Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Oklahoma

Re: What to do

Thank you for your question. By state law anybody possessing a Will of a recently deceased person is required to present it to the court. This is the noraml way that a probate is opened and Letters Testimentary issued. I dont know if a Judge would allow you to be unrepresented. There are specific things which must be done and proper papers filed. If you wish to try it on your own you might want to purchase some sort of book with forms. You might contact West publishing company in St.Paul, MN to see if they have such a book. Or you might try searching the internet. Also, law libraries in larger cities courthouses might have such reference books. If you are in a smaller community or even a large community you can go to the courthouse and try to get a meeting to discuss it with the judge who handles probate. There are tax releases that need to be obtained and notice to creditors published in newspapers that must be done. Its just not something that the average person will know how to do. My suggestion is to obtain the services of an attorney. If the estate is small, ie. less than $60,000 it might qualify for summary administration in which notices to creditors and final accounting can be accomplished in one publication and the estate can be closed fairly quickly and inexpensively.