Will Contest Propounders & Caveators
What is a caveator? Answer: It is the person who files a caveat action to challenge the validity of a Last Will & Testament in North Carolina. What is the Propounder? Answer: It is the person(s) who defend the probated Last Will & Testament and claim it is valid. There are two sets of parties in a Will Contest in North Carolina, the Propounders (defenders of the probated will) & Caveators (challengers to the filed will). Call Kirk Sanders, attorney, if you need representation either as a caveator or propounder in a will contest....
Read MoreBasic Overview of Will Contests in North Carolina
Will Caveats are a strange creature in the North Carolina Court system. They start out as an estate. The Estate gets transferred to Superior Court. Will Contests cases must be tried by a jury, not a bench trial. It all boils down to whether the testator (Signer of the Last Will & Testament) knew what he or she was doing by making the will, and did it of his or her own free will without undue influence. Undue Influence has a whole spectrum of factors dealt with in other news articles on this website. Call NC Estate Litigation Attorney, Kirk Sanders, to discuss your case. 336-768-1515...
Read MorePower-of-Attorney Do’s & Don’t’s (NC POA Attorney)
How do I perform as a good power of attorney? 1) Remember the #1 Rule: the Power of Attorney agent (a/k/a Attorney-in-Fact) must act in the “best interest of the principal” (Principal is the person who executes the power of attorney) 2) Remember #2 Rule: the power of attorney agent acts as a fiduciary for the principal. a. One definition of fiduciary is: A fiduciary is a legal or ethical relationship of trust between two or more parties. Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money for another person. Another includes the definition: Trustee. 3) Rule #3: Maintain all statements,...
Read MoreTrusts-Trustee in NC has duty to Give Accounting (NC attorney)
What if my trustee refuses to give me an accounting of the trust? Unless the trust document says otherwise, trustees have a duty to provide an accounting to a beneficiary. In addition the trustee has a duty to provide the trust document. Clients have hired me on numerous occasions to get these accountings and the trust documents. If you are in a position where you are not getting informed, please contact Kirk Sanders at 336-768-1515 If you have a case of misappropriation or embezzlement by a trustee, Kirk Sanders litigates those breach of fiduciary claims. Here’s the statute (as of January...
Read MoreWhat is being attacked in a Will Contest
A Will caveat is an in rem proceeding. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 31-32. It is an attack upon the validity of the instrument purporting to be a will. The will and not the property devised is the res (or probated assets) involved in the litigation. So when a caveator is contesting a will in NC, they are attacking the validity of the will, not the estate. An attack on the estate, or interpretation of the will, is a different type of estate litigation case. See also 1961 case, IN THE MATTER OF THE WILL OF SARA B. COX, Deceased A will contest has to be filed within three years of the will being...
Read More