Probate In Wagoner County

Probate is not a term that you hear all the time. Unfortunately, when we talk about probate, it is normally related to a person’s death or in anticipation of one dying.

What is Probate in Wagoner County?

In basic terms, probate is the court-supervised process of finalizing a person’s estate after he or she has died.  This process entails two basic things:

1. Proving that the will is legal and valid; and

2. Distributing the assets of the decedent’s estate. This step involves:

• Taking inventory of the decedent’s estate

• Appraising the decedent’s property

• Satisfying any unpaid debts and taxes

• Distributing the remainder of the estate according to the decedent’s will.

The Executor

The executor is the person(s) who was designated by the decedent to handle the distribution of the decedent’s assets in accordance with his or her will.

How Does Probate Work in Wagoner County?

Filing of the will: The probate process in Wagoner County is not particularly difficult, but it can be expensive and time consuming. The process typically begins with the filing of a will (and a petition to admit the will to probate) by the executor(s) named in the decedent’s will or appointed by the court (for estates where the decedent died without leaving a will).

Inventorying the estate: The executor must then inventory the decedent’s assets and have them appraised. Not all assets owned by the decedent will go through probate. Assets such as property held jointly, property held in trust and assets for which a beneficiary has been designated will bypass probate.

The executor must also take stock of all outstanding liabilities and encumbrances on the estate, including any taxes, and then notify the decedent’s creditors that they have 60 days in which to file a claim against the estate.

For complex estates, the entire inventory process may take several months, and it cannot be completed until the Internal Revenue Service issues a closing letter for the decedent and the decedent’s federal tax return is filed with the probate court.

Public hearing: After inventorying the decedent’s estate, a public hearing will be held of which all persons with an interest in the decedent’s estate will be given notice. At this time, the court will normally designate whomever the decedent has named as executor as the official personal representative for the estate.

Final accounting: Once all documents have been filed and the 60-day period for filing claims against the estate has expired, the executor must make a final accounting of the decedent’s estate, which will then be reviewed by the court. If the court approves the final account, distribution of the remaining assets, in accordance with the decedent’s will, can be made  and the personal representative will be released from his or her duties.

Typically, the whole probate process takes 6 – 12 months from start to finish, and it can cost thousands of dollars in court costs and legal fees. However, depending on the size of your estate, methods can be taken to shorten the length of the process, which will also reduce associated costs.