• Blog Post

    NC Court of Appeals: While decedent’s actions effectively bypassed will, “it was his prerogative to do so.”

                  On July 21, 2015, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a ruling emphasizing the importance of executing cohesive estate documents and appointing a trusted fiduciary to execute the testator’s wishes.[1]               Dwight Jordan died testate with four children, and his will instructed the estate to be divided between them in equal shares.  Mr. Jordan named one of his sons, Raymond Baxter Jordan (“Defendant”), as the executor, and designated him as his attorney-in-fact.  The same day he executed the will, Mr. Jordan and the Defendant converted Mr. Jordan’s bank account to a joint account with rights of survivorship.  The bank account comprised…