28A-6-1. Application for letters; grant of letters.

(a) The application for letters of administration or letters testamentary shall be in the form of an affidavit sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, signed by the applicant or the applicant's attorney, which may be supported by other proof under oath in writing, all of which shall be recorded and filed by the clerk of superior court, and shall allege the following facts:

(1) The name, and to the extent known, the domicile and the date and place of death of the decedent;

(2) The legal residence and mailing address of the applicant;

(3) The names, ages and mailing addresses of the decedent's heirs and devisees, including the names and mailing addresses of the guardians of those having court-appointed guardians, so far as all of these facts are known or can with reasonable diligence be ascertained;

(4) That the applicant is the person entitled to apply for letters, or that the applicant applies after persons having prior right to apply are shown to have renounced under Article 5 of this Chapter, or that the applicant applies subject to the provisions of G.S. 28A-6-2(1), and that the applicant is not disqualified under G.S. 28A-4-2.

(5) The nature and probable value of the decedent's property, both real and personal, and the location of such property, so far as all of these facts are known or can with reasonable diligence be ascertained; and

(6) If the decedent was not domiciled in this State at the time of the decedent's death, a schedule of the decedent's property located in this State, and the name and mailing address of the decedent's domiciliary personal representative, or if there is none, whether a proceeding to appoint one is pending.

(b) If it appears to the clerk of superior court that the application and supporting evidence comply with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section and on the basis thereof the clerk finds that the applicant is entitled to appointment, the clerk shall issue letters of administration or letters testamentary to the applicant unless in the clerk's discretion the clerk determines that the best interests of the estate would be served by delaying the appointment of a personal representative, in which case the clerk may appoint a collector as provided in Article 11.

(c) The clerk of superior court may rely upon the following as evidence of death:

(1) A certified or authenticated copy of a death certificate purporting to be issued by an official or agency of the place where the death purportedly occurred.

(2) A certified or authenticated copy of any record or report of a governmental agency, domestic or foreign, evidencing the date of death.

(3) A certificate or authenticated copy of medical records, including a record of death, evidencing the date of death.

(4) Any other evidence that the clerk of superior court deems sufficient to confirm the date of death.