With the approval of the resident judge of the superior court of the district in which the guardian was appointed upon a duly verified petition, the guardian of a person judicially declared to be incompetent may, from the principal of the incompetent’s estate, make gifts to the State of North Carolina, its agencies, counties or municipalities, or the United States or its agencies or instrumentalities, or for religious, charitable, literary, scientific, historical, medical or educational purposes, or to individuals including the guardian. The incompetent’s estate shall consist of all assets owned by the incompetent, including nonprobate assets. For purposes of this Article, nonprobate assets are those which would not be distributable in accordance with the incompetent’s valid probated will or the provisions of Chapter 29 at the incompetent’s death. The incompetent’s nonprobate estate would include nonprobate assets only. References in this Article to the “guardian” include any Trustee appointed by the court under prior law as fiduciary for the incompetent ward’s estate. (1963, c. 112, s. 1; 1987, c. 550, s. 5; 1999-270, s. 4.)