If you are a creditor of a decedent who resided in North Carolina, the window to file claims is extremely time sensitive. If a claim is not brought within the statutory period, then it is barred by law. Often claims may be contested, especially claims for personal services or contracts with the decedent that may or may not be known by the family or serving Executor. If you are an Estate Creditor and need legal representation filing and getting paid on an Estate claim, call our North Carolina Probate lawyer at (704) 608-3429. We serve the Mecklenburg County – Charlotte North Carolina metro area, include surrounding counties of Gaston County, Iredell County, Union County, and Cabarrus County, as well as towns of Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville, Matthews, Monroe, Weddington, Waxhaw, Concord, Mooresville, Statesville, and Gastonia. We also have attorneys licensed in South Carolina with an office located in Fort Mill, SC.

Process used by Probate Creditors

Once the Executor is granted Letters of Administration or Letters of Testamentary, they are required to inform the Estate’s Creditors that the deceased has passed away. The Executor must publish a legal notice in the newspaper for four consecutive weeks notifying all creditors who may have a claim against the Estate, so that they may give notice of those claims (N.C.G.S. 28-A-14-1(a)). The Executor is required to provide 90-days from the date of the first publication of the notice for the Estate Creditors to present their claims. After they publish the Notice, the newspaper will send a document called an Affidavit of Publication that lists the dates on which the Notice appeared in the newspaper. An Executor must file this document with the court as proof of publication. Once the 90-days are passed and all creditor claims have been submitted to the Executor, payment for valid claims may be processed from the Estate. If the Executor decides a claim is not valid, they must file a Notice of Disallowance within 60-days. They must treat creditors as fairly as those persons who will inherit property from the Estate. If there is not enough money in the estate, the Executor must pay the debts of all  before any property can be distributed to heirs.

What Should you do?

For questions regarding North Carolina Estate Creditor claims, contact our North Carolina Estate Attorney at (704) 608-3429 or e-mail info@nosaljeterlaw.com to set up a consultation