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Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 28A-2A-17

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • property: shall include all property, both real and personal. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • seal: shall be construed to include an impression of such official seal, made upon the paper alone, as well as an impression made by means of a wafer or of wax affixed thereto. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • United States: shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3

(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, if the will of a citizen or subject of another state or country is probated in accordance with the laws of that jurisdiction and a duly certified copy of the will and the probate proceedings are produced before a clerk of superior court of any county wherein the testator had property, the copy of the will shall be probated as if it were the original. If the jurisdiction is within the United States, the copy of the will and the probate proceedings shall be certified by the clerk of the court wherein the will was probated. If the jurisdiction is outside the United States, the copy of the will and probate proceedings shall be certified by any ambassador, minister, consul or commercial agent of the United States under his official seal.

(b) For a copy of a will probated under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section to be valid to pass title to or otherwise dispose of real estate in this State, the execution of said will according to the laws of this State either at the time of its execution or at the time of the death of the testator, or as otherwise recognized as valid under the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 31-46, must appear affirmatively, to the satisfaction of the clerk of the superior court of the county in which such will is offered for probate, from the testimony of a witness or witnesses to such will, or from findings of fact or recitals in the order of probate, or otherwise in such certified copy of the will and probate proceedings.

(c) If the execution of the will in accordance with the laws of this State either at the time of its execution or at the time of the death of the testator, or as otherwise recognized as valid under the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 31-46, does not appear as required by subsection (b) of this section, the clerk before whom the copy is exhibited shall have power to take proof as prescribed in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-2A-16, and the will may be adjudged duly proved, and if so proved, the will shall be recorded as herein provided.

(d) Any copy of a will of a nonresident heretofore allowed, filed and recorded in this State in compliance with the foregoing shall be valid to pass title to or otherwise dispose of real estate in this State. (C.C.P., s. 444; 1883, c. 144; Code, s. 2156; 1885, c. 393; Rev., s. 3133; C.S., s. 4152; 1941, c. 381; 1965, c. 995; 1987, c. 78, s. 3; 2011-344, ss. 3, 4; 2013-91, s. 1(h).)