Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina

Your stepfather needs to make a will. If he dies without a will, all of his assets, regardless of whether they came from your mother, will pass to his child. Your step-father could also engage in "poor man's" estate planning. Depending on what he owns, if they are non-probate assets, your step-father could add your name or make you a designated beneficiary.

However, I would not rely on this. Your stepfather, if mentally competent albeit in bad health, needs to sit down with an estate planning attorney now to review his assets and debts and make provision for the transfer of his assets in an orderly fashion upon death.

If he dies without a will and has probate assets, they will pass to his son as I have indicated. While that result may not be fair, this could have been remedied by your mother making a will prior to her death and making sure you were provided for. Now its up to your step-father. If he does not want to make a will or cannot make a will then not very much can be done unless there are non-probate assets that already have your name attached to them.