
Free North Carolina forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for North Carolina.
Free
Last Will and Testament
In North Carolina, a will is signed before 2N.C.G.S. § 31-3.3Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyN.C.G.S. § 31-3.3Verified Oct 19, 2026View source.
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Free
Healthcare Power of Attorney
North Carolina requires 2N.C.G.S. § 32A-25.1Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses and notarizationN.C.G.S. § 32A-25.1Verified Oct 15, 2026View source for a healthcare power of attorney.
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Financial Power of Attorney
North Carolina treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultN.C.G.S. § 32C-1-105Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notaryN.C.G.S. § 32C-1-105Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
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Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in North Carolina
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in North Carolina: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In North Carolina, four years at a public university cost about $75,440NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 6% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax. The estate tax (Chapter 105, Article 1A — G.S. 105-32.1 through 105-32.8) was repealed outright by S.L. 2013-316, s. 7(a) (HB 998), effective January 1, 2013 for decedents dying on or after that date; the inheritance tax (G.S. 105-2 through 105-32) was repealed by S.L. 1998-212, s. 29A.2(a), effective January 1, 1999.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in North Carolina runs $4,330Estimate: 10 hours at $433, Clio's North Carolina Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $6,495Estimate: 15 hours at $433, Clio's North Carolina Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,047Estimate: 3 hours at $349, Clio's North Carolina Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,094Estimate: 6 hours at $349, Clio's North Carolina Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
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Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in North Carolina, descendants divide what passes to them per capita at each generationN.C.G.S. § 29-16Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and an heir must survive the decedent by 120 hoursN.C.G.S. § 28A-24-2(a)Verified Oct 21, 2026View source to inherit.
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