North Carolina General Statutes Chapter 28A. Administration of Decedents' Estates § 28A-19-5. Contingent or unliquidated claims

(1) The creditor and the personal representative or collector may determine, by agreement, arbitration, or compromise, the value of the contingent or unliquidated claim, according to its probable present worth, and with the approval of the clerk of superior court, it may be allowed and paid in the same manner as an absolute claim.

(2) The clerk of superior court may order the personal representative or collector to retain sufficient funds to pay the claim if and when the same becomes absolute, and order distribution of the balance of the estate.

(3) The clerk of superior court may order distribution of the estate as though the contingent or unliquidated claim did not exist, but the heirs and devisees of the estate of the decedent are liable to the creditor to the extent of the estate received by them, if the contingent or unliquidated claim thereafter becomes absolute; and the court may require such heirs and devisees to give bond for the performance of their liability to the contingent or unliquidated creditor.

(4) Such other method as the clerk of superior court may order.