Intestate Succession

What happens when someone passes away without leaving a Last Will and Testament?

When a person has died leaving a will, they are said to have died “testate.” Property of a person dying testate is generally distributed to the persons named in the will. When a person dies without leaving a will, they are said to have died “intestate”. Because a person dying intestate has not expressed how they wish to have their property distributed, the State of Oklahoma has created a default set of rules that make the decision for you. These rules are commonly called the “Law of Intestate Succession.” The Law of Intestate Succession is based on a core assumption: that a person would prefer to leave their property to their spouse and also to their closest blood relatives. Let’s take a look at a few examples to understand how it works.

The law gets a bit more complicated in the case of blended families (where one or more children are not the natural born child of both parents or the deceased has been married more than once). In this case, courts will make a distinction between property that was created by the “joint industry” of both spouses (generally, property acquired during marriage) or non-joint property (generally, property acquired before marriage).

As you can see the more variables, the more complicated your outcome. Oklahoma intestacy laws have allowed for every type of variable. It even allows for the situation where someone dies with no spouse, children, parents, or relative of any kind. In that situation, it would all go the State of Oklahoma. To have a different result than set out through Oklahoma intestacy laws, you have to actively elect a different outcome by making an estate plan.

An estate plan includes a number of factors, including a will and/or trust. Having an estate plan allows you to have control over who gets your property, how they get your property, and when they get your property. An estate plan allows for the specific gift of property (i.e. to keep a family heirloom in the family) and the appointment of a guardian for your children. A well-crafted estate plan can also account for incapacity, healthcare decisions, power of attorney, and estate taxes.