Oklahoma Estate Litigation Legal Questions

Dear Ms. Bittick:   You need to go to the courthouse and finish the paperwork necessary to establish title in your name before nine months have passed.   Your father is a thief like any other. How you choose to deal with a family thief is up to you but it is rarely by litigation unless something of high intrinsic worth is stolen or unless you are interested in paying large attorneys' fees to make a point.   Unless you intend to report him to the District Attorney (who may say this is a family matter with which he will not intervene), I recommend you change the locks and get an alarm system.   Good luck.... Read More

Dear Anonymous:   I assume you probated the will.  If you did not, you need to do so.  No you cannot just sell the property.  The law in our state is not well laid out on what companion's obligations are versus yours.  If you cannot reach an accord, to court you must go.  You might consider mediation, in hope of getting an agreement ironed out.  But you cannot sell the property without the companion's participation. If you have not probate the will yet, you may be able to resolve your issues with the Judge at that time. Good luck to you.... Read More

I am assuming that you mean there is a specific bequest (gift to you) of 100 shares of stock.   Unless the gift included language  regarding spin offs, you are likely to only receive the stock as described. However, I am not aware of any law governing this issue and if you have any evidence of a different intent, you might prevail if you challenge it.   If you want to discuss your evidence, evidence needed or challenges to this distribution, I will be happy to explore the matter with you. I will put this ssame information in your repeat question in the wills and probate category. To your success, Gale Allison... Read More

You really need to talk to a lawyer. Ask around, some lawyer will talk to you for no fee, or a modest consultation fee if you dont have money. There are some issues here. If either of your parents received medicaid, the house could be subject to a claim. However, there is an exception to their claim called "undue hardship" if you were living in the home as their caretaker for 2 years prior to their hospitalization. Don't make statements to the hospital about your living arrangment until you talk to the attorney. Also, when your last parent dies, you personally do not inherit their debt. Their estate is given their debt. If you are the only heir of the parent, you can probably keep this house if you can afford it. Again, talk to a probate or elder law attorney. ... Read More

My condolences on your loss. A few years ago, paternity was proved by providing testimony of others as evidence. Today you would likely need to provide DNA evidence. If he has already been buried or cremated, the options are limited.There are some important things you should know, even though I don’t have enough information here to discuss your standing in your loved one's estate. Other relationships he had will be critical - a spouse, other unclaimed children you may not know about, etc. If a person dies without a Will in Oklahoma, probate is required to legally handle the estate. If he had a Will, Trust or other estate plan arrangements, those would affect the situation as well.Without proof of paternity, as you appear to have understood, you inherit nothing if he has no estate plan naming you (Will, Trust, or other arrangement) as a fiduciary or an heir or beneficiary. Of course, you may also have no responsibility for his final bills, burial or disbursement of his estate.You will need an experienced Oklahoma probate lawyer in the county where he lived and owned property to help you sort through this situation and determine your rights and responsibilities. To Your Success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com... Read More

It may all belong to your sister if she was a Joint Owner with Rights of Survivorship in Oklahoma. It doesn’t matter if there is no Will. In Oklahoma, probate is necessary both when there is a Will and when there is not – BUT ONLY if your mother owned property in her own name alone. You can go to the courthouse (or call if you are not local) and get a copy of the deed to your mother’s house. This is not expensive but, if you aren’t local, expect to pay for mailing in addition to the copy fee which is around $10. Then you will see if the property was titled jointly in your mom’s and sister’s names. If your mother titled everything she owned Joint with Rights of Survivorship with your sister and was in her right mind when she did it, there is literally nothing you can do. If your mother was not in her right mind at the time the joint deed was signed you may have a cause of action.  If the property was titled as Tenants in Common or was not a joint title, you may want to file for probate. In the Oklahoma probate process you, as her child, would be considered a legitimate heir to any property titled in only your mother’s name. To be sure it is all done correctly you should hire the best Oklahoma probate lawyer you can afford. This will also help to avoid emotion-charged difficulties between you and your sister. To Your Success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com... Read More

If you don’t pay your lawyer, she or he cannot work on your case providing knowledge and advice free of charge. You don’t sign a retainer. A retainer is an amount of money that an attorney accepts from you to begin working on your case. It is put into a trust account for you. It is maintained by the law firm but remains your money until the attorney does something to earn it.  Examples include meeting with you, talking on the phone to someone connected with your case, appearing or filing items in court, writing your documents, doing research, and more. When the work is done or expenses are incurred (filing fees, postage, payments to an appraiser, or other costs) the amount expended is deducted from the retainer. To continue the lawyer's ability to work on your case, you replenish the retainer on a regular basis. I am not aware of any law saying it has to be done this way. It is, however, the way private practice law firms conduct business. To Your Success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com... Read More

An attorney in Oklahoma generally uses what is called an Engagement Letter or Attorney-Client Agreement. This document spells out all the terms to which both parties (client and lawyer) agree. The document must be signed and dated by all parties to the agreement. To Your Success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com... Read More

You should not try to do anything about any property that was owned in the name of the decedent alone before the estate has been through probate. Where there is no Will or Trust, an estate must be probated in Oklahoma. The judge will then appoint a Personal Representative (Executor) to oversee closing out of the estate under the orders of the probate court. To Your Success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com... Read More

Was there no probate of her estate when your mother died? You need to do your best to find the Will, if one exists. Your mother’s husband would have been a legitimate heir in Oklahoma. If he had a Will or other estate plan that left his portion from your mom’s estate to his children, you will have those issues to handle. Oklahoma law, even if there is no Will, sets out the rules for inheritance. This situation could have a variety of possible outcomes and needs to be reviewed in depth. I am happy to discuss fees with anyone personally, if they have not already hired a lawyer, but I don’t post fees with such little information. To discuss our fees, people should call our office. Each client’s case is different and there are options we can discuss. To Your Success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com... Read More

Oklahoma law is very strict about what happens with estates. Your brother cannot simply name his wife to handle the estate.   He must ask the court to allow him to resign.  If there was a Will, the named successor will be named.  If he won’t ask to resign and there is not a Will or no successor Personal Representative, you can petition the court to have your brother removed as Personal Representative. At that time you can ask to have yourself appointed instead.   There is a statute, a law, that designates who has priority to serve on an estate, but unless your mother was married, you may well have the priority right. In any case, you would be wise to hire an Oklahoma estate administration and probate lawyer to at least guide and coach you. To Your Success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com... Read More

The estate is responsible for the debts and administrative expenses, not you personally. The estate would have had to pay for some of this anyhow, if you had been named Personal Representative earlier. The utilities would have to be paid, the funeral, the attorney, etc. Something would have been done about the dog. Are these expenses worth a fight to you? Do you owe the maternal cousin for her burial plot? Possibly.  The estate would have had to pay the funeral expenses.  There are various ways to deal with the expenses and debts that must be paid before anyone gets an inheritance.  But you are entitled to the personal effects that the cousin cleared out of the house. Is the attorney not able to answer these questions for you? This can probably be straightened out, but if you can’t talk to the attorney who is handling the estate, you need to hire someone else to assist you.  To Your Success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com... Read More

The time to disburse sale proceeds to heirs varies. You don't say if the house was in a Will, Trust or joint ownership. The mention of ‘executors' indicates probate, but you say it's not in probate. Under Oklahoma law, you cannot avoid probate by making an unofficial agreement to sell property titled in your mother's name. First clarify how the house was titled at the time of your mother's death: • If title to the house was in her name when she died and she had a Will naming your siblings Executors or no Will, probate is required. For them to be legal executors a Court Order had to occur and the siblings agreed to serve as executors. Though it can happen earlier, often nothing is distributed until after probate. • If the house was titled to a Living (Revocable) Trust and siblings were named Trustees, they could sell the house without a Court Order. Under a Trust, there is no probate and no executors, but it names Trustees to decide the handling of its assets, before and after the Trust's owner dies. Depending on taxes, claims, the inclination of Trustees and speed of lawyers, the money can be distributed right away or they can take their own sweet time. I see you don't feel able to trust those handling this property. Sadly, sometimes executors and trustees take money and don't communicate. It's important. Follow up. Engage an experienced attorney to help unravel things. If not ready for legal representation, then stop making calls that are being ignored. Write letters. Be polite. Specifically state the dates you spoke to people, their names, and exactly what they said. Ask nicely for an explanation for the delay within 5 business days of receiving the letter. Send it "return receipt requested." Copy your siblings. Keep a copy. If you don't receive satisfactory response within a few days of your requested date, hire the best lawyer you can afford. To your success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyThe Allison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.com  ... Read More