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.
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 →
Tax Planning Firms Serving Gaston County
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.
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.
All 13 North Carolina tax planning 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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Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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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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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.
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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 Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?
North Carolina levies no estate or inheritance taxNo 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; only the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?
North Carolina imposes no inheritance or estate taxNo 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; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate.
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How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in North Carolina take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces ordinary income tax at the state's regular ratesN.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-153.7(a) (flat individual rate: "After 2025 3.99%"); (a1) rate-reduction trigger (earliest affected year 2027)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?
See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.
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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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