Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: North Carolina charges $120.00 in flat court fees plus 0.4% of the gross estate, capped at $6,000; a $250,000 estate costs $1,106.00.
If a trust could save your estate this fee in North Carolina
A living trust avoids probate entirely in North Carolina, which means the estate skips the $120.00 above along with every other cost the court charges once a case is open. LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
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What North Carolina charges to open probate
North Carolina prices this as a percentage of the estate’s value rather than a flat amount, so the total scales up continuously as the estate gets larger.
| Flat filing/facilities/technology fee | $120.00 |
| Rate on the gross estate | 0.4% |
| Example: a $250,000 estate | $1,106.00 |
| Cap on the percentage component | $6,000.00 |
Where this money goes and who sets it
The authority for this figure is N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-307(a). In the source’s own words: “the sum of one hundred six dollars ($106.00) … plus an additional forty cents (40¢) per one hundred dollars ($100.00), or major fraction thereof, of the gross estate, not to exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000)”
What this fee doesn’t cover
Because North Carolina prices this as a percentage, a larger estate pays proportionally more just to open the file, before any attorney is even hired. Either way, this is the court’s own charge just to open the file and issue letters, separate from what an attorney charges to actually handle the estate and separate from any state estate or inheritance tax the estate itself might owe.
Sources
Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-307(a).