As you come upon the New Year, it is a good time to consider whether your estate is in proper order. If you had and major changes in your life, such as divorce, the death of a loved one or a move to a different state, you should review the plan you have in place. I would encourage you to review the plan you have in place every three to five years or sooner if you have had a major life change. It may be that all is in order and no changes need to be made; however, you may … Continue reading →

Living probate allows a person to file an action petitioning the court to have a Will declared valid. What makes this law new and different is that the Will is proved before the testator (the person whose will it is) dies. The purpose, of course, is to prevent a contest of the validity of a Will after the testator’s death. A judicial declaration (court order) is sought that declares that a Will is valid prior to the death of the testator. If the court declares the Will valid, this order is binding on all parties and bars actions after death … Continue reading →

Although the Internal Revenue Service began recognizing same-sex marriages on August 29, 2013, the North Carolina Department of Revenue has now issued a Directive that does the same (October 24, 2014). The Directive states “Same-sex couples who are legally married under any state law by December 31, 2014 must generally file a North Carolina income tax return using the same filing status claimed on the federal income tax return. However, if one spouse is a non-resident individual and has no North Carolina taxable income of the tax year, the spouse that is a resident of North Carolina or has North … Continue reading →

North Carolina law protects disabled adults of any age from abuse, neglect and exploitation. The law states that “any person having reasonable cause to believe that a disabled adult is in need of protective services shall report such information.” Different types of abuse include physical or mental abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation. Financial exploitation includes the illegal or improper use of a disabled or impaired adult’s resources for another person’s profit or advantage. It is this last type of abuse that we concern ourselves with here. While we often encourage clients to consider executing a Durable Power of Attorney, it … Continue reading →

Effective October 1, 2013, the Elective Share rules for persons who die domiciled in North Carolina have been simplified and changed.  Although the rules are now easier to understand, they may have a dramatic change on married couples property rights in North Carolina. The “Elective Share” is the amount that a deceased person’s surviving spouse can elect to receive from the decedent’s estate if the decedent left them a lesser share (or nothing at all) in his or her Will.  This Elective Share allows the spouse to disregard the deceased spouse’s Will to the extent allowed under the law. Under … Continue reading →

North Carolina recently saw sweeping changes to the tax laws. The North Carolina legislature repealed the State’s estate tax making it retroactive to July 1, 2013.  The timing is key for wealthy families with deaths in the family since the beginning of the year. Those that had deaths in the family in 2013 expecting to pay a North Carolina Estate Tax received great news and substantial savings with this retroactive change. The lack of an estate tax will be beneficial to North Carolina, encouraging people to stay put or move to North Carolina from other less tax friendly states. Many … Continue reading →

Most people don’t think about what will happen if they die without a Will. As a matter of fact, most people don’t think about Wills at all. Over half of Americans have never executed a Last Will and Testament. What they may not realize, however, is what happens to their estate (the house, the car, the business, the bank accounts) in these circumstances. Dying without a Will is called dying “Intestate” and is covered in the North Carolina statutes under N.C.G.S. Section 29-13 et seq. Under these statutes, the State of North Carolina determines a person’s heirs and they may … Continue reading →