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The Other Side of Having a Last Will and Testament in North Carolina

By Sabrina Winters

If you pass a way while a resident of North Carolina and you do not have a Last Will and Testament, the State of North Carolina dictates how your assets are distributed.  It is called Intestacy.  The Intestacy laws dictate the distribution of your personal and real property based upon who was alive on the day you died.

For example, a husband dies and leaves behind a wife and one child who is a minor.  His wife would take what is described as a one-half interest in any real property (meaning a home, a piece of rental property or vacant land); $30,000 off the top in personal property plus one-half of any balance remaining.  The other half of the real property would then be owned by his child.  After his wife has taken her share of the personal property (cash, bank accounts, investment accounts, etc.) his minor child would take the remainder.

Think about this…what if your child is a minor when you pass away?  Do you want his or her share to be placed into a trust until he or she turned the age of majority (currently 18 years old)?  It could ultimately be possible, without having a Last Will and Testament, that your surviving spouse would own a home jointly with a trust.  Money you had anticipated would be available for your child’s college or other needs are now in trust and not as available as you may have wanted.

Having a Last Will and Testament will allow you to dictate who receives your assets and what assets they get when you pass away. Do not leave it up to the State of North Carolina to say who gets what and how much.

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