The Oklahoma Bar Journal November 2024

_. Do not list real estate for sale without a court order allowing you to do so unless your attorney advises that a “power of sale” in the will has been admitted to probate. There are at least two more ways to sell real estate during an Oklahoma probate, but both require court orders. Don’t just jump out there and hire a real estate agent before you get that court order from the judge. _. Advise the heirs and beneficiaries to under stand that they should contact you with updated addresses if they move, and you should provide those addresses to your attorney. Further, you should exam ine future court documents prepared by your attorney to make sure they have the most up-to-date address possible on those documents. A failure to provide notice to an heir or beneficiary, or even a creditor, can result in great discomfort and expense to you. _. Don’t allow your friends, your family, the decedent’s family or anyone else to use or abuse the decedent’s “stuff.” It is best to secure personal prop erty with a new lock and key. You are doing a service to the estate, and you are entitled to be paid for your service, but as a result, you have an obligation to pro tect the assets of the estate. Protecting those assets requires that you maintain control of them and not risk wear and damage that can be avoided.

_. Do not use money from accounts with a joint owner or a beneficiary without specific written per mission from that owner or beneficiary. Let me give you an example: If I pass away and my child is the joint owner of my checking account, the executor is not at liberty to go to that account, withdraw money and use it to pay for the funeral. I know this might feel counterintuitive, but this is the law. Once the decedent passes away, their interest in accounts that have a beneficiary or a joint owner is almost always gone. _. Attorneys give more notice rather than less. If you think Grandpa might have owed Uncle Bill some money but Uncle Bill has not said anything to you about that, you should still identify Uncle Bill and that possible claim to your probate attorney. This gener ally applies to all sorts of notices you will be given. I have never known anyone who was sad that they had followed the law too carefully and correctly.

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

30 | NOVEMBER 2024

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL