N.C. Gen. Stat. § 36C-4A-2
If a federal estate tax deduction is not allowable at the time of a decedent's death because of the failure of an interest in property that passes from the decedent under a will or trust to a person, or for a use, described in section 2055(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, to meet the requirements of subsections 2055(e)(2)(A) or (B) of the Internal Revenue Code, then in order that the deduction shall nevertheless be allowable under section 2055(e)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the court may, on application of any trustee or interested party with either (i) the written consent of the qualified beneficiaries, or (ii) a finding that the interest of those beneficiaries is substantially preserved, order an amendment to the trust so that the remainder interest is in a trust that is a charitable remainder annuity trust, a charitable remainder unitrust (as those terms are described in section 664 of the Internal Revenue Code), or a pooled income fund (as that term is described in section 642(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code), or so that any other interest of a charitable beneficiary is in the form of a guaranteed annuity or is a fixed percentage distributed yearly of the fair market value of the property (to be determined yearly), in accordance with section 2055(e)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code. In every proceeding under this section, the Attorney General shall be notified, and given an opportunity to be heard.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 36C-4A-2