North Carolina courts have experienced an exponential increase in the amount of trusts and estates litigation in the past several years. Christian Perrin is a leader in North Carolina trust and estate related fiduciary litigation and has earned a reputation for excellence through his efforts to protect client interests in high-stakes trusts and estate disputes.
Declaratory Judgment Actions and Trust Modifications
North Carolina law permits a party with an interest in an estate or a trust to request that a court issue an order declaring the rights, duties, and interests of parties in connection with an estate or trust. A request for declaratory relief can arise not only out of disputed interpretations of a document’s language but also to provide some level of security to a fiduciary when a document is less than artfully drafted and the document’s intent is not entirely clear on its face.
Trust Reformations, Modifications & Terminations
Perrin Legal represents trustees and beneficiaries in connection with consensual and contested proceedings to reform, modify, or terminate otherwise irrevocable North Carolina trusts. North Carolina’s Uniform Trust Code permits a trustee or beneficiaries to petition the court for approval to modify, reform, or terminate a trust for certain reasons.
Will Caveats
The Latin term “caveat” means, for legal purposes, a challenge or contest to the validity of a deceased person’s last will and testament. A person who challenges a will’s validity is referred to as a “caveator.” A person who defends the validity of the will is called a “propounder.” Common challenges to a will’s validity include lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud or forgery, mistake, improper execution, and revocation.
Spousal Elective Share Proceedings
The purpose of North Carolina’s elective share statute is to prevent the partial or complete disinheritance of a surviving spouse, whether such disinheritance was intentional or unintentional.
Only a surviving spouse may file a claim with the court for an order awarding an elective share from the deceased spouse’s estate. The claim must be filed during the surviving spouse’s lifetime and must be filed within six months after Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary are issued to the personal representative of the deceased spouse’s estate.
Unless waived by the decedent’s personal representative and the surviving spouse, the court is required to calendar a hearing to determine the value of the surviving spouse’s elective share no later than six months after the surviving spouse has filed a petition for an elective share.
As a general rule, the value of a surviving spouse’s life estate is based upon the value of all property over which the deceased spouse had a controlling interest at the time of death.