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The Probate Steps can be confusing and frustrating for many people. Regular probate and can take 6 to 10 months typically. Nevertheless, we have probates that last over a year or longer when heirs fight.
It is possible to prevent the Probate procedure by distributing assets with specific tools such as Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship, Pay on death designations, and transfer on deaths identifications. While these are necessary tools, they might have unexpected consequences. Instead they need to be used in combo with a correctly executed estate plan.
Probate is a civil court proceeding for the apportionment of an individual's assets at death. The VERY important distinction between dying with or without a Will is how property is dispersed.
For distributions according to your desires then you should have a legitimate Last Will and Testament and proper estate planning. The government makes distributions for you if there is NO Will. The repercussion of passing away without a Last will and testament can be unfortunate.
The bottom line is that the state OR A COURT decides who gets what.

Every person, whether married or single should have a Last Will and Testament - ideally with an Estate Planner. This will be your guide in determining how you wish to distribute your home when you die.
For the majority of people, creating a Last Will and Testament enables them to handle their affairs through life with confidence and security. It also offers the opportunity for relative to continue looking after one another after the decedent passes away. By including directions about funeral arrangements and other final desires in your Will, you can help ease the mental stress on loved ones at this difficult time in their lives.
You might wish to incorporate specific details regarding possessions, including realty, tangible personal effects, investments, insurance policies and retirement plans. You may also want to include particular information relating to particular individuals or institutions you wish to benefit from your Will. You may wish to make provisions for the care of any minor children or provide for their education. There are lots of 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 document that should be done by a lawyer. There are certain guidelines that need to be followed when creating this legal document. It will keep your desires known throughout your life time along with at your time of death avoiding difficulties within the family members.
It does not matter whether a person dies with or without a Last Will and Testament, the probate process is the very same.
Oklahoma Summary Probate is readily available where the total value of the estate is less than $200,000. The Oklahoma Summary Probate just takes a couple of months. This probate process works efficiently when all successors are in agreement and there are no problems. The timeline is tight. So, if there are problems, then families will in some cases go with the "regular probate" when there are disputes or outside scenarios that would require a longer probate procedure. See our Summary Probate Procedure page for a description.

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The probate process truly starts with a meeting in an attorneys's workplace to discuss who are the beneficiaries and what possessions your loved one had. Once we have adequate info to begin then we submit a petition for probate asking the court to designate a personal representative
Then we set the Petition for probate at least thirty days in the future and we have to distribute Notice of the hearing on our petition in a regional newspaper.
After a minimum of thirty days, we have a hearing where anybody can attend and argue against you being designated as the personal representative. If someone does appear to contest the designation of personal representative, then there has to be a hearing and in some cases the judge will book that hearing for another day further extending the probate.
If no one appears to contest or does not have a valid claim, then the judge will normally appoint a personal rep.
This personal rep with the help of their attorney will be accountable for administering the estate, paying lenders, selling off property, and distributing possessions. All of these duties require court approval.
Now that we have a personal rep, we have to give Notice to all known and unidentified creditors. Creditors have 60 days to come forward and make a claim against the estate. That means we have to wait 60 days before the probate can continue to the next step.
Notification to creditors is provided by filing with the Court Clerk a Notice to creditors with the Court, physically mailing a copy to known creditors and releasing a copy of the Notice in a local newspaper.
When we have a collector claim then you have to determine if it is a legitimate claim If it is a valid claim, then you should file an application with the Court to authorize the claim. If the judge agrees, then you can pay the claim.

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We are not done with that creditor yet. We have to send them a check, but then we need to wait until they submit a release of claim with the Court.
As you can envision big credit card business are on their own schedule, so it can be several weeks before we have that release of claim. Until we have the release of claims we can not liquidate the Probate.
Next we need to provide an official inventory and appraisal of specific properties. This can be both time consuming and expensive.
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 heirs can show up at and make difficult matters.
Lastly, after all of this we can make an application for a Last hearing and distribution to all inheritors. You should give notice of this hearing by both mail and publication in the paper. This hearing is normally a minimum of 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 possessions.

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You might have likewise heard of supplementary probate. Really this just signifies decedent passed away with property in another state. Typically, there will be a probate in their home state, supplementary procedures where there is property in another state.
For instance if the departed individual passed in California and they had Oklahoma property, then that real property would require an Oklahoma order accepting the ancillary probate. This order dispersing the estate in Oklahoma would be supplementary probate to the one in California.

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If you have a revocable living trust centered estate plan, then everything is controlled by your Trust. Your successor trustee follows the directions you have actually given in your tailored revocable living trust centered estate, pays lenders, makes distributions and liquidates your estate all without court intervention.
If your revocable trust is fully funded, then your successor trustee can move pretty quickly. You have actually the added benefit of having a successor trustee to take care of you, your household and your properties throughout incapacity while you are still living. If you do not have a revocable trust focused estate plan, then your family may have to make an application for guardianship simply to look after you. And that can likewise be a long and demanding process.