My mom has passed and my younger sibling asked to be the head of estate.

Your sister can’t draw up any papers making her the sole head of the estate. The probate judge has to order someone to be the personal representative of your mom’s estate.  Your sister has most likely, and quite properly, filed for probate and asked to be made the Personal Representative (Executor) of your mom’s estate. When someone dies without a Will the estate must be probated if that person had any property in his or her name, alone.   So the probate would occur whether or not she had a Will.  Not having a Will just means the state decides who gets what.  The proceedings can take years and will take at the very least about six months. Oklahoma laws do not leave out inheritances for children (by birth or adoption) without someone following very specific rules to disinherit a child when writing her Will. Without being specifically included in a Will or otherwise provided for, step-children do not inherit automatically. Since your mom had no Will, she undoubtedly did not disinherit you, so you are good to go, unless you are a step-child. Unless you are a joint owner of any of your mom’s assets or a co-signor or guarantor for her debts, it is unlikely you will be held responsible for her bills and debts. However, her estate must first be used to pay her debts. So the judge orders payment of valid debts first. After they are paid, the judge orders whatever is left over to be paid or disbursed to the heirs. Each probate outcome depends on your family’s specific circumstances. If you want someone to represent your interests, you need to hire an Oklahoma probate lawyer to explain the specifics of your mom’s estate and how your sister is managing it (the processes, how long things usually take, why your situation is taking this long, your rights and responsibilities…). To Your Success, Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyAllison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/galeallison.com