North Carolina Small Estate Affidavit

Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of Decedent (AOC-E-203B)

A sworn affidavit filed with the clerk of superior court. A certified copy lets you collect the person's bank accounts, vehicles, stocks and other personal property. You then pay allowances and debts, distribute what is left, and file a closing affidavit. It works with or without a will.

Limit

Up to $20,000 (deaths on or after October 1, 2009) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

Date of death	Limit
On or after October 1, 2009	$20,000
On or before September 30, 2009	$10,000

The person's personal property, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be worth more than $20,000. If the affiant is the surviving spouse who inherits everything, the limit is $30,000, after subtracting any year's allowance paid to the spouse. For deaths before October 1, 2009, the limits were $10,000 and $20,000.

What counts

The value of all the person's personal property, minus liens and encumbrances on it. When the surviving spouse inherits everything and uses the $30,000 limit, any spouse's year's allowance paid is also subtracted. Real estate is not counted, whatever its value.

Waiting period

At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no one can have applied for or been appointed as personal representative in any state.

Who can use it

An heir, a will beneficiary (devisee), a person named as executor in the will, a creditor, or the county's public administrator, if not disqualified. If there is a will, it must first be admitted to probate and a certified copy attached. The $30,000 limit applies only when the surviving spouse is the affiant and inherits everything. With the AOC form, all applicants sign.

Court or where to file

Clerk of superior court of the county where the person was domiciled at death. The clerk indexes it and mails a copy to the people entitled to the property.

Notary

Each signer's signature must be notarized, or acknowledged before the clerk, an assistant or a deputy clerk.

Papers to attach

Certified death certificate
Certified copy of the will, if there is one (the will must already be probated and recorded in each county where the person owned real estate)
Preliminary inventory of assets on side two of form AOC-E-203B
Description of each tract of real property the person owned
Names and addresses of everyone entitled to the property and their relationship to the person

Steps

Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
If there is a will, have it probated by the clerk first.
Fill in form AOC-E-203B, including the preliminary inventory, and sign it before a notary or the clerk.
File it with the clerk of superior court in the county where the person lived and pay the fees.
Give certified copies to banks, the DMV and others holding property, and collect it.
Pay the year's allowances first, then the debts in the legal order of priority, then distribute the rest to the heirs or beneficiaries.
Within 90 days after filing, file the closing Affidavit of Collection, Disbursement and Distribution (AOC-E-204) and pay the rest of the fee.

Fee

$120 when you file: a $10 facilities fee, a $4 court technology fee and the $106 General Court of Justice fee. When you file the closing affidavit you also pay 40 cents per $100 of the gross estate collected (minimum $15).

If you can't pay

All fees are waived on written request if the amount to be collected is $5,000 or less and comes only from the state Escheat Fund (unclaimed property).

Debts and responsibility

The person who collects is answerable and accountable to any personal representative appointed later and to anyone else with an interest in the estate. The clerk can hold an affiant who does not distribute the property or file the closing affidavit in contempt, or require a bond.

What the bank or holder must do

A holder who pays or transfers property on a proper affidavit is released as if it dealt with a personal representative and does not have to check the truth of the affidavit. If a holder refuses, the property can be recovered in a court action, and the court costs and attorney's fees are charged to the holder whose refusal made the action necessary.

Forms

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. secs. 28A-25-1 to 28A-25-5; N.C. Gen. Stat. secs. 7A-307

Source: Official page

What counts toward the limit in North Carolina

Add up the date-of-death value of the person's personal property that is part of the estate and subtract liens and encumbrances on it. If the surviving spouse inherits everything and uses the $30,000 limit, also subtract any year's allowance paid to the spouse. Do not count real estate. Leave out property that passes by survivorship or to a named beneficiary.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. secs. 28A-25-1, 28A-25-1.1; AOC-E-203 instructions (Rev. 8/21)

In this state the total is counted after subtracting liens.

Kind of property	How it is treated	Details
Bank accounts in the person's name alone	Counts	Bank and credit union accounts in the person's name alone count. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1(c); AOC-E-203 instructions
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts	Left out	Joint accounts with right of survivorship and payable-on-death accounts pass to the survivor or beneficiary and are left out (though they can be reached to pay debts if the estate is short). A joint account without right of survivorship counts for the person's share. Law: G.S. 41-2.1, 53C-6-7; AOC-E-203 instructions
Cars and other vehicles	Counts	Vehicles in the person's name count as personal property. They can be transferred with the small estate affidavit or the DMV heirs' affidavit. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1(c), 20-77(b)
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes	Not clear	The law does not separately address boats or mobile homes. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1
Real estate in North Carolina	Left out	Real estate is not counted toward the limit, whatever its value. The affidavit only describes it. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1(a)(8); AOC-E-203 instructions
Main home (primary residence)	Left out	The home is real estate and is not counted toward the limit. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1; AOC-E-203 instructions
Real estate in another state	Left out	Real estate is not counted toward the limit. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1; AOC-E-203 instructions
Unpaid wages owed to the person	Counts	Money owed to the person, such as unpaid wages, is personal property and a contract right of the estate and counts. The affidavit can be used to collect it. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1(c), 28A-25-1.1(c)
Military pay owed to the person	Not clear	The law does not separately address military pay owed to the person. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person	Left out	Life insurance, pension, IRA, 401(k) and annuity money paid to a named beneficiary other than the estate is left out. Law: AOC-E-203 instructions, Part III
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate	Counts	Insurance or retirement money payable to the estate is personal property of the estate and counts. Law: AOC-E-203 instructions; AOC-E-850
Property in a living trust	Left out	Property in a trust passes outside the estate and is left out.
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship	Left out	Property held with right of survivorship, and real estate owned with the spouse as tenants by the entirety, passes to the survivor and is left out. Law: G.S. 41-2.1; AOC-E-203 instructions
Property going to a surviving spouse	Counts	Personal property passing to the surviving spouse counts toward the $20,000 limit. Only when the spouse inherits everything and uses the $30,000 limit is the year's allowance paid to the spouse (up to $60,000 for deaths on or after March 1, 2024) subtracted first. Law: G.S. 28A-25-1(a), 28A-25-1.1(a), 30-15
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts	Counts	Stocks and bonds in the person's name alone, or jointly owned without right of survivorship (the person's share), count. Securities registered with a transfer-on-death beneficiary are left out. Law: G.S. 41-40 et seq; AOC-E-203 instructions
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings	Counts	Furniture, jewelry and other belongings count at fair market value on the date of death. Law: AOC-E-203 instructions

Source: Official page

Questions about small estates in North Carolina

How long must I wait to use the affidavit in North Carolina?

At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no one can have applied for or been appointed as personal representative in any state.

What does the affidavit cost in North Carolina?

$120 when you file: a $10 facilities fee, a $4 court technology fee and the $106 General Court of Justice fee. When you file the closing affidavit you also pay 40 cents per $100 of the gross estate collected (minimum $15).

Am I responsible for debts if I use the affidavit in North Carolina?

The person who collects is answerable and accountable to any personal representative appointed later and to anyone else with an interest in the estate. The clerk can hold an affiant who does not distribute the property or file the closing affidavit in contempt, or require a bond.

Related pages

Free help in North Carolina

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.