Ensuring Smooth Asset Transfer: How to Avoid Probate in Oklahoma
Hi, I’m Oklahoma attorney Meg Prestige and I want to talk to you today about different ways to avoid probate in Oklahoma. There are several tools at your disposal that you can use. One is called joint ownership, where you put property into joint tenancy with generally a husband and wife and it has rights of survivorship. So at the death of the first joint tenant, the property automatically passes to the surviving joint tenant.
Another way is for savings and checking accounts. You can at your bank enter a form called payable on Death and on those forms you identify the beneficiaries that you want to inherit the money in your checking and savings accounts even if you have CDs then you name those and you’ll have to use the bank form but that is another way to avoid probate. All they need to do is bring a copy of your death certificate to the bank or financial institution.
Exploring Additional Ways to Avoid Probate
Another way to avoid probate is a nice tool called transfer on death deeds. That is where you take your property, usually real estate or minerals, and at your death, the heirs have the right to claim their share by filing an affidavit in the county where you resided in Oklahoma within nine months from the date of your death. If they don’t do that, the transfer on the death deed laps, and it becomes part of your estate.
One more way that you can avoid probate is a tool called a revocable living trust. Revocable living trusts are excellent estate planning tools, especially for those with multiple families and a lot of assets they want to share. We will discuss more about revocable living trusts in a future video.
Take Action Now and Schedule a Low-cost Consultation
If you want to learn more or discuss any of these options with me, contact a Oklahoma City probate attorney at OklahomaCityAttorney.com or call 405-888-5400 to schedule a low-cost consultation.
