Understanding Intestate Probate
Good morning, Oklahoma. This is Katrina Lucas with Wirth Law Office. I’m a Tulsa business attorney, and I also serve the surrounding areas and other counties in Oklahoma.
I’m going to talk about something that I like, being the lawyer for my clients. Still, I hate these moments—and it’s when somebody has passed away without doing a will, without any trust work, or without estate planning beforehand. This is when you find out how greedy your relatives can be. This is where you see people’s true colors. It’s where families are ripped apart.
Importance of Estate Planning
Trust and will planning are essential. But if you don’t do any of it, you’re going to be what’s called an intestate probate. You have to file that probate in the county where the person lived, and we have to provide notice to anybody who could have been an heir.
In situations where we have blended or nuclear families, people often have to share assets with their stepchildren if things weren’t properly titled into the marital group as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. This is painful for a lot of people to go through—and it happens during a time of grief. It doesn’t feel right to be fighting over assets when you’re grieving, but everyone who doesn’t do estate planning has to face that moment.
Taking Action on Intestate Probate
If you don’t plan, you’re going to have to face quiet title actions later. You’ll have to deal with many other problems. It’s not fun to be in that position, and if you wait, it becomes even more difficult to untangle assets and affairs. Then there are claims of loss of estate, claims of taking items that weren’t yours, and all types of ugliness that raise the cost of a probate.
So, if you have a loved one who has passed away and they have property titled in their name, you’re going to need to do a probate.
Consultations are Available
Please reach out to me here at Wirth Law Office at (918) 932-2879. I’d love to talk to you about it and see if I can help guide you through this difficult time. This is Katrina Lucas, an Oklahoma cannabis business attorney with Wirth Law Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stay safe, stay legal.