Estate & Inheritance Law Blog

The North Carolina Elective Share Law: An Overview   The North Carolina elective share law protects surviving spouses from being disinherited (when the deceased spouse's estate plan left everything to other people).  In addition to creating marital rights, the...

An Elective Share of What? It is a share of more than just the estate assets. It is possible to have a probate estate with no assets, and still have a big elective share case. How is this possible? The elective share is a portion of something called the Total Assets....

Can you disinherit your spouse in North Carolina? It's possible but there are laws to protect surviving spouses. North Carolina has one of the strongest laws to protect spouses from disinheritance. Disinheritance is when someone who would expect to receive...

Stopping Disinheritance   Protecting surviving spouses from disinheritance. The North Carolina elective share law is a powerful set of rules that ensures surviving spouses can inherit from their deceased spouse.  It creates fairness in how the estate is divided...

Spousal Elective Share vs. Spousal (Year's) Allowance Many people confuse the Spousal Allowance (formally called "Year's Allowance") and the Elective Share. They are both available to surviving spouses in the deceased spouse's estate proceeding. But they have very...