Does Oklahoma use the Uniform Probate Code
You may have heard of family courts, criminal court, and other courts which handle certain types cases. The probate court has jurisdiction over estate matters and guardianship proceedings.
When you hear the term “guardianship,” you may think about guardians for minor children. This is one form of guardianship, but guardians are also appointed to act on behalf of incapacitated adults.
Estate Administration
If you use a will to express your final wishes, you would name an executor in the document to act as the administrator. The executor will admit the will to the probate and the court will supervise the administration process.
An announcement is posted to notify creditors of the death of the decedent and final debts are settled during probate. The assets are identified, inventoried, and prepared for distribution to the heirs, and the court will examine the will to confirm its validity.
When someone passes away without a will, a court-appointed personal representative will act as the administrator, and they would have the same responsibilities.
The assets are distributed when the estate has been probated and closed by the court. When a will has been used, it is obvious that the wishes of the deceased are respected. When there is no will, the assets are distributed under the Oklahoma intestate succession statutes.
Uniform Probate Code
At the beginning of the 1960s, probate laws in each state were different, and the statutes were outdated in many cases. The process was inefficient, and the legal community recognized the fact that action was required.
Work began on the Uniform Probate Code in 1963, and the initial completed version was released in 1969. It was created by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) and the Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association.
They envisioned all 50 states using the UPC, but it has never been universally embraced. At this point, 19 state use the Uniform Probate code in its entirety. The Uniform Code was amended in 1989. Oklahoma is not one of them.
Probate Avoidance
Probate serves a purpose, but there is no getting around the fact that it comes with some drawbacks that negatively impact the rightful heirs to an estate. It will take at least eight or nine months to a year or more in most jurisdictions, and no inheritances can be distributed during this period.
Privacy is lost, because probate records are available to the general public. Legal fees and other expenses can also add up, reducing the value of an estate. A payable-on death (“POD”) is a bank account or brokerage account that has a beneficiary. The beneficiary inherits the account after the account holder’s death, and the court is not involved. While sounding simple, there are issues with this type of account designation.
Property that is held in joint tenancy is transferred outside of probate, and life insurance proceeds are transferred in a probate-free manner. This includes transfers to beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts.
You should implement a proactive probate avoidance plan when planning your estate. If you use a living trust, the trustee that you name in the document would be able to distribute the assets outside of probate.
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