Serves Iredell County and the western Piedmont from downtown Statesville, the county seat, with a stated service area reaching Alexander, Catawba, Cleveland, Rowan, and Mecklenburg counties. The firm handles probate and estate administration, trust administration, guardianship, and Medicaid planning. It is a family-run firm practicing in Statesville since 1932, and consultations carry a fee.
Probate in Gaston County
Probate Court Record
Gaston County Clerk of Superior Court
Gaston County · Superior Court District 38
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Office
325 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Suite 1004, Gastonia, NC 28052
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Gaston County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Gaston County? →Settling an estate in Gaston County →
Estate Law Firms Serving Gaston County
Serves Cleveland and Gaston counties from South DeKalb Street in Shelby, a short distance from the Cleveland County Courthouse. Chelsea Chapman became the lead attorney after Richard Luptak's retirement, and the practice is limited to family law, estate planning and probate. On the settlement side it handles estate administration for families whose relative died with or without a will.
Serves the Lake Norman area and the Piedmont Triad from offices in Cornelius and Winston-Salem. Attorneys guide executors and trustees from the first probate filing to the final distribution — preparing court inventories and accountings, filing federal estate tax returns, and handling trust administration and irrevocable-trust modifications. The firm meets by phone and video as well as in person.
A Charlotte tax and estate boutique at Morrocroft Centre that represents executors and trustees in all aspects of estate and trust administration: collecting assets, paying the decedent's debts and taxes, and post-mortem tax planning. It also handles trust and estate accounting disputes and litigation. Its attorneys include Board Certified Specialists in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
Serves Charlotte and Mecklenburg County from East Morehead Street. Its estate administration attorneys lead executors and administrators through probate and through estate, income and generation-skipping tax issues, while a separate fiduciary litigation group takes will caveats and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims. The firm traces its Charlotte practice to 1912.
Serves Mecklenburg County from Charlotte, with a second North Carolina office in Raleigh. The trust and estate administration attorneys handle probate of wills, administration of testate and intestate estates and of trusts, post-death tax planning and fiduciary tax returns, and fiduciary litigation among beneficiaries and fiduciaries. The firm is the only Charlotte-based member of the Am Law 200.
All 20 North Carolina estate law firms serving Gaston 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.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Get Started
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
Free
Pour-Over Will
In North Carolina, a pour-over will is signed before 2N.C.G.S. § 31-3.3Verified Oct 19, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
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.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In North Carolina, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 2%Modeled estimate under N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%Modeled estimate under N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
Calculate Costs
Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in North Carolina takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 2%Modeled estimate under N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%Modeled estimate under N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
Get the Answer
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in North Carolina costs an estimated $27,108N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2%Modeled estimate under N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%Modeled estimate under N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Calculate Costs
What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in North Carolina costs an estimated $27,108N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 2%Modeled estimate under N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%Modeled estimate under N.C.G.S. § 28A-13-3(a)(19), § 28A-23-3(a) (attorney fees are a negotiated administration expense; no statutory schedule or percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $20,000N.C.G.S. § 28A-25-1Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
Check the Rules
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in North Carolina: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysN.C.G.S. §§ 28A-20-1, 28A-20-3, 28A-20-4Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 3 monthsNCGS §§ 28A-14-1, 28A-19-1, 28A-19-3, 28A-19-6, 28A-19-16Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 9 months.
See the Steps
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
