How Much Does Probate Cost in North Carolina?
North Carolina’s probate process is not as expensive or daunting as some states. Still, there are real costs involved. In this week’s post, we’ll break down the typical expenses you can expect if your estate goes through probate in North Carolina.
Understanding Probate and Its Costs
As we’ve discussed in previous posts, “probate” is the legal process of settling an estate after someone passes away. In North Carolina, this means the Clerk of Court oversees paying off any debts and then transferring the remaining assets to the heirs or beneficiaries. In addition to a myriad of rules that must be followed and state-issued forms that must be filed, probate comes with fees that can chip away at the estate’s value before it reaches your heirs. These costs generally fall into a few categories:
Court Costs: Paid to the court for processing the estate.
Attorney fees: If you hire a lawyer to help with estate administration.
Executor compensation: A fee for the person managing the estate (if they choose to take it).
Other expenses: Things like probate bonds, appraisal fees, and newspaper notice costs.
All of these are payable or reimbursable from the estate itself. Let’s look at each in turn, and see what they might total for a $250,000 estate.
Court Costs
These are the costs of filing and processing the estate in court. North Carolina charges $120 to start plus a percentage of the estate’s value. The state fee is 0.4% of the estate (or $0.40 per $100) with a cap fee of $6,000. For a $250,000 estate, 0.4% works out to $1,000. So altogether, court fees might be on the order of $1,100–$1,200, all paid from the estate’s funds.
Attorney Fees
Many families hire a probate attorney to help navigate the process. Attorney fees in North Carolina can vary – some lawyers charge a flat rate and some charge on an hourly basis. On a $250,000 estate, it could range $3,000-$6,000 depending on the presence of any complicating factors. In a straightforward case with no debt, the cost might lean toward the lower end of that range.
Executor Commissions
The executor (the person in charge of handling the estate) is allowed to be paid for their time and effort. North Carolina law caps executor compensation at 5% of the estate’s value. For a $250,000 estate, 5% would be up to $12,500. However, a rate closer to 3% ($7,500) is common in some counties. In practice, some family executors choose to waive or reduce this fee, but if taken, it’s paid from the estate as well. This compensation is meant to reimburse the executor for tasks like paperwork, paying bills, and distributing assets.
Other Expenses
Every estate may incur a few extra costs. These can include things like:
Appraisal fees (for valuables like real estate, collectibles, and jewelry),
Accounting fees (if an accountant helps with filing your final tax return), and
Bond premiums if the court requires the executor to post a bond.
Notice to Creditors is required by law to be published in the local newspaper which usually ranges from $200 to $400.
So What’s the Bottom Line?
For our example of a $250,000 estate with no debt, the total probate costs might roughly range from a $10,000 to $20,000. In percentage terms, that’s often about 4%–8% of the estate (and it could be higher if the estate is complex or has more assets).
Final Thought
It could be worse given the rules in other states, but North Carolina’s probate process definitely comes with its own fees and expenses—court filings, attorney fees, executor commissions, and other odds and ends. Fortunately, a little bit of planning can go a long way toward minimizing these costs. The less that flows through probate, the less you can generally expect to pay.
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