Wake Forest is in Wake County.

More Special Needs Planning Firms in Wake County

Serves Wake County and the Triangle from Towne Village Drive in Cary, practicing since 2001. Founder W. Thomas McCuiston, Jr. is an NC Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law, and the planning work — wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney, special needs trusts — is built around minimizing income, estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes.

Since 2001Estate PlanningProbateTax PlanningSpecial Needs PlanningAsset ProtectionBusiness Law

Serves Buncombe and Henderson counties from Asheville and Hendersonville, with further offices in Raleigh and Durham. After a death the firm files the will and opens probate, handles intestate estates, guides trustees through post-death trust administration, prepares the final accounting and closing filings, and takes up disputes among beneficiaries. The firm offers a free initial consultation.

Free consultationEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationElder Law+4

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.

Serves the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+7

The Raleigh office of a transatlantic firm with four other North Carolina offices — Charlotte, Greensboro, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem. Its Private Wealth Services team lists estate and trust administration and international estate and tax planning among its services, and its fiduciary litigation work covers will contests and caveats, trust contests, and probate disputes.

Serves the whole stateEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+5

Serves Wake County and the Triangle from a single Raleigh office, under the Young Moore and Henderson name since 1954. The trusts and estates group counsels executors and trustees on fiduciary duties, prepares probate filings and fiduciary tax returns, and litigates will and trust challenges. Three attorneys are Board Certified Specialists in Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law.

Estate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate LitigationTrust Litigation+5

All 5 special needs planning firms in Wake County →

Probate in Wake County

Probate Court Record

Wake County Clerk of Superior Court

Wake County · Superior Court District 10

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM

Office

316 Fayetteville Street Mall, Raleigh, NC 27601

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

How to file probate in Wake County →

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Do I need a lawyer for probate in Wake County? →Settling an estate in Wake County →

Forms for Planning Your Estate in North Carolina

Free forms for planning your estate in North Carolina: will, living trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney and TOD deed. Prepare each form.

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Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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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.

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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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All North Carolina forms

Tools for Planning Your Estate in North Carolina

Free tools for planning your estate in North Carolina: will and trust costs, trust or TOD deed, and the signing rules. Run each tool for North Carolina.

How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable living 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 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

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How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

In North Carolina, four years at a public university cost about $75,440NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 6% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo state estate or inheritance tax. The estate tax (Chapter 105, Article 1A — G.S. 105-32.1 through 105-32.8) was repealed outright by S.L. 2013-316, s. 7(a) (HB 998), effective January 1, 2013 for decedents dying on or after that date; the inheritance tax (G.S. 105-2 through 105-32) was repealed by S.L. 1998-212, s. 29A.2(a), effective January 1, 1999.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.

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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.

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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

North Carolina does not revoke an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceN.C.G.S. § 31-5.4; § 36C-6-606Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

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