Wills and Trusts are an important part of Estate Planning in Oklahoma. You’ve spent your life accumulating certain assets. Take the time to protect them after you pass away. Wills and Trusts don’t have to be difficult. The truth is that with a little help you can put together an estate plan that accomplishes exactly what you want.
Wills and Trusts With Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document that you sign. When you sign it you must be competent. It authorizes a third party to act on your behalf. A power of attorney may be limited to a specific authority. The two most common authorities are, Financial and Health Care powers of attorney. The person to whom the power is granted is considered to be you attorney in fact for the purpose set out in the power. A power of attorney is in effect until you revoke it or until you die.
Oklahoma Probate Administration
Probate in Oklahoma is the court supervised method by which you pass
your assets to your heirs when you die. Probate is used for several reasons. A few of the reasons are, prove the validity of a will, appoint administrators, determine heir-ship, inventory and dispense with estate property Etc. In genera,l probate is broken down in to small estate and large estate probate. The small estate is ab expedited process. There are ways to avoid to probate and you may want to call us about them.
Trust Administration
A Trustee is the person you appoint in the trust with the responsibility of administering your trust. The trustee is under a legal duty to administer the trust as it’s set in the trust. The trustee acts in a fiduciary capacity. As a fiduciary they owe you specific legal duties to the beneficiaries of the trust. The duties of the Trustee are determined from the language of the trust instrument itself, from statutory law and other precedents as set out by the courts in the jurisdiction.
Oklahoma Health Care Directives
Also called an advanced health care directive. It gives you the power to control what if any health care you receive in the event you become incapacitated. In essence the directive sets out in advance what health care you want to receive. It also names the person you want to decide health care decisions at the end of your life. This directive is helpful in removing the burden of end of life decisions from your loved ones or your treating physician.
Wills in Oklahoma
Wills in Oklahoma are governed by statute. There’s several different ways a will is prepared. Those ways are set out by statute. The key to a will is that it must clearly set out the intent of the person drafting it. Once the will is drafted its important that it be signed and witnessed per the law. In most cases its important that the will is signed by you and witnessed by your witnesses. Its also required that its notarized. When you die the will must be probated. This takes place either where you die or in the County where you live. The process of probating a will is simply done to make sure its a valid will.
Living Trusts
Most people are interested in creating a trust as a means of avoiding probate. They do this because they believe there is a tax benefit or that the process is easier. Although this may be true creating a trust is a valuable tool for estate planning. It’s true that a trust unlike a will is a private document and that it may be a valuable way of preserving assets. It is also necessary that you consult a skilled Oklahoma Trust lawyer who can help you make that determination and who can guide you on how to prepare trust documents and fund the trust.
Revocable and Irrevocable Living Trusts
Both irrevocable and revocable living trusts allow you to effectively manage your financial affairs and may afford the you certain tax advantages. Along with tax benefits. The primary difference between the two is that once drafted and funded the irrevocable living trust is said to be beyond your control. It also means that you cant change it. There are certain reasons this is done and can be explained to you and fitted to your particular estate planning needs.
Will Substitutes
This is a means of estate planning that seeks to avoid wills and trusts altogether. In Oklahoma Estate Planning, a will substitute may be a certain beneficiary you choose in your insurance policy or the way you title your house. There are several will substitute available in Oklahoma and your Estate Planning lawyer will help you decide which option is best for you.
Asset Protection
True asset protection is found in an irrevocable trust. The reason is that once you fund the trust the money is in effect not yours anymore. This sounds crazy but its not. Although the money in the irrevocable trust inst yours you may still be receiving payments from the trust itself. Irrevocable trusts come in a variety of ways. They can be set up as medical trusts or spend thrift trusts depending on your needs. Other tools of asset protection are PODs and beneficiaries in insurance policies.