Serves Guilford County from South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro, with clients in High Point, Oak Ridge, Summerfield, and Jamestown. The probate side runs a full administration: qualifying the personal representative, preparing the preliminary inventory, notice to and payment of creditors, and annual and final accountings. Its estate lawyers also try will caveats and estate and trust disputes.
Probate in Davidson County
Probate Court Record
Davidson County Clerk of Superior Court
Davidson County · Superior Court District 33
Phone
Hours
Office
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Davidson County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Davidson County? →Settling an estate in Davidson County →
Probate Firms Serving Davidson County
Serves Winston-Salem and Forsyth County from an office off Hawthorne Road, practicing since Wesley Bailey founded the firm in 1955. The estate administration team qualifies personal representatives before the Forsyth County Clerk of Court, then collects assets, pays debts, distributes to heirs, and files the required inventories and accountings. Estate liquidations and auctions are run in-house.
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 Forsyth County from Winston-Salem. The firm represents executors, administrators, and trustees through estate and trust administration — qualifying the personal representative, filing inventories and court accountings, and handling claims against the estate — and prepares fiduciary tax returns. Its estate group includes Board Certified Specialists in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
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 five-attorney High Point firm whose work covers business, tax, real estate, estate planning and estate administration. Edgar S. "Pat" Levy III is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law certified by the North Carolina Board of Legal Specialization, and Nathan A. Chrisawn, a licensed North Carolina CPA, practices in estate planning and administration and tax.
All 17 North Carolina probate firms serving Davidson 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
