The Canipe Law Firm, PLLC

10/11/2026

Becoming a parent requires planning for your child's welfare. Did you realize that you can name a preferred guardian for your child in event of your passing before they reach adulthood? One more reason to update your will as life circumstances change

08/13/2026

Great news for millions of small business owners!

The onerous requirements for reporting the beneficial owners of many small American businesses to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the US Treasury Department has been permanently removed.

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent hailed this as "a victory for common sense and American small businesses." Going forward, only foreign entities that are reporting companies will still required to report beneficial ownership for foreign individuals.

Will Delete Information Previously Reported by U.S. PersonsWASHINGTON––Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing a final rule that permanently removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership ...

08/06/2026

Claiming their Spousal Allowance provides important financial protection for a surviving spouse under North Carolina law.

The basic idea ensures a surviving spouse can claim up to $60,000 of their deceased spouse ahead of creditors and other heirs. This legal protection recognizes the importance of marriage and the financial interdependence of married couples.

Recent charges in the law are noteworthy.

Most importantly, there's longer a limited time to apply. The prior one year deadline tripped up many people.

In the case of the death of a first spouse, the Spousal Allowance may be the only necessary step. An experienced North Carolina probate lawyer can help you make the best decision.

08/01/2026

North Carolina law requires leaving a certain percentage of your total net asserts to your surviving spouse.

When this isn't done, the surviving spouse may ask the appropriate Probate Court to correct the issue by filing a type of case referred to as an "Elective Share".

North Carolina law in this area was recently modified. This post will list a few of the interesting parts of this new law.

First, the Verified Petition must be filed within six months of the Clerk of Court issuing Letter Testamentary.

Later is too late.

Second, the Surviving Spouse must then serve their Verified Petition on the Estate's personal representative.

However, no Summons is issued or served (at least that part of the law is charged).

Working with an experienced fiduciary litigation attorney is important when trying to understand your circumstances and opinions in these situations.

07/31/2026

Business succession planning should take honest stock of family dynamics.

Most parents divide their assets upon their death equally between their children. Yet if the inheritance includes an ongoing business, prudence suggests creating management structure that avoids dreadlocks or at least a way to break a tie vote.

Consider the recent North Carolina Supreme Court decision James H.Q. Davis Trust v. J.H.D. Properties, LLC. Dr. Davis created an LLC holding undeveloped real estate and dividing the LLC among trusts for each of his children.

Two of the four children were appointed as Managers of the LLC. Yet they could not agree what to do for many years: rent the land, develop the land, or sell the land.

Eventually, two of the adult children's Trusts went to court, asking for the LLC to be dissolved.

On appeal, the case came before the North Carolina Supreme Court. The key question was, whether it was "impractible" for the LLC to operate under NC law and the LLC's Operating Agreement.

Importantly, the Operating Agreement didn't provide a way to work around the deadlock between the two managers.

In this case, the fact of over a decade of deadlock so that no economic use of the LLC's assets convinced the North Carolina Supreme Court to approve the requested dissolution.

The lesson for business owners is important: think as clearly as possible about those who you want to inherit and put all options on the table to ensure your business can keep functioning after you.

07/30/2026

The Canipe Law Firm, PLLC provides important advice regarding Estate Planning and also represents clients in disputes related to Estate Planning.

While most people think of Wills and Trusts when they hear the phrase "Estate Planning," Financial Powers of Attorney are also key to Estate Planning, particularly in case of incapacity.

Timmons v. Herring is a recent North Carolina Court of Appeals decision which gives a road map to challenge improper decisions by someone who was trusted to help someone as their financial Power of Attorney.

A mother chose one of her adult children with this authority. However, the Power of Attorney transferred part of their mother's property to themselves and their immediate family.

When they found out, the other adult children sued.

Fortunately, North Carolina law had been charged in a way that allowed the wronged siblings to sue.

The statue now allows an "interested party" to sue for misuse of a Power of Attorney.

The Court reasoned that these siblings met the test because they would have inherited part of the property the Power of Attorney had taken.

Whether you have questions about the role of a Financial Power of Attorney in your Estate Plan or are concerned about a loved one whose Power of Attorney is acting improperly, Jeremy Canipe and The Canipe Law Firm can help.

07/30/2026

Explaining that a Will being unfair doesn't make it invalid is an important part of many conversations Jeremy Canipe has during first meetings about estate disputes.

The recent Estate of Alford decision from the North Carolina Court of Appeals case offers important lessons about what's required before challenging a Will you think isn't fair.

This case involves a second marriage where the husband and wife had adult children from prior marriages.

They signed Wills leaving everything to the surviving spouse then splitting everything equally between all three of the children when the surviving spouse died.

But the surviving spouse created a new Will only benefitting her own child.

The two left out children filed a case (called a Caveat) which claimed the new Will was invalid.

They claimed the stepmother lacked mental capacity to create a valid Will. They also argued that her son had unduly influenced his mother.

This case was dismissed early on by the trial court. The Court of Appeals agreed.

Simply put, the Caveat did not give any specifics.

Suspicions won't get you far in court. Perhaps there was no proof.

But one might think that the left out heirs would have been around the stepparent enough to have had examples if she was becoming incompetent.

Or that they were kept away if undue influence was a substantial issue.

An experienced fiduciary litigation attorney can investigate suspicious circumstances and talk to witnesses who could have supported the argument. Before agreeing to file the case.

Or have told these understandably upset siblings that this isn't a case which can stand up in court.

Fiduciary litigation is often emotionally charged. It is always expensive. Choose a lawyer with the specific experience who can investigate the facts and the evidence before the case gets to court.




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07/29/2026

Federal law places strict limits on who can own stock in an S-Corporation or LLC which has elected for S-Corporation Fedeal income tax treatment.

S-Corporations and LLCs with S-Corporation Federal income makes tax elections make up a majority of family owned and small business in North Carolina.

For this reason, careful planning is required to protect S-Corporation status.

For example, suppose an S-Corporation shareholder places their stock into a trust they control as trustee (a "Grantor Trust").

This is a very common Estate Planning technique allowing the original Shareholder to ensure they keep their stock out Probate Court and pass their stock on the terms they have decided.

Once the original Shareholder dies, the Trust is no longer a Grantor Trust.

Federal law set a time limit for the new Trustee to file for the Trust to be a Qualified Subchapter S Trust or Small Business Trust as may apply.

Their timely action will allows the corporation or LLC to keep the favorable S-Corporation Fedeal income tax treatment across generations.

Several late attempts to seek relief from the IRS after these election deadlines have been missed are known to have been allowed in Private Letter Rulings in the past year.

Yet getting proper legal advice would have given certainty and saved these families and their businesses a lot of money.

The Canipe Law Firm PLLC and Jeremy Canipe advises clients on estate planning, probate and trust administration, and business law decisions.

We can help you navigate these uncertain situations.

07/27/2026

Taking care to designate the beneficiary of your retirement savings (such as 401(k)s, IRAs, and Roth IRAs) remains a critical part of estate planning.

Several recent Private Letter Rulings in the past year from the IRA underline the significant costs of failing to do so.

In these cases, the Decedent's surviving spouse was the sole beneficiary of their Will or a Trust but there was not beneficiary designation.

Eventually, the surviving spouse was able to roll over the IRA and avoid income taxes on income generated by the investment.

However, there was certainly substantial legal fees to get to this point.

All of which filling out a short form could have saved.

07/24/2026

We're pleased to report that a recent victory by Jeremy Canipe at The North Carolina Court of Appeals In The Matter of the Estate of Leonard A. Russo was recognized as an important legal development at the 47th Annual Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law Program.

For our estate planning clients, the critical holding is that only an individual or a company licensed to provide trust services can be a Trustee of a Trust or an Executor of an Estate.

When you work with The Canipe Law Firm, PLLC, you will have chosen a lawyer and a law firm where knowing the rules of the road is emphasized.

No plan is foolproof, but informed planning is the best planning.




If you are interested, a link is listed below:
https://appellate.nccourts.opinions/?c=2&pdf=45111