Marriage is more than just the joining of two people; it's also about merging lives and assets. Estate planning might not sound romantic, but it's essential for securing your future together. The Power of Partnership: Marriage involves shared responsibilities, including financial and legal matters. Estate planning helps create a joint financial roadmap, protecting each other's… Continue reading Marriage and Estate Planning: Securing Your Future Together
In Oklahoma, surviving spouses have statutory protections to ensure that they will receive a fair share of their deceased spouse's estate. Listed below are some of the potential protections that may be available to a surviving spouse. To best determine whether a protection applies to you or to ensure that your spouse is well-provided for… Continue reading Rights of Surviving Spouses in Oklahoma
Going through a divorce is an incredibly challenging and emotionally draining experience. Following the upheaval of separating assets and rebuilding your life, it's important to remember to update your estate plan. Estate planning after a divorce is crucial to safeguarding your assets. Following divorce it's important that you revisit your most recent last will and… Continue reading Estate Planning After a Divorce
Issues can pop up when you leave minors as beneficiaries. Read it about them here!
A common question in estate planning is: “How do I dispose of my ‘stuff?’” While bank accounts can have beneficiaries listed, and items like homes and vehicles can be titled over to a trust, passing on the jewelry, furniture, and antiques around our homes may be less obvious, but does not necessarily need to be… Continue reading “I Know What Will Happen to my Finances, but What Will Happen to my ‘Stuff?’”
The attorney of Skillern Law Firm, PLLC, Penni Skillern, recently had a baby girl in January of 2015. Yes, that is why there was a lack of blog posts and updates on our website. The first thing she did when she was able to go back to work was update her estate plan to reflect… Continue reading Estate Planning for Your New Expanded Family
When handling people's estate plans, I am often asked how life insurance, retirement accounts, and other “beneficiary” property should be handled with regards to the young children. More often than not, people with children want some or all of the proceeds of these accounts to go to their minor children. For example, if a client… Continue reading (Minor) Children in Your Estate Planning
Most couples, especially married couples, get their estate planning done together and draft them accordingly. Most of the time, married couples will get a Family Trust, rather than two individual Trusts, and all the beneficiaries/executors/trustees are listed as each other. After the unfortunate event of a divorce, it is extremely important to get your estate… Continue reading It’s Important to Update your Estate Planning After A Divorce
If you have children who are minors, it is very important to 1) get a will and 2) choose a guardian to take care of them should you pass away before they are the age of majority. This can be a very, very difficult choice, especially if the father and mother do not agree on… Continue reading How to Choose a Guardian for Your Minor Child(ren)
There is a popular trend among the states right now in estate planning law to allow people to make preparations for their pets in their will or trusts. Oklahoma has recently joined the trend. Oklahoma now allows pet trusts since a relatively recent House Bill1641 that was signed into law and became effective August 27,… Continue reading Estate Planning for Pets! Oklahoma Pet Trusts.
