Passed by the legislature in the spring, House Bill 2548 established Oklahoma's new Uniform Power of Attorney act and went into effect on November 1st under Title 58. This act, which provides for more uniform power of attorney documents from state-to-state, mostly focuses on the financial power of attorney. Unfortunately though, through some drafting oversight, the… Continue reading What are these new change to Oklahoma’s power of attorney laws?
The answer to this question is probably yes, but depends on your personal goals. A valid will tells the probate court how you want your assets distributed after you pass, but even with a will, an estate needs to go through the probate process and have the court approve the will before assets are distributed. This typically takes at least… Continue reading I Already Had a Will Drafted, Do I need to do Anything Else?
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?’”
Like we have discussed before on a previous post, every adult needs a Last Will & Testament or a Revocable Trust in place. However, more than half of all Americans have no planning in place! For simple estates, or at least the bare minimum for everyone, a Last Will & Testament is a good start. A Will… Continue reading Always have an attorney make your estate plan
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
Whenever an attorney creates a Revocable Living Trust for a client, the trust needs to be funded. "What does it mean to fund a trust?" is a common question that our attorney at the Skillern Law Firm gets from clients. It is a very important step in the estate planning process. To see what a Revocable… Continue reading Funding A Revocable Trust
Most, if not all, timeshare owners will have to decide, at some point in their life, who they want to receive their timeshares after they pass away. Most timeshares are real property interests, that are deeded into the owner(s)'s name(s). If a timeshare is held in an individual's name at death, just like any other piece of… Continue reading The Importance of Placing Your Timeshares Into A Trust
Most people that come into our office expect to need a "simple" estate plan. Usually, they mean a will, power of attorneys, and a living will. No trust, no tax planning, and no trust provisions for their children or other family members. Perhaps the initial motivator for this is the lower cost, but also the… Continue reading Should I Get A More Complex Estate Plan?
A lot of clients seem to be under the misconception that, if your will is valid, self-explanatory, and clear as to your intent, then it does not need to be probated. However, your Last Will and Testament is not effective until it goes through probate. It does not matter if it is clear and unambiguous!… Continue reading Why Does My Will Need To Be Probated?
One common scenario that estate planning attorneys encounter is clients who believe that deeding their home to their children solves the problem of avoiding probate. Most retired individual's main asset is their home, which many have paid their mortgage off. Such a situation is common for many of our clients, and the attorneys at Skillern… Continue reading A Common Error to Avoid Probate
