A Ballantyne solo practice in Charlotte serving Mecklenburg County, led by Janice L. Davies, an NC Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. She takes personal representatives and trustees through estate and trust administration, prepares estate and income tax returns, and resolves will and trust conflicts through settlement agreements and caveats.
Probate in Forsyth County
Probate Court Record
Forsyth County Clerk of Superior Court
Forsyth County · Superior Court District 31
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Office
175 North Chestnut Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Forsyth County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Forsyth County? →Settling an estate in Forsyth County →
Guardianship Firms Serving Forsyth County
A Greensboro estate planning and elder law practice serving Guilford County, in North Carolina since 2000 and now led by managing partner Blaire D. McClanahan following the death of founder Cheryl K. David. The team takes families through probate and trust administration, probate and will litigation, guardianships, and Medicaid planning. Virtual appointments are available.
A seven-attorney firm working from a Westbrook Avenue office in Burlington. Its estate and trust administration team represents executors, administrators, and trustees from routine probate through litigation contesting or defending a will, and handles guardianship of the estate of a minor or incompetent adult, including appointment paperwork and required accountings.
A Greensboro firm serving Guilford County and the Piedmont Triad since 1974. Attorneys administer testate and intestate estates end to end — qualifying the personal representative, preparing inventories and accountings, and filing estate and fiduciary tax returns — and have served as personal representative and trustee themselves. Six attorneys carry the practice.
Represents executors, administrators and heirs across North Carolina from an office on S. Miami Blvd in Durham/RTP. The practice opens and settles estates, supports trust administrators through their fiduciary duties, presses stalled personal representatives on behalf of beneficiaries, and litigates will and trust validity and fiduciary misconduct. In-office and virtual appointments are offered.
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 Forsyth 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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