IMagika said:
My mother and I live in TN, but my uncle lived in Oklahoma.
Recently my uncle passed on and left my mother as the beneficiary to both his life insurance and 401K. However, he did not leave a will stating where the funds of his savings account were to go. Having no wife or children, my mother is his nearest living relative and there has been no dispute among our other relatives as to what should be done with his belongings. Our only problem is how to handle the bank so that his truck can be paid off (the loan of which is with the same bank) and the remaining balance cashed. My mother also just received the last two paychecks from my uncle's job. How do we go about cashing them and how do we get access to his savings account without a Will stating that we have that right? Any help is most appreciated.
Oklahoma Intestate Succession Laws
If any part of an Oklahoma decedent's estate is not effectively disposed of by will, the intestate share will be distributed in the following order and manner:
1. Surviving spouse. A surviving spouse is generally first in line to get any assets from the intestate estate. However, the amount a surviving spouse is entitled to varies as follows:
* In any case, the surviving spouse is entitled to complete ownership of a car owned by the decedent. If the decedent owned more than one car, the surviving spouse has first choice as to which one to pick.
* If there is no surviving issue (i.e., lineal descendant like a child), parent, or sibling of decedent, the surviving spouse is entitled to the entire intestate estate.
* If there is no surviving issue, but the decedent is survived by a parent or sibling, the surviving spouse is entitled to all the property acquired by the joint industry of the spouses during their marriage, plus an undivided one-third interest in the remaining intestate estate.
* If there are surviving issue, all of whom are also issue of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse is entitled to an undivided one-half interest in all the intestate property (however acquired).
* If there are surviving issue, one or more of whom are not also issue of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse is entitled to an undivided one-half interest in the property acquired by the joint industry of the spouses during their marriage, plus an undivided equal part in the intestate estate not acquired jointly divided with each of decedent's living children and the lawful issue of any deceased child by right of representation.
As referred to above and later on, taking by right of representation involves dividing the estate into as many equal shares as there are surviving heirs in the nearest degree of kinship and deceased persons in the same degree who left issue that survived the decedent. Each surviving heir in the nearest degree receives one equal share. A deceased person in the same degree (e.g. a dead brother) also gets an equal share, except that it is split equally among the deceased's issue.
2. Heirs other than surviving spouse. Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse as indicated above, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows to the decedent's:
1. Surviving children and issue of any deceased child by right of representation.
2. Parent or parents equally.
3. Parents' issue by right of representation.
4. Grandparents or issue of grandparents. Half of the estate passes to the paternal grandparents if both survive, or to the surviving paternal grandparent or to the issue of the paternal grandparents if both are deceased. Such issue take equally if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent and, if of unequal degree those of more remote degree take by representation. The other half passes to the maternal relatives in the same manner. If there is no surviving grandparent or issue of grandparent on either the paternal or maternal side, the entire estate passes to the relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half.
5. Next of kin in equal degree.
3. State of Oklahoma. If there is no taker under any of the above provisions, the intestate estate passes to the state of Oklahoma for the support of common schools.
Oklahoma Intestate Succession Law Fun Facts
* Posthumous children are considered as living at the time of their parents' death.
* Evildoers beware! Any person who is convicted of first or second degree murder or first degree manslaughter, or otherwise is an accessory to murdering the decedent cannot inherit any of decedent's property. Instead, such property descends the next available heirs in line.
* Oklahoma's intestate succession laws, as well as other related laws, can be found in Title 84 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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