Once the executor pays outstanding taxes and debts, distributes all assets, and completes all other tasks necessary to close an estate, the court requires filing a Final Account (Form AOC-E-506).
Personal representatives (i.e., executors and administrators of the estate) are required to provide beneficiaries and other interested parties (i.e., persons or entities with a financial stake in the estate) with financial information about the estate they are overseeing.
If the estate is not finalized within one year, then the personal representative must file a request for the estate to remain open and file an annual account. An annual accounting must be filed every year thereafter until the final accounting is filed. G.S. 28A-21-1.
An administrator may not sell realty without the court's permission. Further, Heirs must execute the deed for a valid transfer. The deed lists all heirs and their marital status; spouses of heirs must join in signing the deed to release homestead rights under North Carolina law.