Serves Moore County and the surrounding Hoke, Harnett, Scotland, Lee and Richmond counties from North Bennett Street in Southern Pines. The estate administration side handles probate of a decedent's will, collecting estate assets, paying final expenses and debts, distributing property as the court approves, and challenging or defending a will when family members disagree over it.
Probate in Montgomery County
Probate Court Record
Montgomery County Clerk of Superior Court
Montgomery County · Superior Court District 28
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Hours
Office
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Montgomery County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Montgomery County? →Settling an estate in Montgomery County →
Estate Law Firms Serving Montgomery County
A Greensboro firm with Charlotte, Raleigh, and Wilmington offices, serving Guilford County and clients across North Carolina. Its trusts and estates group, which includes a North Carolina Board Certified Specialist in Trusts and Estates Law, drafts wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. The practice is planning-side and tax-driven rather than probate or estate administration.
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.
Serves Mecklenburg County from Charlotte, with a second North Carolina office in Raleigh. The trust and estate administration team advises executors and trustees on probate, estate tax returns, distributions, and trust modifications, and handles fiduciary litigation. Chambers High Net Worth ranks the practice in North Carolina private wealth law.
Works from four North Carolina offices — Raleigh, Charlotte, Rocky Mount, and Southern Pines. Its Trusts & Estates group lists trust and estate administration alongside planning, testamentary documents and inter vivos trusts, closely held business succession, and charitable trusts. The published practice page names neither probate nor contested estate litigation.
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 8 North Carolina estate law firms serving Montgomery 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.
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
