Attested Wills In North Carolina
Testamentary Formalities – Attested Wills In North Carolina In North Carolina, the most common type of will is the attested written will, governed by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 31-3.3. An attested will is witnessed by others. Attest meaning “to declare to be true, to bear witness to, certify”. The statute has four requirements, all of which are necessary for a valid attested written will. (1)First, an attested written will must be signed by the testator and attested by at least two competent witnesses. This means that the person who seeks to create her last will and testament must sign the will, and...
Read MoreLitigation Involving a Will Contest to be determined by a Jury in NC
Will Contests in North Carolina (known as Will Caveats) are a special type of civil litigation. The statutes require that will contests can only be resolved with a jury trial, not a bench decision. There are a few newer exceptions, including that the parties involved can reach a written settlement that can be approved by a judge. However, before the statutes changed, even if the parties agreed to a settlement, it still had to be ruled upon by a jury. One amusing example where this was applied and backfired on the parties occurred while Judge Rousseau was a Superior Court Judge. Judge...
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