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The Probate Process can be complicated and discouraging for many people. Routine probate and can take 6 to 10 months usually. However, we have probates that last over a year or longer when beneficiaries fight.
It is possible to prevent the Probate procedure by dispersing assets with certain tools such as Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship, Pay on death identifications, and transfer on deaths identifications. While these are necessary tools, they might have unintentional repercussions. Rather they should be used in combination with an effectively implemented estate plan.
Probate is a civil court proceeding for the apportionment of a person's possessions at death. The VERY important difference between dying with or without a Will is how property is distributed.
For distributions according to your desires then you need to have a valid Last Will and Testament and appropriate estate planning. The state makes distributions for you if there is NO Last will and testament. The consequence of dying without a Last will and testament can be devastating.
The bottom line is that the state OR A COURT decides who gets what.

Every person, whether hitched or single must have a Last Will and Testament - preferably with an Estate Planner. This will be your guide in identifying how you want to distribute your residential or commercial property when you pass away.
For most people, developing a Last Will and Testament enables them to manage their affairs through life with self-confidence and security. It also offers the chance for member of the family to continue caring for one another after the decedent dies. By including instructions about funeral arrangements and other final dreams in your Will, you can assist alleviate the psychological pressure on loved ones at this challenging time in their lives.
You might want to include specific information relating to properties, consisting of property, tangible personal effects, investments, insurance and retirement plans. You might also want to feature particular details regarding specific people or organizations you wish to benefit from your Will. You may want to make provisions for the care of any minor children or attend to their education. There are numerous things that can be included in a Last Will and Testatment to look after your family after your death.

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A Last Will and Testament is an essential file that ought to be done by an attorney. There are certain rules that must be followed when creating this legal document. It will keep your desires understood during your lifetime along with at time of death avoiding difficulties within the whole family.
It does not matter whether an individual passes away with or without a Last Will and Testament, the probate procedure is the identical.
Oklahoma Summary Probate is readily available where the total value of the estate is less than $200,000. The Oklahoma Summary Probate only takes a couple of months. If there are problems, then families will sometimes opt for the "standard probate" when there are differences or outside circumstances that would need a longer probate procedure.

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The probate procedure really starts with a meeting in a legal representatives's office to discuss who are the beneficiaries and what assets your loved one had. Once we have sufficient info to begin then we submit a petition for probate asking the court to name a personal representative
Then we set the Petition for probate at least 1 month in the future and we have to distribute Notice of the hearing on our petition in a local newspaper.
After a minimum of thirty days, we have a hearing where anybody can participate in and refute you being selected as the personal representative. If somebody does appear to contest the designation of personal representative, then there needs to be a hearing and in some cases the judge will schedule that hearing for another day even more lengthening the probate.
If nobody appears to contest or does not have a valid claim, then the judge will normally appoint a personal representative.
This personal rep with the help of their attorney will be accountable for administering the estate, paying financial institutions, selling off property, and dispersing possessions. Every one of these obligations need court approval.
Now that we have a personal rep, we have to give Notice to all discovered and unidentified creditors. Creditors have 60 days to come forward and make a claim against the estate. That implies we have to wait 60 days before the probate can proceed to the next step.
Notification to creditors is provided by filing with the Court Clerk a Notification to creditors with the Court, physically sending by mail a copy to known lenders and publishing a copy of the Notification in a local newspaper.
When we have a creditor claim then you have to determine if it is a legitimate claim If it is a legitimate claim, then you should submit an application with the Court to approve the claim. If the judge agrees, then you can pay the claim.

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We are not done concerning that lender yet. We have to send them a check, but then we need to wait till they submit a release of claim with the Court.
As you can picture big credit card companies are on their own schedule, so it can be several weeks before we have that release of claim. Till we have the release of claims we can not liquidate the Probate.
Next we need to perform an official inventory and appraisal of particular assets. This can be both time consuming and expensive.
As soon as the inventory is completed then you really need to make an application to the court to authorize that inventory. Again, this is an open hearing so unhappy beneficiaries can join and make difficult matters.
Finally, after all of this we can make an application for a Final hearing and distribution to all heirs. You must provide notice of this hearing by both mail and publication in the newspaper. This hearing is usually at least one month after the application is filed with the court clerk.
That was a lot. Even after all that the personal representative will still have responsibilities to liquidate the estate, pay taxes, and disperse the assets.

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You may have also become aware of supplementary probate. Actually this simply means decedent died with assets in another jurisdiction. Usually, there will be a probate in their home state, ancillary procedures where there is an asset in another state.
For instance if the deceased individual passed in California and they had Oklahoma real estate, then that real property would need an Oklahoma order admitting the ancillary probate. This order distributing the estate in Oklahoma would be ancillary probate to the one in California.

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If you have a revocable living trust focused estate plan, then every little thing is managed by your Trust. Your successor trustee follows the instructions you have actually given in your tailored revocable living trust focused estate, pays lenders, makes distributions and closes out your estate all without court intervention.
If your revocable trust is fully funded, then your successor trustee can move pretty rapidly. You have the added advantage of having a successor trustee to take care of you, your household and your assets during inability while you are still living. If you do not have a revocable trust centered estate plan, then your household may need to obtain guardianship just to look after you. And that can likewise be a long and demanding procedure.