Oklahoma Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Your assessment of the situation is troublesome.  You do not say what your suspicions on the first lawyer were.   There are bad people in all professions and walks of life.  If you have hit upon two, either your process for choosing your counsel is flawed or you have terrible luck.   My advice is to hire the very best lawyer you can find who LIMITS his or her law practice to trusts and estates.  The attorney's hourly rate may be higher than you like, but this generally reflects higher expertise.  That "top of the head" knowledge alone often results in significant time and money savings due to less need for information and precedent research and figuring out how procedures work.   Do not engage any laywer without a written engagement letter that spells out the service to be provided.  You actually provide a lot of the information the lawyer needs to assist you. Be organized. Your job is to pay all the bills and debts, file the final tax returns and follow the dictates of the trust. If anything that should have been in the trust did not get titled to the trust, you may have to probate as well.   These things do take time. If you think you have a procrastinator  as an attorney and you want to move things along, set a monthly appointment to basically insist on your own deadlines to have items accomplished.  Taking a long time does not necessarily mean it will cost more.  It usually means nothing is being done and thus no fees are being generated.   If you choose to move to a third lawyer, do your research.  Look for credentials and experience, specifically in handling estates and trusts.  To your success, Gale Allison        ... Read More

I need more information to give you a real answer. For example: Is your mother alive?   Is it her property or his?  For example is only his name on their home or bank account or do they hold title joint with rights of survivorship? If your mother is deceased, and your stepdather owns all his property in only his name, he can leave his prooerty to whomever he likes   If your stepfather has no will, all his property will go only to his children by state law. If the property was jointly titled, there may be other options, depending on the type of joint ownership. If you want a better answer, contact me to review your particular details. To your success, Gale Allison      ... Read More

You can sue trustees and executors who dont give you your rightful gift from the decedent.   Most beneficiaries don't realuze that many family members who are named to settle an estate or trust often do a terrible job of it!  Sometimes it is meaness, sometimes its ignorance, frequently it is simple theft.  The only way I know that you can nip it in the bud is to hire the very best estate and trust lawyer you can afford.  That is the rotten part.   It will cost you money.  You will be damaged by the awful fiduciary. However, if the amount is significant enough, whether the problem is a horrible job or theft is involved, you can sue for your damages as well.  On the other hand, if you want to try to preserve your family relationships and get the matter fixed faster than a court can and for a lot less cist in fees, try to get all parties to consider hiring an estate and trust mediator to settle the matter.  It works!   I handle these things all the time, so if I can help you in this matter, let me know. To your success,  Gale Allison... Read More

No one can tell you that until they know how complicated your estate matter is.  Just remember that using a Will means that the people who will inherit must go through probate court to obtain their inheritance.  That process is a minimum of several thousand dollars and a quick one usually takes 9 months or longer.  If you have a simple and small situation, you could consider making your property payable to your heirs in another manner.   If money is a serious issue, you could ask those that will inherit from you to pay for the process of estate planning, or you can always do a handwritten Will.  It must be all in your handwriting, be dated, revoke previous Wills and clearly be a Will that is signed and dated.  You do not need witnesses, but leaving your assets that way is likely to entail an even more complicated probate.  Handwritten Wills often wind up being challenged in court, so if you do that, at very leaast, pay for a lawyer to look over it to be sure it meets all the state requirements for a hanwritten (holographic) Will. To your success, Gale Allison  ... Read More

I am so very sorry for this sad state of affairs.  The only way you are likely to get the home back is to buy it back.  I realize this is probably beyond your financial capability.  But as you know, houses require a lot of maintenance, taxes and insurance and it may be time for you to downsize anyway.   The only thing I can think of is to go to all the social service agencies you can and also to consider setting up a Go Fund Me site.  Often people are good and will try to help.  Good luck to you. To your success, Gale Allison... Read More

If you are saying she survived the person whom she was to inherit from, then her share would go to probate and split 50/50 between you and her daughter. If she did not survive the person who left her money, then the document should say who is the beneficiary if your wife predeceased the benefactor. To your success, Gale Allison... Read More

The problem is that--  since they have publicly held themselves out to be married -- it is most likely that they legally created a common law marriage and the property will be hers when he has passed. Any two adults can own property together without being married, but since your father and his ex have continued to live together publicly calling themselves married the law will see it that way.  A wife has certain rights to inherit so, unless he makes a different estate plan, she is likely to inherit.  To your success, Gale Allison, Attorney        ... Read More

The nominated Personal Representative (Executor) has the legal duty to start the probate.  No lawyer has any responsibility to bring the probate unless the lawyer is the Personal Representative.   If property is titled in both tge husband and wife's names, it is the wife's right to obtain sole title to the property when her husband passes.   The will only controls property titled to the Decedent's name alone or property payable to the estate.   To your success, Gale Allison, Attorney  ... Read More

If all traditional methods of searching for someone fail, i.e., Google.com, Ancestry.com, an others, it may be time to hire a detective.  If someone dies while a resident of Oklahoma and he owns some assets titled to the Decedent's name alone (there are no joint owners), whether there is a Will or not, probate must occur. Probate is necessary to legally transfer the assets to the new owners.  The filing for probate is public record and can easily be found at OSCN.net.  In Oklahoma, children given up for adoption are entitled to notice of the probate and are entitled to inherit unless the child is specifically disinherited in the Will. Good luck to you.... Read More

Are you still within the time period to respond?  My suggestion would be to contact the person who issued you the subpoena and ask how they'd like you to handle it.  If you have questions about your legal obligation to respond to the subpoena, you should take the subpoena to an attorney, discuss the particulars and get some advice for your situation.... Read More

The laws may be different in Oklahoma, but in New York a subcontractor cannot legally assert a mechanic's lien against real property unless the owner was responsible to pay the subcontractor.  If the sub dealt solely with the GC, the sub must seek payment solely from the GC, not the owner.  However, if you still owe money to the GC, the framer may (after obtaining a judgment against the GC) garnish that money so that you would be ocmpelled to pay it to the framer, rather than the GC, to satisfy that judgment.... Read More

DACA Recipients may be eligible as the beneficiary of an I-130 Immigrant Petition if he/she has a Qualifying Relative, such as a U.S. Citizen spouse willing to sponsor the I-130 Petition. Please note that this provides general information and is not intended to be a substitute for specific legal advice regarding an individual matter.  We strongly encourage you to work closely with legal counsel when pursuing any immigration benefits.  ... Read More

The statute of limitations begins to run upon the determination in your favor of the claim on which you base your malicious prosecution action.  So if the claim was asserted in December, 2015, and was dismissed in August, 2016, you have until August, 2017 to file your malicious prosecution action.... Read More

Your boyfriend after marriage can seek permanent residence but not U. S. citizenship. If his idea is that he does not wish to remain in the U. S. for 6 months or more during the next few years, he could likely take out reentry permits. However, if his idea is that he does not wish to stay in the U. S. 6 months or more at anytime in the future, then he may wish to explain his situation to the American consulate or embassy in his home country in order to obtain a visiting visa for when he needs to come to the U. S. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

Assuming that Oklahoma law is the same as in the states where I practice (I would be surprised if it were not, in this area of the law), you cannot assert a claim for slander or libel based on what is said or written in a lawsuit (as long as the statement meets the minimal standard of some pertinence to the action).  What was said to prospective employers outside of court is another matter.  If you can prove that your former employer made false statements of fact (not just opinion, like I would not hire this person, or this person is a jerk) to a third party, you may have a claim for slander (if the statements were oral) or libel (if the statemwnt was in writing, like in an email or letter).  The statements about which you're complaining would seem to constitute defamation per se, meaning they are of a type which are considered defamatory even if the defamed person can't show damages.  If, under Oklahoma law (assuming the statements were made in Oklahoma) they are not considered defamation per se, you you would need to prove that the statements caused you monetary damage, and may have some difficulty doing so, unless you can prove that you would have gotten a job absent the defamation.... Read More

It depends on the complexity of the Will and trust, but a simple Will is probably cheaper than a trust for you.  With a Will, there are additional costs of probate once you die, but those are paid by your estate whereas establishing a trust would be paid by you now.   You can add up the value of your house and IRAs and decide how to divide them.  Grandchildren are a good choice for IRAs because their  young age means that the benefits have the ability to grow tax-free for longer.  You can designate IRA beneficiaries with the entity managing the IRA for you, not in your Will so that is no cost.  A will is needed to give your house to your daughter and/or grandchildren, and, if that is all you want to do, you may be able to use an online form or hire an attorney for a small fee.  Putting your house in trust would require an attorney to write the terms of the trust and you to write and record a deed transferring your house into the trust.  A trust owning a house can complicate property tax rebate programs, your mortgage or home equity loan, and possibily insurance.  It avoids probate costs later but usually costs more upfront.  A local attorney would be able to quote your the costs for all. ... Read More

I'm sorry for your loss.  You can apply for a replacement title from the Oklahoma Department of Motor Vehicles.   Once you have that, you may need legal authority to transfer title to the charity.  If the truck is worth less than $20,000, you can use a "small estate affidavit" for personal property.  This is a legal document in which you or your sister state your father's name, date of death, describe the truck and its value, state that it is the only estate asset, and state that you and your sister are entited to it under the laws of intestacy in Oklahoma.  (Which is true unless you father was married when he died.)  A notary public must witness the signature on the affidavit.  You then file it with the probate court for the town that your father lived in and, after a ten day waiting period, you will have legal authority to sign the title to transfer ownership.  Check out nolo.com for more details about small estate affidavits.  Good luck.    ... Read More

Unfortunately, six weeks under administrative processing is not a long time in the context of immigration to the U.S. You could contact your congressional representative's office and have them make an inquiry. The congressional representative may be able to obtain for detailed information about the delay. You can read more about the immigration process at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read More