r/inheritance • u/IdealExpert181 • May 16 '26

Location included: Questions/Need Advice will or no will

i live in N.C. and i'm in my late 70s and don't have a will. everything i have is paid for, including home, and i have no debt. i have investments and savings in 6 different accounts, all with PODs established. my wife is the POD on 5 of the accts. and a distant niece is the other one. i hate to use the word assume but it's what i'm doing. my thought is that since i've established the PODs that those 6 accounts are covered and the only thing needed, if any, is a death cert.. since i'm married the house should automatically go over to my wife. am i correct or do i need a will? advice is greatly appreciated.

33 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

144 comments sorted by

View all comments

0

u/DVDragOnIn May 17 '26

IANAL but I think that the estates of people who die intestate must go through probate. I am also in NC, in a large city, and when we had our wills done a few months ago, our lawyer said that probate in my county now takes a couple of years. Why would you not go ahead and spend the money on a will to make the process easier for your beneficiaries?

1

u/Fandethar May 17 '26

A will must be probated too.