Estate Planning Attorney

Oklahoma City Estate Lawyers: Moore & Norman

One of the biggest misconceptions is that unless you are wealthy, you don’t need estate planning. The reality is, not having an estate plan in place is a concern for most people, especially homeowners. Without proper estate planning, when someone passes away, the state of Oklahoma decides how the estate gets distributed. With no estate plan, any heirs or beneficiaries face long delays and a complicated probate process. Having an experienced estate planning attorney can help make sure your estate gets distributed according to your wishes. Wills and trusts let you control who gets what from your estate while saving your family from the probate process’s financial burden. An estate planning attorney helps you plan for the future and your family’s needs. They also help you decide whether to execute a will, establish a trust, or perhaps both, and determine the necessity of a durable power of attorney and healthcare directives. These latter instruments appoint a person to manage your assets and finances and appoint someone for making medical decisions in the event you become disabled or incapacitated. The estate planning attorney helps you determine which plans best suit your needs.

Estate Planning Laws in Oklahoma

Since no one lives forever, having an estate plan in place while you are young and in good health is extremely important. The laws for estate planning are established by the state, which regulates the execution of wills and trusts, durable powers of attorney, and healthcare directives for medical and end-of-life preferences. Oklahoma has an Oklahoma Advance Directive Act “OAD Act”. This act grants an individual the choice to forgo life-saving medical practices, including feeding tubes, artificial respiration, and other procedures. An experienced attorney will not only help you navigate the OAD Act but also the following Oklahoma estate planning components:

Oklahoma Durable Power of Attorney
Oklahoma Wills
Oklahoma Living Wills

Estate Planning Basics

Estate planning helps you determine who receives your assets and handles the responsibilities after you die or become incapacitated. Estate planning lets you adjust your estate plans whenever your financial and personal situations change. Your first step to a comprehensive estate plan is to inventory your assets. Next, determine how you want the assets distributed upon your death or incapacitation. Some assets, both tangible and intangible, to include in your estate planning:

Business Ownership
Real Estate
Motor and Recreational Vehicles
Collectibles
Stocks and Bonds
Retirement Accounts
Checking and Savings Accounts
Life Insurance
Personal Possessions

It is critical to identify all of your assets to ensure that they are all transferred or conveyed into a trust or, alternatively, that title is held in such a way that probate may be avoided upon your passing.

Determine Family Needs

To adequately protect your family and pass on the estate assets, you must carefully assess your family’s needs. These considerations include:

Designated guardians for minor children.
Continuing care for minor children and disabled family members.
The dynamics of blended families.

Estate Planning Is An On-going Process

Once you have developed and executed an estate plan, it is important to periodically review the estate plan to confirm that it still matches your end-of-life wishes. Over time, real property ownership changes. Your family may have added another child. These changes may require modification to your initial estate planning documents.

To learn more about estate planning, contact the Seda Law Firm at 405.759.0678 or fill out our Contact Form.