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 Wake County
Probate Court Record
Wake County Clerk of Superior Court
Wake County · Superior Court District 10
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Office
316 Fayetteville Street Mall, Raleigh, NC 27601
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Wake County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Wake County? →Settling an estate in Wake County →
Guardianship Firms Serving Wake County
A three-attorney Fuquay-Varina firm whose predecessor opened in 1953 and took its present name in 2001. Its estate practice assists executors in administering the estate, handles disbursement and closure of estates and administration of trusts, and files guardianship proceedings. Linda F. Johnson is appointed by the Wake County court as a public administrator for estates that have gone awry.
Serves Forsyth and Durham counties from offices in Winston-Salem and Durham. The firm guides personal representatives and trustees through estate and trust administration — inventorying assets, settling claims, distributing property, and filing fiduciary income tax returns — and litigates will contests and trust disputes when an administration goes wrong. The intake Needs Assessment call is free.
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.
A Durham firm founded in 1997 and focused on estate planning and its related disciplines. Attorneys advise executors and beneficiaries through probate court filings, asset transfer and tax returns, and assist trustees with trust administration and modifying or decanting outdated trusts. Each partner is a North Carolina State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
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.
All 12 North Carolina guardianship firms serving Wake 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.
Get Started
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.
Get Started
Free
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.
Get Started
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.
Calculate the Amount
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.
Calculate Costs
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.
Check the Rules
