Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Oklahoma

Re: parents terminated rights to child

Any child can be intentionally disinherited under Oklahoma law. So, if a parent's will clearly shows the testator's intention to disinherit his or her child, the child will not receive a share of the estate.

However, if a child is merely omitted from the will, it must appear from the contents of the will itself that the omission was purposeful; otherwise, it will be presumed that the child was overlooked, and the child will take its part of the estate.

In Oklahoma, an adopted child may inherit both from the natural parents, whose parental rights have been terminated in the process of giving the child up for adoption, and from the adoptive parents.

Therefore, if your parent's will merely failed to mention you and did not otherwise show that the testator was cognizant of you while making the will, you may be able to take a child's part of the estate if you make timely application.

You should promptly make an appointment with an Oklahoma probate attorney and take him copies of your parents' wills, along with any court papers that you have in your possession concerning the termination of their parental rights and, if applicable, pertaining to your subsequent adoption, plus any probate papers for Oklahoma or any other state where your parents died, and be prepared to provide your attorney with all other relevant information.

You have not given the dates when these events happened, such as the dates of death or dates on which wills were admitted to probate, if they were. As with nearly all legal matters, there may be time limitations on asserting your rights, so you should act promptly and determine whether or not you have already waited too long.

It appears to me that this matter is worth looking into, depending mainly on how the wills are worded, so do not delay.

This will be my only involvement in this matter unless you contact me further.

THE END