Probate can be expensive and time consuming for those who survive your death and will inherit your estate. However, there are a number of steps you can take now to insure that the bulk of your estate passes on directly to your decedents without the expense and complications of going through probate.
Here is a brief survey of the top four ways to avoid probate in Oklahoma City:
1. Joint Ownership
If you hold property in Joint Ownership With Rights of Survivorship, when one partner dies, the property passes on directly to the other(s) without having to go through probate.
Likewise, if you are married in Oklahoma, the state allows you and your spouse to own assets together in the form of Tenancy By The Entirety, which will allow property to pass on directly from one spouse to the other without going through probate when one of you dies.
2. Name Pay on Death (P.O.D.) and Transfer On Death (T.O.D.) Beneficiaries
You can add a P.O.D. to bank accounts and certificates of deposit in order to enable the funds to bypass probate and transfer directly to a named beneficiary upon your death.
Similarly, you can do the same thing for securities, mutual funds and even your vehicles by simply adding a T.O.D. beneficiary to your securities account or vehicle registration which will thereby allow you to avoid probate in Oklahoma City.
3. A Revocable Living Trust
One of the most common ways to avoid probate in Oklahoma City is to set up a revocable living trust, which is usually no more complicated than creating a will. A revocable living trust will allow you to hold property in trust without having to surrender control of the assets and without any tax consequences. When you die, the property held in the trust will be dispersed to whomever you named as a beneficiary without going through probate. Once all assets held in the trust have been dispersed, the trust will be terminated.
4. Give it away to avoid probate in Oklahoma City!
If you give your property away while you are still alive, it will not be part of your estate when you die and will not have to go through probate. This will also save on the cost of probate because when your estate is large in monetary value, the more expensive probate will be. If you are able to give away enough of your estate, it may eventually qualify for one of the probate shortcuts Oklahoma offers for small estates.
If you choose this method, however, you must be careful not to exceed state or federal limits on how much you can give away in a single year or over the course of your lifetime. There may be federal or state gift tax consequences if you give too much away to a single recipient in a given year. However, as long as you monitor your gift-giving accordingly, you can give away as much as you like without any tax consequences and avoid probate in Oklahoma City.
Consultation: Oklahoma City Probate Attorney
For a consultation with an Oklahoma City Probate Attorney call Wirth Law Office- Oklahoma City at (405) 888-5400. You can also submit an email question from the top right corner of this page. We will respond as quickly as possible to all questions.
