North Carolina Form AOC-E-507 is the Account form that every personal representative, collector, and guardian must file with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the estate is being administered, and it reports every dollar that flowed in and out of the estate during a specific accounting period. Filing it correctly is the single biggest hurdle between you and closing the estate, because the Clerk audits each line, each voucher, and each beginning balance against the 90-Day Inventory (AOC-E-505) or the prior year’s account before approving it.
The current revision of AOC-E-507 carries a Rev. 6/2024 date in the bottom-left corner, and you should always pull the most recent version from the NCAOC forms library instead of reusing an older saved copy. North Carolina clerks audit roughly 140,000 estate accounts a year, and the NCAOC’s internal data shows that more than 1 in 3 accounts is returned at least once for math errors, missing vouchers, or mismatched beginning balances, which is why this guide walks you through every box.
- 📋 What AOC-E-507 reports and which filers (executor, administrator, collector, guardian) must use it.
- 🧾 The exact documents, vouchers, and statements you must gather before opening the form.
- ✍️ A line-by-line walkthrough of every box, schedule, and signature block on the form.
- 👨👩👧 Three full filled-out scenarios — a small estate, a mid-size estate with a house sale, and an annual account with minor beneficiaries.
- ⚠️ The 12 most common Clerk-of-Court rejection triggers and how to avoid every one of them.
What AOC-E-507 Is and Who Must File It
AOC-E-507 is the official Account form approved by the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts under the authority of N.C.G.S. § 28A-21-1, the statute that requires every personal representative to render a full account of receipts and disbursements. The form is used for three different filings: an Annual Account, a Final Account, and an account by a collector or guardian of an estate. The same paper form is used for each, and the filer simply checks the correct box at the top of page one to tell the Clerk which kind of account this is.
You must file AOC-E-507 if you qualified as executor, administrator, administrator CTA, administrator DBN, collector, or guardian of the estate under Chapter 28A or Chapter 35A. Small-estate filers using AOC-E-506 (Affidavit for Collection) instead file a one-page closing affidavit, and summary administration filers under N.C.G.S. § 28A-28-1 skip accounting entirely.
The deadline for the Annual Account is one year from the date of qualification, then every twelve months after that until the estate closes, while the Final Account is due either one year after qualification or within six months after the creditor claim period closes, whichever the Clerk schedules. Missing the deadline triggers a Notice to File under N.C.G.S. § 28A-21-4, and continued non-compliance can lead to removal as fiduciary and a citation for contempt.
A common misconception is that a small estate with only one bank account does not need an account at all, but every full estate administration must file AOC-E-507 unless the filer used the small-estate affidavit track from the start. Marcus, an executor who assumed his father’s $40,000 estate was “too small to bother,” learned this the hard way when the Clerk issued a show-cause order eighteen months after qualification.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
Before you open AOC-E-507, gather every document below, because the Clerk will not approve the account without supporting paper for each receipt and each disbursement. The NC Clerk of Superior Court Estate Procedures Manual explains the audit standard, and that manual is the single best companion read for this form.
- The prior AOC-E-505 Inventory or last AOC-E-507 Account. The beginning balance on this account must match the ending balance from the last filing exactly, to the penny.
- All bank statements covering the accounting period. You need monthly statements for every estate checking, savings, and money-market account, with no gaps.
- All brokerage and investment statements. Stock, bond, mutual fund, and IRA statements are required because the Clerk reconciles share counts and dividend receipts against them.
- Every canceled check, debit memo, or wire confirmation (the “vouchers”). Each disbursement on Schedule C needs a matching voucher, or the Clerk will disallow the line.
- Receipts from distributees. N.C.G.S. § 28A-23-1 requires a signed receipt from every beneficiary who received a distribution.
- Closing statement (CD/HUD-1) for any real estate sold. The Clerk reconciles the gross sale price, commissions, and net proceeds against Schedule A.
- The original death certificate and Letters Testamentary/Administration. These do not get refiled, but the Clerk pulls them from the file to verify your authority.
- The federal Form 706 or state Form A-101, if filed. Estate-tax filings affect distributable shares and timing.
- A current bond statement, if a bond was required. The Clerk checks that the bond amount still equals or exceeds the personal property on hand.
- Year-end 1099s for interest, dividends, and capital gains. These are cross-checked against Schedule B income.
A pre-flight tip: build a simple spreadsheet that lists every transaction in the same order you will type them on the form, with the voucher number in column A and the dollar amount in column B. Aisha, a CPA-executor in Wake County, cuts her account-prep time in half by sorting transactions chronologically inside Schedules B and C before she ever touches the form.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
The only authoritative source for AOC-E-507 is the NCAOC forms page, which posts the current fillable PDF that the Clerk’s office expects. Third-party copies floating around legal-blog websites are often outdated, and a 2019 or 2021 version will be rejected by some Clerks because the line numbering changed in the 2024 revision.
You can access the form three ways. First, download the fillable PDF and type your entries in Adobe Acrobat Reader so the math is legible and you can save a copy. Second, pick up a paper copy at the front counter of any Clerk of Superior Court office in any of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Third, in counties that have piloted electronic filing through eCourts File & Serve, you can file the completed PDF through the portal once your county is live; as of 2026, eCourts is rolling out county by county under the Odyssey implementation plan.
Always check the revision date in the lower-left footer of page one before you start typing. The current footer reads AOC-E-507, Rev. 6/2024, and the Estates Procedures Manual confirms which revision the Clerks are auditing against. A common misconception is that any “AOC-E-507” PDF is fine, but Clerks in Mecklenburg, Wake, and Guilford counties have all been known to bounce older revisions at the counter.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out AOC-E-507 Line by Line
The form has a header block, a check-box section for the type of account, a beginning-balance summary, and three lettered schedules: Schedule A (Property on Hand), Schedule B (Receipts), and Schedule C (Disbursements), followed by a recap, signature, and verification. Each subsection below covers one logical block of the form, and every block follows the six-element template: plain English, how to answer, example, nuance, mistake plus consequence, and misconception.
File No. and County
This top-right header asks for the estate File Number and the County in which the estate is pending. The File Number is the number the Clerk assigned when you qualified, formatted like 24-E-001234, and the County is the North Carolina county where the decedent was domiciled at death.
Type the file number exactly as it appears on your Letters, with the dashes, and write the county name in capital letters. Carlos Reyes, executor of the Estate of Elena Reyes, writes 24-E-000812 and MECKLENBURG in this block. If the estate was transferred under N.C.G.S. § 28A-3-2 for venue, use the new county and new file number, not the old one.
The most common mistake here is dropping a leading zero, which causes the Clerk’s case-management system to fail to attach the account to the estate file, and the account sits in limbo for weeks. A widespread misconception is that the year prefix is the year of death; it is actually the year you qualified, which can be different.
Name of Decedent (or Ward)
This field asks for the full legal name of the deceased person, or the ward in a guardianship-of-estate filing. Write the name exactly as it appears on the Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, including middle name and any suffix.
Use Last Name, First Name, Middle Name format if that is how the original Application (AOC-E-201 or AOC-E-202) was filed, otherwise use the natural order. Carlos writes REYES, ELENA MARIE because the original AOC-E-201 used that order. If the decedent went by a maiden name on some assets, list the legal name only here and use the AKA Schedule on Schedule A for the alternate name.
A common mistake is using a nickname (“Beth” instead of “Elizabeth”), which causes the Clerk to flag the account as filed in the wrong estate. The misconception that you can update the decedent’s name on the account to match a new asset title is wrong; the name on the account must mirror the Letters.
Type of Account Check Boxes
Right under the header is a row of check boxes that ask whether this is an Annual Account, Final Account, Final Account by Collector, or Account by Guardian. You may check only one box per filing, even if a single account covers more than one purpose.
Check Annual if the estate is still open and you are at the 12-month mark; check Final if you are closing the estate after all assets are distributed; check Collector only if you qualified under N.C.G.S. § 28A-11-1 before a personal representative is appointed. Janet, executor of a 19-month-old estate where one annuity claim is still pending, checks Annual even though every other asset is distributed, because she cannot close yet.
The most common mistake is checking Final when a creditor’s claim is still unresolved or a tax return is still outstanding; the Clerk will reject the final account and send you back to file an annual account, costing you another audit fee. The misconception that “Final” means “the last one I plan to file” is wrong; “Final” is a legal closure that triggers discharge of the bond and the fiduciary.
Accounting Period (From / To)
This block asks for the start and end dates of the period covered by the account. The start date is either the date of qualification (for the first account) or the day after the last account’s end date (for any later account).
Use MM/DD/YYYY format with slashes. Carlos writes 07/15/2024 to 07/14/2025 for his first annual account because he qualified on July 15, 2024. The end date may be earlier than the 12-month mark if you are filing a final account before the year is up, but it can never be later without a written extension from the Clerk under N.C.G.S. § 28A-21-3.
A common mistake is overlapping the period with the prior account by even one day, which causes a beginning-balance mismatch and a math error that cascades through every schedule. The misconception that the period must always be a full 12 months is wrong; the period is whatever the Clerk authorized, and short or long periods are common.
Beginning Balance
The Beginning Balance field reports the total value of estate property carried forward from the last filing. For the first annual account this number must equal the total personal property reported on the AOC-E-505 Inventory; for a later account it must equal the ending balance on the prior AOC-E-507.
Pull the figure straight from the prior form, do not recompute it, and write it to the penny. Aisha enters $184,326.47 because that is the ending balance on her client’s first annual account, even though she suspects two cents of bank-fee rounding crept in. If the prior figure is wrong, you must file an Amended Inventory or Amended Account to fix it before the new account, not silently adjust the new beginning balance.
The single most common rejection trigger on the entire form is a beginning balance that does not tie out to the prior filing, and the consequence is automatic return without further review. The misconception that you can “true up” the beginning balance to current bank statements is flatly wrong and can be treated as a breach of fiduciary duty.
Schedule A: Property on Hand at End of Period
Schedule A lists every asset still held by the estate at the end of the accounting period, including bank accounts, brokerage accounts, real estate not yet sold, vehicles, and tangible personal property. For each item, list the description, the location (bank name and last four of account, or street address), and the value.
Use the end-of-period balance for cash accounts (the balance on the account’s last statement that ends on or before your period end), the fair market value on the period end date for real estate, and the fair market value for stocks. Carlos lists Truist checking 1234, ending balance $42,118.03 and 2014 Toyota Camry, NADA $9,250 on his Schedule A. Attach a copy of the closing bank statement and a printout of the brokerage statement to the back of the form.
A common mistake is forgetting to list real property that has not been sold; while real estate generally passes outside the estate in North Carolina, real estate that the personal representative has taken possession of under N.C.G.S. § 28A-15-1(b) for sale to pay debts must be on Schedule A. The misconception that household goods are too small to list is wrong; the Inventory’s contents, less anything sold or distributed, must reconcile to Schedule A.
Schedule B: Receipts
Schedule B lists every dollar that came into the estate during the period — interest, dividends, refunds, sale proceeds, and any newly discovered assets. List each receipt on its own line with the date received, the source, and the amount.
Sort entries chronologically and number them sequentially (B-1, B-2, B-3, …). Janet enters 09/03/2025 — Wells Fargo CD interest — $312.46 as line B-7, and supports it with the September bank statement. Newly discovered assets (an old savings bond, a forgotten IRA) belong here and trigger a Supplemental Inventory (AOC-E-505A) under N.C.G.S. § 28A-20-1.
The most common Schedule B mistake is netting expenses against income (for example, listing rental income net of management fees), which the Clerk will catch by reconciling against the 1099 — list the gross receipt on B and the expense on Schedule C separately. The misconception that life insurance with a named beneficiary belongs on Schedule B is wrong; non-probate assets stay off the form entirely.
Schedule C: Disbursements
Schedule C lists every dollar that left the estate during the period — funeral bills, attorney’s fees, commissions, taxes, debts, and distributions. Each line needs the date, payee, purpose, voucher number, and amount.
Number vouchers C-1, C-2, C-3, … and physically attach the canceled check or bank-generated payment confirmation for each one. Carlos lists 11/14/2024 — McGuireWoods LLP — Attorney fees — Voucher C-12 — $4,500, and clips the canceled check behind the schedule. Personal-representative commissions on Schedule C cannot exceed 5% of receipts plus 5% of disbursements under N.C.G.S. § 28A-23-3, and the Clerk must approve the commission in writing before you pay yourself.
The most common mistake is paying commissions without prior Clerk approval, which causes the Clerk to disallow the disbursement and order the executor to repay the estate personally. The misconception that “the will allows me to pay myself whatever the will says” is partly wrong — even when a will sets commissions, the Clerk still reviews them for reasonableness under the statute.
Distributions to Heirs and Beneficiaries
Within Schedule C, distributions are a special category that requires a signed receipt from each distributee. List the date, the beneficiary’s name, what was distributed, the value, and the voucher number for the receipt.
Use the beneficiary’s full legal name and the share percentage from the will or N.C.G.S. § 29-14 intestate share. Aisha writes 03/22/2025 — Marcus Reyes (son) — 1/2 residuary share — $87,150.00 — Voucher C-22. The receipt itself is usually AOC-E-521 (Receipt) signed by the distributee in front of a notary or two witnesses.
The most common mistake is distributing before the creditor period closes (three months from first publication of the Notice to Creditors under N.C.G.S. § 28A-14-1), which exposes the executor to personal liability for any later claim. The misconception that an in-kind distribution does not need a receipt is wrong; every distribution, cash or in-kind, needs a signed receipt.
Recap and Reconciliation Block
The Recap block at the bottom of the form is a simple math statement: Beginning Balance + Schedule B Receipts − Schedule C Disbursements = Schedule A Property on Hand. Every account must balance to zero in this equation.
Add and subtract carefully, then double-check by running a tape twice. Carlos’s recap reads $200,000.00 + $4,116.49 − $51,748.46 = $152,368.03, which matches the Schedule A total. If your recap is off by even one penny, the Clerk will return the account.
The single most common math error is a transposed digit on Schedule B or C that cascades into the recap, and the consequence is an automatic rejection. The misconception that the Clerk will fix small math errors is wrong; the Clerk audits but does not correct, and any error sends the account back.
Verification, Oath, and Signature
The last block is the verification under oath, where the personal representative signs in front of the Clerk, a Deputy/Assistant Clerk, a notary, or two witnesses, swearing the account is true and complete. The signature must match the name on the Letters.
Sign in blue or black ink, print your name underneath, write your address and phone number, and date the signature. Janet signs Janet M. Holloway, prints her name, and dates 07/02/2026 in front of a notary at her bank. Co-fiduciaries must each sign and each be sworn separately.
The most common mistake here is signing before the Clerk or notary instead of in their presence, which voids the verification and forces a refile. The misconception that an electronic signature is acceptable is wrong in most counties as of 2026; a wet-ink signature is still the safe choice unless your county’s eCourts deployment specifically permits e-signatures.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
Below are three named-filer scenarios that walk a complete account from start to finish. Each two-column table shows the form section in the left column and the entry in the right column.
Scenario 1: Carlos Reyes — Small Final Account, Mecklenburg County
| Form Section | What Carlos Enters |
|---|---|
| File No. / County | 24-E-000812 / MECKLENBURG |
| Decedent | REYES, ELENA MARIE |
| Type of Account | Final Account checked |
| Accounting Period | 07/15/2024 to 04/30/2025 |
| Beginning Balance | $48,250.00 (matches AOC-E-505) |
| Schedule A (End of Period) | $0.00 — fully distributed |
| Schedule B Receipts | $612.49 — bank interest and tax refund |
| Schedule C Disbursements | $48,862.49 — funeral, fees, distributions |
| Recap | $48,250.00 + $612.49 − $48,862.49 = $0.00 |
| Signature | Carlos Reyes, sworn before Deputy Clerk, 05/10/2025 |
Scenario 2: Janet Holloway — Mid-Size Final Account With House Sale, Wake County
| Form Section | What Janet Enters |
|---|---|
| File No. / County | 25-E-002145 / WAKE |
| Decedent | HOLLOWAY, ROBERT JAMES |
| Type of Account | Final Account checked |
| Accounting Period | 02/01/2025 to 01/31/2026 |
| Beginning Balance | $184,326.47 |
| Schedule A (End of Period) | $0.00 — house sold, cash distributed |
| Schedule B Receipts | $312,884.10 — house sale net, dividends, refund |
| Schedule C Disbursements | $497,210.57 — debts, taxes, commission, distributions |
| Distributions | Two children, equal residuary shares, $148,000 each |
| Recap | $184,326.47 + $312,884.10 − $497,210.57 = $0.00 |
| Signature | Janet M. Holloway, sworn before notary, 02/12/2026 |
Scenario 3: Aisha Bennett — Annual Account With Minor Beneficiary, Guilford County
| Form Section | What Aisha Enters |
|---|---|
| File No. / County | 24-E-003907 / GUILFORD |
| Decedent | BENNETT, DARRELL T. |
| Type of Account | Annual Account checked |
| Accounting Period | 11/05/2024 to 11/04/2025 |
| Beginning Balance | $612,455.18 |
| Schedule A (End of Period) | $528,090.22 — brokerage, CD, vehicle held |
| Schedule B Receipts | $18,402.61 — dividends, interest, IRA distribution |
| Schedule C Disbursements | $102,767.57 — taxes, fees, partial distribution to spouse |
| Distributions to Minor | Held in N.C.G.S. § 7B guardianship account |
| Recap | $612,455.18 + $18,402.61 − $102,767.57 = $528,090.22 |
| Signature | Aisha N. Bennett, sworn before Assistant Clerk, 12/01/2025 |
Beyond these three, two more recurring filers worth knowing are Marcus Whitfield, a collector under N.C.G.S. § 28A-11-1 who must file a final collector’s account within sixty days of a personal representative’s qualification, and Patricia Lee, a guardian of the estate for an incapacitated adult who files an annual AOC-E-507 under N.C.G.S. § 35A-1264.
How to File the Completed Form
You file AOC-E-507 with the Clerk of Superior Court in the same county where the estate is pending, and the Clerk audits the account before approving and recording it. Filing channels vary by county, so confirm what your county accepts before you drive across town with paper.
In person. Bring the original signed account, all schedules, every voucher, all bank and brokerage statements, and your checkbook to the Clerk’s Estates Division at the county courthouse; addresses are on the court locator. Filing fees are set under N.C.G.S. § 7A-307 and as of 2026 include a $20 filing fee on each annual or final account, plus a 40¢ per $100 of personal property audit fee capped at $6,000 per estate, payable by cash, check made out to Clerk of Superior Court, money order, or credit card in counties with card readers. Processing usually takes 30–90 days, and the Clerk stamps a Certificate of Audit on the front when approved; keep the file-stamped copy as your proof of filing.
By mail. Most counties accept mailed accounts; send the package by USPS certified mail with return receipt to the Clerk’s mailing address listed on the court locator, with a check for the same fees and a self-addressed stamped envelope for the file-stamped return copy. Processing time is typically 45–120 days because mailed accounts join the bottom of the audit queue.
Electronically (eCourts counties only). In counties live on eCourts File & Serve, upload the signed PDF and pay the same fees by credit card; processing time runs 30–75 days. The portal returns an electronic Certificate of Audit in your filer dashboard, and you should download and save it as your proof of filing.
A common misconception is that the audit fee is optional — it is not, and the Clerk will not begin the audit until both the filing fee and the audit fee are paid in full.
What Happens After You File
After you file, the Clerk’s Estates Division logs the account, dockets it in the audit queue, and assigns a Deputy or Assistant Clerk to perform the audit under N.C.G.S. § 28A-21-2. The auditor will tie the beginning balance to the prior filing, check every voucher, run the math on every schedule, and reconcile Schedule A to the closing statements.
If everything ties out, the Clerk signs the Certificate of Audit on the front of the form, files it in the estate file, and (for a Final Account) issues an Order of Discharge that releases the personal representative and exonerates the bond. If anything is off, the Clerk issues a Letter of Deficiency listing each problem; you have 20 days to respond under most county practices, though N.C.G.S. § 28A-21-2 gives the Clerk discretion. Marcus’s first annual account came back with a deficiency letter for two missing vouchers, and after he supplied scanned copies the audit closed in nine days.
A real-world case worth knowing is In re Estate of Skinner, where the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed that a Clerk has the authority to surcharge a personal representative for unsupported disbursements, which is exactly the kind of consequence a sloppy AOC-E-507 invites. A common misconception is that audit approval blocks beneficiaries from later challenging the account; under N.C.G.S. § 28A-21-2(b), a beneficiary still has three years to object on grounds of fraud or mistake.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
These are the twelve most common rejection triggers I have seen in actual Clerk audit notes across Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, and Durham counties.
- Beginning balance does not match prior filing. The account is bounced before the auditor reads any other line.
- Math errors in the recap. A one-cent error returns the entire account for refile.
- Missing vouchers on Schedule C. Each unsupported disbursement is disallowed and surcharged personally.
- Paying yourself a commission without prior Clerk approval. The Clerk orders repayment to the estate.
- Distributing before the three-month creditor period ends. The executor is personally liable for late-filed claims.
- Listing life insurance or POD/TOD assets on Schedule A or B. Non-probate assets do not belong on the form.
- Netting income against expenses on Schedule B. Gross receipts must be shown separately from expenses on C.
- Using a stale revision of the form. Some Clerks reject pre-2024 versions at the counter.
- Wrong file number with a missing leading zero. The account fails to attach to the estate file.
- Signing the verification before the Clerk or notary. Verification is void and the account must be re-signed.
- Forgetting to attach the signed AOC-E-521 receipts. Distributions on Schedule C are disallowed without them.
- Checking “Final” while a creditor claim is pending. The Final Account is rejected and converted to Annual.
Do’s and Don’ts
These short rules reflect the guidance in the NC Estates Procedures Manual and three decades of Clerk practice.
Do’s – Do reconcile every schedule to a bank or brokerage statement, because the auditor will. – Do number every voucher sequentially and clip them in order, because the auditor reads them in voucher order. – Do request prior written approval for the personal-representative commission, because unauthorized commissions are surcharged. – Do file a Supplemental Inventory the moment you discover a new asset, because it changes the audit trail. – Do keep copies of everything you file, because the Clerk’s stamped copy is your only proof of filing. – Do call the Clerk’s Estates Division if a line is unclear; counties answer questions, they just will not draft for you.
Don’ts – Don’t distribute before the creditor period closes, because you will be personally liable for late claims. – Don’t pay yourself before the Clerk approves the commission, because the Clerk will order repayment. – Don’t net expenses against income on Schedule B, because the gross/net split is required by the audit standard. – Don’t use a nickname or DBA in the decedent’s name field, because the Clerk’s system will not match the file. – Don’t combine multiple disbursements on one line, because the auditor needs each transaction itemized. – Don’t sign in advance of the Clerk or notary, because unsworn verifications void the account.
Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help
Whether to hire a North Carolina probate attorney or file pro se is a personal call, and the answer often turns on the size and complexity of the estate.
Pros of filing on your own – You save attorney’s fees that often run 2% to 5% of the estate in flat or hourly billing. – You keep direct contact with the Clerk and learn the file inside out. – You set your own pace within statutory deadlines. – You avoid coordinating signatures and sworn statements through a third party. – You build a paper record you fully understand if a beneficiary later asks questions.
Cons of filing on your own – You bear personal liability for math errors and surcharges under N.C.G.S. § 28A-21-2. – You spend dozens of hours on bookkeeping that an attorney’s paralegal does in a fraction of the time. – You may misread which assets are probate vs. non-probate, a frequent pro se trap. – You miss tax-saving elections that a CPA-attorney team would catch. – You may delay closing the estate by months because of repeated deficiency letters.
FAQs
Do I file AOC-E-507 if my estate qualified under the small-estate affidavit (AOC-E-203B)?
No. Small-estate filings under N.C.G.S. § 28A-25-1 close with a one-page affidavit on AOC-E-204, not an AOC-E-507 account.
Does the beginning balance on my first annual account come from the AOC-E-505 Inventory?
Yes. The first annual account’s beginning balance equals the total personal property line on the 90-Day Inventory (AOC-E-505), to the penny.
Do I list the decedent’s house on Schedule A if I never sold it?
No. Real estate passes outside the estate unless you took possession under N.C.G.S. § 28A-15-1(b), in which case it does belong on Schedule A.
Do I report life insurance with a named beneficiary on Schedule B?
No. Non-probate assets like life insurance, POD accounts, and TOD brokerage stay off the form entirely.
Do I need a signed receipt from a beneficiary for an in-kind distribution like a watch?
Yes. Every distribution, cash or in-kind, needs a signed AOC-E-521 receipt attached to Schedule C.
Is the audit fee separate from the filing fee?
Yes. Under N.C.G.S. § 7A-307, the $20 filing fee is separate from the 40¢ per $100 audit fee, capped at $6,000.
Do co-executors each have to sign and verify?
Yes. Each co-fiduciary signs and is sworn separately, because each is personally responsible for the truth of the account.
Do I check “Final” if I distributed everything but a tax refund is still pending?
No. Use Annual and wait to file a Final once the refund clears, because a Final Account requires a zero Schedule A.
Does the Clerk fix small math errors for me?
No. The Clerk audits but does not correct, so any math error returns the entire account for refile.
Do I need prior approval before paying myself a commission on Schedule C?
Yes. The Clerk must approve the commission in writing under N.C.G.S. § 28A-23-3 before the disbursement.
Is a wet-ink signature required, or will an e-signature do?
No. Most counties still require a wet-ink signature in 2026, except in counties live on eCourts File & Serve that explicitly accept e-signatures.
Do I file a new AOC-E-507 if I discover a forgotten bank account after my last account?
Yes. Report the new asset on Schedule B of the next account and file a Supplemental Inventory under N.C.G.S. § 28A-20-1.
Do I write the maiden name or married name in the Decedent field if assets are titled both ways?
No. Use only the legal name from the Letters; alternate names go on Schedule A’s AKA notation, not the header.
Is the deadline measured from date of death or date of qualification?
No. The Annual Account deadline runs from the date of qualification, not the date of death, under N.C.G.S. § 28A-21-1.
Related reading
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form AOC-E-506 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form AOC-E-203 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form AOC-E-505 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form AOC-E-905 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form L-09 (w/Examples) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out the South Carolina Inventory and Appraisement of the Estate (Form 350ES) + FAQs
- How to Fill Out North Carolina Form AOC-CV-100 (w/Examples) + FAQs