Serves New Hanover, Brunswick, Pender, and Onslow counties from Wilmington. Nick Leger represents executors, administrators, and trustees through probate and intestate administration — inventories, creditor notices, accountings, and distribution — and litigates will caveats, undue-influence claims, and spousal elective-share disputes. The practice is limited to estate work and guardianship.
What to Do When Someone Dies in Pender County, North Carolina
How probate works in Pender County: the Clerk of Superior Court record, what the process costs, and how to file there.
Probate Court Record
Pender County Clerk of Superior Court
Pender County · Superior Court District 6
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Office
100 South Wright Street, Burgaw, NC 28425
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
E-filing
Required for attorneysAttorneys file estate documents through eCourts File & Serve. Self-represented filers may use File & Serve or file on paper at the clerk's office. The original will and any codicils are delivered to the clerk on paper and stay in the clerk's office. On paper: Self-represented filers may file on paper at the clerk's office; Original wills and codicils are delivered to the clerk on paper.
Self-represented filing
AllowedAn estate may be opened and administered without a lawyer. The statewide estate forms are on the Judicial Branch forms page.
Accepted payment
- At the counterCash, Credit card, Debit card, Money order.In person at the Cashier's Office in the courthouse: cash, credit or debit card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, plus processing fees), money order or certified check; personal checks are not accepted. By mail: money order or certified check, payable to Pender County Clerk of Superior Court. Filing fees on documents filed through eCourts File & Serve are paid online in File & Serve.
P.O. Box 310
Burgaw, NC 28425
About the court
- The court also uses the Frances Dawson Basden Judicial Annex at 100 Dickerson Street, Burgaw (910-663-3958).
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
How Probate Works in Pender County
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling someone's estate after they die — validating the will, paying debts and taxes, and transferring what's left to the heirs. In Pender County, probate runs through the Clerk of Superior Court at 100 South Wright Street, Burgaw. The court sits in the Superior Court District 6. The same Superior Court District 6 also serves New Hanover.
The personal representative opens the case, gives notice to heirs and creditors, files an inventory of the estate's assets, settles outstanding debts and taxes, and then distributes the remainder under the will — or under North Carolina intestacy law when there is no will.
Most North Carolina estates take 9 months to 12 months to move through this process. 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 a claim, counted from the first publication of the notice to creditors.
What Probate Costs in Pender County
What probate costs in Pender County, North Carolina comes down to a handful of line items — the court filing fee, attorney and executor compensation, publication, and sometimes a bond — scaled by the estate's size and whether the will is contested. The case itself runs through the Clerk of Superior Court at 100 South Wright Street, Burgaw. The court is part of the Superior Court District 6.
North Carolina charges $120 plus 0.4% of personal property, up to $6,120N.C.G.S. § 7A-307(a)(1), (1a), (2)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source to open probate, the same in every county. Additional filings during administration — inventory, accounting, the final petition — add to the total.
Estimate the costs for this estate:
Attorney fees in North Carolina are negotiated, typically 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 estate value. Flat-fee arrangements are common for straightforward estates.
North Carolina allows executors 'reasonable compensation' — around 2.2%–3.8% of a $500,000 estate, judging by what the states with statutory schedules payN.C.G.S. § 28A-23-3 (clerk sets commission up to 5% on receipts/expenditures; no fixed schedule)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Family members who are also beneficiaries often waive the fee — executor pay is taxable income while inheritances are not.
North Carolina requires publishing notice to creditors in a local newspaper, and the estate pays for it.
A surety bond may be required unless the will waives it or all beneficiaries consent. Premiums run roughly 0.5%Industry surety premium estimate; the bond itself under N.C.G.S. § 28A-8-1Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of estate value annually.
Probate in North Carolina typically runs 9 months to 12 months, and costs accrue throughout that period.
How to File Probate at the Clerk of Superior Court
Probate cases in Pender County, North Carolina are filed at the Clerk of Superior Court. The court sits in the Superior Court District 6.
Can You File Without an Attorney?
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.
For a full cost comparison and filing checklist, see the Pender County Self-Filing Assessment.
Getting to the Clerk of Superior Court
Parking
Handicap parking and the handicap entrance are at the rear of the building.
What to Bring
Filed with the opening petition at the Clerk of Superior Court: Evidence of the decedent’s death — a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate is the first of four alternatives the clerk may accept; the NC Judicial Branch tells applicants to bring a certified death certificate (N.C. Gen. Stat. 28A-6-1(c)); Original will and any codicils (offered for probate; AOC-E-201 / addendum AOC-E-309 for out-of-state probate) (N.C. Gen. Stat. 28A-2A-1); Oath / Affirmation of the personal representative (AOC-E-400) (N.C. Gen. Stat. 28A-7-1)N.C. Gen. Stat. 28A-6-1 (application for & grant of letters), 28A-6-2 (letters without notice), 28A-2A-1 (probate of will); 28A-7-1 (oath required before letters issue)Verified Aug 24, 2026View source.
Death Certificates and the Medical Examiner in Pender County
In North Carolina a death is registered locally, and in Pender County certified copies of the death certificate are issued by Pender County Register of Deeds as well as by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services - NC Vital Records.
Vital Records Office Record
Register of Deeds
Pender County · Pender County Register of Deeds
Phone
1-910-259-1225 (ext. 2)
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM
Office
803 South Walker Street, Burgaw, NC 28425
Website
Certified copies
At the counter
Order online
P.O. Box 43
Burgaw, NC 28425
Fax
1-910-259-1299
Local rule
- The online order covers deaths in Pender County only. An in-person or mailed request carries a valid government-issued picture identification.
Certified copy fees
| First certified copy | $10 |
Verified November 2, 2026 · Source
Coroner or Medical Examiner Record
State Medical Examiner
Pender County · North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
Phone
1-919-743-9000 (option 3 for family inquiries)
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office
4312 District Drive, Raleigh, NC 27607
Website
Serves this county
North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
Mail and offices
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
3025 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-3025
Fax
1-919-743-9099
Verified November 2, 2026 · Source
Transferring Property in Pender County
Clearing title to real estate after a death, whether by a personal representative’s deed, an affidavit of survivorship, or a court order, happens at the Register of Deeds.
Deeds and other real property documents for Pender County are recorded with the Register of Deeds at 803 South Walker Street, Burgaw, NC 28425. Phone: 1-910-259-1225. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
Documents submitted by mail go to P.O. Box 43, Burgaw, NC 28425.
The Register of Deeds charges $26 for the first 15 pages plus $4 for each page beyond 15.
Pender County accepts electronic recording through Simplifile and CSC.
Recording Office Record
Register of Deeds
Pender County
Phone
1-910-259-1225 (ext. 2)
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
Office
803 South Walker Street, Burgaw, NC 28425
Website
E-recording
P.O. Box 43
Burgaw, NC 28425
Fax
1-910-259-1299
Recording fees
| Base fee (first 15 pages) | $26 |
| Each page beyond 15 | $4 |
| Non-Standard Document Fee | $25 |
NCGS 161-10(a)(1)
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Probate Attorneys Serving Pender County
North Carolina uses formal, court-supervised probate, which makes an attorney worthwhile for most estates in Pender County — the filing sequence, notice requirements, and accounting leave little room for error. Estates under the small-estate threshold are the usual exception.
Probate attorney fees in North Carolina are based on reasonable compensation, billed hourly or as a flat fee. Ask a Pender County firm to quote a structure up front.
A probate attorney files the petition with the Clerk of Superior Court, publishes the required creditor notices, prepares the inventory and accounting, handles creditor claims and tax filings, and guides the final distribution. They represent the personal representative — not the beneficiaries — a distinction that matters if a dispute develops.
A small father-and-son practice in downtown Wilmington, serving New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick counties. James Seay III carries personal representatives through estate administration — gathering and valuing assets, notifying creditors, filing inventories and accounts, and distributing to heirs — and handles will contests. Initial consultations are a flat $250 except in estate planning matters.
Serves Onslow, Pender, Duplin, and Jones counties from Jacksonville, including residents of Camp Lejeune. It files the paperwork to open and administer the estate, organizes its finances and taxes, answers litigation brought by an heir left out of the will, and handles partition proceedings when heirs inherit the same real property. Kevin McConnell serves as Onslow County Public Administrator.
Serves the Crystal Coast from Bridges Street in Morehead City, with clients in Beaufort, New Bern and Jacksonville. Its probate work runs from qualifying the personal representative and obtaining letters testamentary through creditor claims, the spousal year's allowance, inventories and final accountings, and extends to will caveats. Cecil Harvell opened the practice in 1987.
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.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to verify their current practice areas and availability.
Legal Sources
(9)·
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 28A-6-1 (application for & grant of letters), 28A-6-2 (letters without notice), 28A-2A-1 (probate of will); 28A-7-1 (oath required before letters issue)
- N.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)
- N.C.G.S. § 28A-23-3 (clerk sets commission up to 5% on receipts/expenditures; no fixed schedule)
- N.C.G.S. § 7A-307(a)(1), (1a), (2)
- NCGS §§ 28A-14-1, 28A-19-1, 28A-19-3, 28A-19-6, 28A-19-16
- NCGS 161-10(a)(1)
- Pender County Clerk of Superior Court, official page
- Pender County Register of Deeds, official page
- Pender County vital records and death investigation offices, official page
Data sourced from North Carolina statutes and official state code. Fee percentages are modeled estimates; each figure's note says how. How we research.
Tools for Settling an Estate in North Carolina
Free tools for settling an estate in North Carolina: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines and taxes. Run each tool.
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.
See the Steps
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.
See the Steps
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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