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.
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 →
Probate Litigation Firms Serving Gaston County
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.
Serves Charlotte and Mecklenburg County from a Carnegie Boulevard office. The firm represents executors, administrators, trustees, and corporate fiduciaries through probate and trust administration — inventories and accountings with the Clerk of Superior Court — and litigates will caveats and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims. Senior partner Jim Hickmon is a Board Certified Specialist.
Serves Charlotte and the surrounding Mecklenburg County area from a Congress Street office. The firm guides executors and trustees through estate and trust administration, including the strict asset accounting North Carolina law requires of a fiduciary, and litigates will and trust contests. R. Anthony Orsbon and Cynthia T. Fenninger are both board-certified specialists.
A Monroe general-practice firm serving Union, Anson, and Stanly counties since 1980. Its attorneys draft wills, trusts, and powers of attorney, and carry executors and administrators through the Clerk of Court filings North Carolina probate requires, including the 75-day creditor notice and the 90-day inventory. It also represents heirs in will caveats.
All 13 North Carolina probate litigation 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.
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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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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 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.
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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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What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?
In North Carolina, creditors have 3 monthsN.C.G.S. § 28A-14-1(a), § 28A-19-3Verified Sep 8, 2026View source from first publication of the creditor notice to present claims; late claims are barred.
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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.
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How Much Can an Executor Charge?
North Carolina pays executors reasonable compensationN.C.G.S. § 28A-23-3 (clerk sets commission up to 5% on receipts/expenditures; no fixed schedule)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, typically 2.2%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.8%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate.
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