2009 North Carolina Code
Chapter 28A - Administration of Decedents' Estates.
§ 28A-6-1. Application for letters; grant of letters.

Article 6.

Appointment of Personal Representative.

§ 28A‑6‑1.  Application for letters; grant of letters.

(a)        The application for letters of administration or letters testamentary shall be in the form of an affidavit sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, signed by the applicant or his attorney, which may be supported by other proof under oath in writing, all of which shall be recorded and filed by the clerk of superior court, and shall allege the following facts:

(1)        The name, and to the extent known, the domicile and the date and place of death of the decedent;

(2)        The legal residence and mailing address of the applicant;

(3)        The names, ages and mailing addresses of the decedent's heirs and devisees, including the names and mailing addresses of the guardians of those having court‑appointed guardians, so far as all of these facts are known or can with reasonable diligence be ascertained;

(4)        That the applicant is the person entitled to apply for letters, or that he applies after persons having prior right to apply are shown to have renounced under Article 5 of this  Chapter, or that he applies subject to the provisions of G.S. 28A‑6‑2(1), and that he is not disqualified under G.S. 28A‑4‑2.

(5)        The nature and probable value of the decedent's property, both real and personal, and the location of such property, so far as all of these facts are known or can with reasonable diligence be ascertained; and

(6)        If the decedent was not domiciled in this State at the time of his death, a schedule of his property located in this State, and the name and mailing address of his domiciliary personal representative, or if there is none, whether a proceeding to appoint one is pending.

(b)        If it appears to the clerk of superior court that the application and supporting evidence comply with the requirements of subsection (a) and on the basis thereof he finds that the applicant is entitled to appointment, he shall issue letters of administration or letters testamentary to the applicant unless in his discretion he determines that the best interests of the estate would be served by delaying the appointment of a personal representative, in which case he may appoint a collector as provided in Article 11. (C.C.P., s. 461; Code, s. 1381; Rev., s. 26; C.S., s. 28; 1973, c. 1329, s. 3.)