• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

No Will (Oklahoma)

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

mrs.bpittman

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oklahoma

In Oklahoma, a friend's mom has passed away. All property was in the mom's name including home and businesses because she owned them at the time of marriage. The mom and the dad together have built the business to success. They have no will. The mom and the dad are still married, never separated, etc. Must the dad go through probate court to have ownership of all of the property? Or is it automatically so?
 


anteater

Senior Member
If the property was solely in the mother's name, then probate will be necessary.

And, under intestacy, your friend would be entitled to part of her mother's estate.

And, while Oklahoma is not a community property state, it has this rather unique concept of property acquired through "joint industry." A brief explanation is:

Generally, this type of property will include the value of any property or the increased value of any property which resulted from the joint efforts, skill or funds of both spouses during the time of marriage.

For instance, a cottage purchased prior to marriage for $75,000 that is valued at $100,000 at the time of death as the result of both spouses investing joint funds in its improvement may have the $25,000 of increased value considered as property acquired by the "joint industry" of both spouses.

This differs from the concept of community property, which typically grants the spouses equal ownership of property which is merely acquired by either spouse during the marriage.
Oklahoma's intestate descent and distribution statute can be found at:

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=73029
 

justalayman

Senior Member
If there was no will, unless title to property was as joint with rights of survivorship or had a listed beneficiary being the husband, the husband is not entitled to all of the mothers estate.

Since you state the mother owned the property and business prior to the marriage, unless she had changed the form of title of any real estate, it would appear there is no joint tenants ownership.

the laws of intestate succession will direct how the assets are distributed. Was your friend the mothers only child? If not, were the others the husbands children or not?

how was this business structured; sole proprietorship, corporation, ???
 

mrs.bpittman

Junior Member
My friend would actually be considered a step-child as would her brother. Her biological mother passed away. The woman she calls Mom never adopted her, so essentially, I suppose she has no legal rights or claims. She also does not ask for any. There are no biological children of the deceased. I believe that the business was a sole proprietorship, but it may have been changed as the business grew. She started out with one small store in a leased building. They now have 5 stores in major malls throughout the state.

She always talked about doing a Will and changing the ownership records to include her husband, but always put it off thinking there were many years to come. But life doesn't usually work out the way we expect it to.

I will help her dad locate a good estate attorney in his area. Thank you for your responses.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
If the friend is a step child of the woman, without a will, your friend has no claim to anything even though there was an apparent pseudo-familial relationship. With it not being a legal relationship, as far as the law is concerned, they were strangers.

It is still most likely probate will be required. If the decedent had any other living relatives, they may be due some portion of the estate as well. The husband needs to, at least, have a knowledgeable party (attorney) review the situation to determine what actions are needed.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top