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The Probate Procedure can be complicated and aggravating for many people. Regular probate and can take 6 to 10 months usually. Nevertheless, we have probates that last over a year or longer when successors fight.
It is possible to avoid the Probate process by distributing properties with specific tools such as Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship, Pay on death designations, and transfer on deaths designations. While these are essential tools, they might have unintentional repercussions. Instead they must be utilized in combo with an effectively implemented estate plan.
Probate is a civil court case for the apportionment of a person's assets at death. The really essential distinction between dying with or without a Will is how property is dispersed.
For distributions according to your wishes then you must 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 effect of dying without a Will can be devastating.
The bottom line is that the state OR A COURT decides who gets what.

Every person, whether married or single must have a Last Will and Testament - preferably with an Estate Coordinator. This will be your guide in determining how you wish to distribute your residential or commercial property when you pass away.
For most people, producing a Last Will and Testament permits them to manage their affairs through life with confidence and security. It also provides the chance for family members to continue caring for one another after the decedent passes away. By including instructions about funeral plans and other final dreams in your Will, you can help ease the psychological pressure on loved ones at this difficult time in their lives.
You might want to include specific info relating to properties, including realty, tangible personal property, investments, insurance and retirement plans. You may also wish to feature particular info regarding specific people or institutions you wish to benefit from your Last will and testament. You may wish to make provisions for the care of any small kids or attend to their education. There are numerous things that can be included in a Last Will and Testatment to take care of your household after your death.

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A Last Will and Testament is an important file that needs to be done by a lawyer. There are certain rules that should be followed when developing this legal document. It will keep your wishes known during your lifetime in addition to at time of death avoiding difficulties within the 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 offered where the total value of the estate is less than $200,000. The Oklahoma Summary Probate just takes a few months. This probate process works successfully when all heirs remain in concurrence and there are no problems. The timeline is tight. So, if there are issues, then family members will sometimes go with the "normal probate" when there are disputes or external scenarios that would need a longer probate procedure. See our Summary Probate Process page for a description.

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does a transfer on death avoid probate

does a transfer on death avoid probate

The probate process actually starts with a meeting in an attorneys's workplace to discuss who are the heirs and what properties your loved one had. When we have sufficient information 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 one month in the future and we have to post Notice of the hearing on our petition in a regional legal newspaper.
After at least 1 month, we have a hearing where anybody can attend and argue against you being selected as the personal representative. If someone does appear to contest the appointment of personal representative, then there has to be a hearing and sometimes the judge will schedule that hearing for another day even more prolonging the probate.
If nobody appears to contest or does not have a valid claim, then the judge will usually appoint a personal rep.
This personal rep with the help of their attorney will be responsible for administering the estate, paying creditors, selling off property, and distributing properties. All of these responsibilities require court approval.
Now that we have a personal rep, we need to give Notice to all discovered and unidentified creditors. Creditors have 60 days to come forward and make a claim against the decedent's estate. That indicates we need to wait 60 days before the probate can proceed to the next step.
Notice to creditors is offered by filing a Notice to creditors with the Court, physically sending by mail a copy to recognized creditors and releasing a copy of the Notification in a local newspaper.
As soon as we have a creditor claim then you need to identify if it is a legitimate claim If it is a valid claim, then you must 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 need to send them a check, however then we need to wait until they file a release of claim with the Court.
As you can envision major visa or mastercard companies are on their own schedule, so it can be a number of 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 certain properties. This can be both time consuming and pricey.
As soon as the inventory is finished then you need to make an application to the court to authorize that inventory. Once again, this is an open hearing so unhappy beneficiaries can attend and complicate matters.
Lastly, after all of this we can make an application for a Last hearing and distribution to all inheritors. You need to provide notice of this hearing by both snail mail and publication in the paper. This hearing is generally at least thirty days after the application is filed with the notary.
That was a lot. Even after all that the personal representative will still have duties to close out the estate, pay taxes, and disperse the assets.

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how to avoid probate court

how to avoid probate court

You might have also heard of ancillary probate. Actually this just means decedent died with assets in another state. Usually, there will be a probate in their home jurisdiction, supplementary procedures where there is an asset in another state.
For instance if the deceased person passed in California and they had Oklahoma real estate, then that real property would require an Oklahoma order accepting the ancillary probate. This order dispersing 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 everything is managed by your Trust. Your successor trustee follows the instructions you have actually given in your personalized revocable living trust centered estate, pays creditors, makes distributions and liquidates your estate all without court intervention.
If your revocable trust is completely funded, then your successor trustee can move quite quickly. You have actually the included benefit of having a successor trustee to look after you, your family and your assets throughout inability while you are still living. If you do not have a revocable trust focused estate plan, then your household might need to make an application for guardianship just to take care of you. And that can also be a long and stressful process.

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