My husband and I had wills drawn in MD and we now live in NC and are wondering if the wills are still valid in this state.

A general answer is that your will is valid if it meets the requirements of the State in which it was drafted. However, the Clerk of Court has the discretion to decline acceptance of an out of State will. These conflicting opinions lead us to recommend that you redraft your will in North Carolina so that the langauge therein is under the North Carolina General Statutes. Also, many states do not require wills to be self-proving (such as CA) and North Carolina does require this step of having the testator and witnesses signatures all being notarized by a notary public who is present at the time all three parties sign the will.

If your estate is small, there are ways to title your asset to avoid probate, or you should consider the use of a revocable trust to simplify the final distribution of asset on your son (since he most likely receives the majority of them anyway).