A Ballantyne solo practice in Charlotte serving Mecklenburg County, led by Janice L. Davies, an NC Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. She takes personal representatives and trustees through estate and trust administration, prepares estate and income tax returns, and resolves will and trust conflicts through settlement agreements and caveats.
Probate in Buncombe County
Probate Court Record
Buncombe County Clerk of Superior Court
Buncombe County · Superior Court District 40
Phone
Hours
Office
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Buncombe County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Buncombe County? →Settling an estate in Buncombe County →
Trust Administration Firms Serving Buncombe County
Serves Haywood, Jackson, Buncombe, Macon, and Madison counties from Waynesville. The firm guides executors and administrators through estate administration — opening the estate at the courthouse, paying creditors in the order the law requires, and filing the final accounting — and states it has done this work for over two decades. Sarah P. Wenzel handles the estate and probate work.
A Hendersonville practice limited to estate planning and estate and trust administration, serving clients from across Western North Carolina. Evan Gilreath and Adam Shealy handle probate, trust administration, distribution of assets from estates and trusts, and fiduciary income and estate tax returns. Both are NC 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.
Serves Mecklenburg County from Charlotte, with a second North Carolina office in Raleigh. The trust and estate administration team advises executors and trustees on probate, estate tax returns, distributions, and trust modifications, and handles fiduciary litigation. Chambers High Net Worth ranks the practice in North Carolina private wealth law.
Works from four North Carolina offices — Raleigh, Charlotte, Rocky Mount, and Southern Pines. Its Trusts & Estates group lists trust and estate administration alongside planning, testamentary documents and inter vivos trusts, closely held business succession, and charitable trusts. The published practice page names neither probate nor contested estate litigation.
All 12 North Carolina trust administration firms serving Buncombe 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.
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.
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 Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in North Carolina happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeN.C.G.S. § 36C-1-101 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
In North Carolina, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 36C-7-708, 32-54, 32-55, 32-56, 32-57, 32-58, 32-60Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.
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.
Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
North Carolina requires a final state income tax return for the decedent alongside the federal Form 1040N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-153.7Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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.
