The Propounder-Appellant of the decedent father's 2012 Will in this case appealed from an order granting the Caveators-Appellees' "Motion to Cause Amendment to Persons Entitled to Share in Decedent's Estate." The Decedent died August,29 2020 and Propounder-Appellant, as the executrix of Decedent's estate, applied for probate of Decedent's Will on October 22, 2020, without listing the Caveators-Appellees as Decedent's heirs in the application for probate. Caveators-Appellees were not adjudicated legal heirs of Decedent nor were they included in the Will at the time it was executed.

In 2019, Decedent properly executed and filed an "Affidavit of Parentage and Consent Order of Paternity" (Consent Order) in Cumberland County acknowledging each of the Caveators-Appellees. The trial court granted an "Amended Paternity Order" holding the Decedent "the biological father of the [Caveators-Appellees] in accordance with NCGS § 49-14". The trial court found "the sworn, written affidavit[s] of parentage executed by the natural father [and natural mother] of the children" alongside "their sworn signatures to the affidavits and consent order filed on November 15, 2019" to be "clear, cogent, and convincing evidence Decedent was the biological father of Caveators-Appellees."" The Decedent was then listed as the natural father on Caveators-Appellees' respective birth certificates.

Subsequently, Caveators-Appellees filed a Caveat seeking statutory shares of Decedent's estate. Caveators-Appellees' counsel, by letter, explained to Propounder-Appellant's counsel their claim as entitled after-born children of Decedent and furnished copies of the Amended Paternity Order, birth certificates with Decedent listed as the father, and DNA tests identifying Decedent as Caveators-Appellees' biological father.

Propounder-Appellant filed a Motion to Dismiss the Caveat pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) and Rule 12(b)(6) of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure and acknowledged receipt of the letter and additional documents from Caveators-Appellees' counsel. The trial court denied the Motion to Dismiss concluding that "[Caveators-Appellees] are pretermitted heirs, being after-born children born out of wedlock and are heirs to the Decedent pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 29-19(b)."

The opinion states:

On 1 April 2022, Caveators-Appellees filed a Motion to Cause Amendment to Persons Entitled to Share in Decedent's Estate (Motion to Amend). Prior to the hearing on the Motion, Propounder-Appellant filed Notice of Appeal from the Order denying the Motion to Dismiss the Caveat entered on 29 March 2022. On 13 October 2023, this Court dismissed the appeal on interlocutory grounds.

The trial court entered an Order granting Caveators-Appellees' Motion to Amend on 16 February 2024 (Order to Amend). Caveators-Appellees subsequently filed a voluntary dismissal of the Caveat on 27 February 2024. Propounder-Appellant timely filed Notice of Appeal from the Order to Amend on 18 March 2024. Propounder-Appellant did not appeal the Order denying the Motion to Dismiss the Caveat entered on 29 March 2022, which concluded Caveators-Appellees are pretermitted heirs of Decedent's estate.

The opinion sets out the applicable law as follows:

"An illegitimate child's right to inherit from her putative father is established only via strict compliance with" statutory requirements. In re Williams, 208 N.C. App. 148, 152, 701 S.E.2d 399, 401 (2010). N.C. Gen. Stat. § 29-19(b) provides:

(b) For purposes of intestate succession, a child born out of wedlock shall be entitled to take by, through and from:
(1) Any person who has been finally adjudged to be the father of the child pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 49-1 through 49-9 or the provisions of G.S. 49-14 through 49-16;
(2) Any person who has acknowledged himself during his own lifetime and the child's lifetime to be the father of the child in a written instrument executed or acknowledged before a certifying officer named in G.S. 52-10(b) and filed during his own lifetime and the child's lifetime in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county where either he or the child resides.
. . . .

Notwithstanding the above provisions, no person shall be entitled to take hereunder unless the person has given written notice of the basis of the person's claim to the personal representative of the putative father within six months after the date of the first publication or posting of the general notice to creditors.

In this action, Propounder-Appellant posted the Notice to Creditors on 11 May 2021 and took exception to the trial court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law that Caveators-Appellees are after-born children born out of wedlock entitled to take from Decedent's estate.

The trial court concluded Caveators-Appellees were entitled to take under N.C.G.S. Section 29-19(b)(1), but the Court of Appeals agreed with Propounder-Appellant that this Section does not apply to Caveators-Appellees "because they were not finally adjudicated as Decedent's heirs before they reached the age of majority as required by the corresponding statutory provision... However, the Court of Appeals did conclude that Caveators-Appellees are entitled to take from Decedent's estate under N.C.G.S. Section 29-19(b)(2) finding that while the trial court's reasoning was wrong, it "nonetheless reached the correct result: concluding Caveators-Appellees are pretermitted heirs entitled to shares of Decedent's estate." The court cited Orlando Residence, Ltd. v. All. Hosp. Mgmt., LLC, (citations omitted here) "[W]here a trial court has reached the correct result, the judgment will not be disturbed on appeal even where a different reason is assigned to the decision."

The Court of Appeals focused the issues as to whether "Caveators-Appellees satisfied the criteria under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 29-19(b)(2): (1) acknowledgment of paternity during Decedent's and the children's lifetime (2) in a written instrument executed or acknowledged before a qualifying certifying officer that was (3) filed during his and the children's lifetimes with a superior court clerk in a county where he or the children reside."

The Court's reasoning is succinct:

Decedent acknowledged himself as Caveators-Appellees' father in the Affidavit of Parentage and subsequent Consent Order. Both the Affidavit of Parentage and Consent Order were executed before a judge, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52-10(b), and filed by Decedent with the clerk of court in Cumberland County. Further, the Amended Paternity Order adjudicating Decedent as Caveators-Appellees' biological father, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 52-10(b), was entered with Decedent's consent. "[N.C. Gen. Stat. § 29-19(b)(2)] does not place any limitations on the type of written instrument" required to acknowledge paternity. Mangum, 212 N.C. App. at 213, 713 S.E.2d at 20. In Mangum, this Court affirmed an order concluding a voluntary parenting agreement was sufficient evidence of paternal acknowledgment and allowing a biological father to take from his natural child's estate under N.C. Stat. § 29-19(b)(2). Id. at 214-15, 713 S.E.2d at 20-21. Indeed, we have recognized a voluntary support order, filed alongside an affidavit of parentage, constituted paternal acknowledgment to allow a child to inherit from their biological father's estate. In re Estate of Potts, 186 N.C. App. 460, 651 S.E.2d 297 (2007).

Further, this Court has clarified that an affidavit of parentage filed with the clerk of court meets the statutory requirements for a written acknowledgment of paternity. See Williams, 246 N.C. App. at 81, 783 S.E.2d at 257 ("N.C. Gen. Stat. § 29-19(b)(2) allows legitimation to occur if the unwed father acknowledges the child while both the father and child are living through the signing, notarization, and filing of an Affidavit of Parentage with the office of the clerk of the superior [court] where either the father or child resides.").

Here, Decedent acknowledged his paternity of Caveators-Appellees in the Affidavit of Paternity, Consent Order, and Amended Paternity Order which were all filed in Cumberland County-Decedent's place of residence-during Decedent's lifetime. Upon their filing with the clerk of court, these written instruments satisfied the requirements under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 29-19(b)(2): (1) acknowledgment of paternity during Decedent's and the children's lifetime (2) in a written instrument executed or acknowledged before a qualifying certifying officer that was (3) filed during his and the children's lifetimes with a superior court clerk in a county where he or the children reside. See also Williams, 246 N.C. App. at 81, 783 S.E.2d at 257.

The Propounder-Appellant also argued that the Caveators-Appellees did not file any formal claim in the estate timely and missed the notice requirement by over six months, as the Notice to Creditors was posted on May 11, 2021. The Court of Appeals notes that,

...in the Order to Amend, the trial court made the following Finding of Fact:
11. The Caveat was filed on November 30, 2020 and thereby satisfied the notice requirements regarding posting pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 29-19.

As the trial court recognized, Caveators-Appellees filed the Caveat to Decedent's Will before the Notice to Creditors was posted. The Caveat alleges Caveators-Appellees' claim as Decedent's heirs. Caveators-Appellees provided further notice of their claim by sending a copy of the Amended Paternity Order and copies of Caveators-Appellees' birth certificates to Propounder-Appellant's counsel on 9 February 2021. Propounder-Appellant affirmed receipt of the copies in her Motion to Dismiss the Caveat. Indeed, Caveators-Appellees written notice of their claim via the Caveat and the written letter to Propounder-Appellant's counsel provides sufficient evidence to support the trial court's Conclusion the timely notice requirements under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 29-19(b) were met."

This opinion makes fairly clear what is required to establish the right to inherit as a matter of record in order for a pretermitted heir to be able to take. It should add some measure of certainty where the statutes have been followed for title examiners to rely upon what they find.