Serves Craven, Carteret, and Pamlico counties from New Bern. Sole attorney Cindi Quay advises executors and administrators on inventory, heir notification, debts and taxes, and distribution, or serves as executor or administrator herself; she is also the Public Administrator for Craven and Pamlico counties, handling estates left with no will and no family to administer them.
Probate in Carteret County
Probate Court Record
Carteret County Clerk of Superior Court
Carteret County · Superior Court District 4
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Office
300 Courthouse Square, Beaufort, NC 28516
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Carteret County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Carteret County? →Settling an estate in Carteret County →
Probate Firms Serving Carteret County
Serves Wilmington and New Hanover County from Wrightsville Avenue. Two of its attorneys work in trusts and estates, taking fiduciaries through estate and trust administration and handling estate-tax, gift-tax and charitable gift planning. Jill Kaess is a CPA, a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law certified by the North Carolina State Bar, and an ACTEC Fellow.
Serves Wilmington and the surrounding New Hanover County area from an office on Oleander Drive. The practice pairs court-supervised probate and estate administration — inventorying assets, paying creditors, and distributing to heirs — with advanced estate planning and tax work. Sole attorney Rick E. Graves is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
Serves Craven County from downtown New Bern in a transactional practice covering estate planning and probate, real property, and corporate work. Attorney Lacee B. Smith prepares wills, advance directives and trusts, and the firm represents administrators and executors through probate estates. For most matters the fee is a fixed amount agreed at the start; the firm takes no litigation.
Serves Lenoir, Pitt, Craven, and Greene counties from Kinston, Greenville, New Bern, and Snow Hill, with roots in Kinston dating to 1927. Estate work covers probate and estate administration — creditor matters, tax filings, and distribution of assets — along with trust administration and fiduciary litigation. Two estate attorneys are board-certified specialists in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
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.
All 11 North Carolina probate firms serving Carteret County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in 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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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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Do I Need Probate?
In North Carolina, estates with personal property of $20,000N.C.G.S. § 28A-25-1Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less use the Affidavit for Collection of Personal PropertyN.C.G.S. § 28A-25-1Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, 30 daysN.C.G.S. § 28A-25-1Verified Sep 8, 2026View source after death, a court filing short of full probate.
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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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Can I Self-File Probate?
In North Carolina, informal probate is not availableN.C.G.S. § 28A-2-1 (clerk of superior court is ex officio judge of probate), § 28A-6-1 (single application for letters; no informal/formal election)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, so self-filing means a formal court petition rather than a registrar filing.
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