I believe some fear the financial costs of seeking an attorney’s advice. While it’s a genuine concern, it’s probably unfounded. Most attorneys have low or free consultation rates, followed by similarly low hourly or flat fees for particular tasks. (The flat fee is a feature I believe sets Absolute Legal Services, LLC, apart from other firms.) Flat fees can help limit the economic impact of your decision, and help ensure that you’re getting sound advice.

Still, people opt to do it themselves. I’ve published several articles on DIY legal services, and some of their consequences. You can find my posts about writing your own will here, here and here. I’ve also expressed concerns about properly executing your estate plan here, here, here, and here. Yet, companies like LegalZoom.com find themselves flourishing (although there’s this article that discusses their Missouri battle over the unauthorized practice of law).

There’s a March 2010 Kiplinger’s article (hat tip to The Probate Lawyer Blog) that addresses the issue of DIY estate planning. The article provides a generally favorable and unbiased review of DIY lawyering, and I’ll freely agree that you can do some of the tasks (e.g. power of attorney) without too many issues.

But, what about "the hiccup?" The great thing about using an attorney is that the attorney can often see your hiccups before they happen. If not at your first meeting, then certainly further down the road as he or she evaluates your issues and makes assessments. Your lawyer has a vast array of resources to consult that will help guarantee a superior quality of service fill-in-the-blanks can’t give you.

If you’d like to discuss our flat fee services, please give us a call: (405) 748-0318, or send us an email: contact@absolutelawfirm.com. We’ll be happy to make an assessment, and quote you a fee for the service. If you’re looking to start a business, draft a will or estate plan, purchase a piece of property, or any other matter, let us know, we can help you. You’ll talk to an attorney from your first phone call until your last.

Cutting out “The Middleman” is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

The main purpose of a will is to distribute property to someone or a group of people, or appoint a representative to handle distribution of the property. Therefore, if your goal is to appropriate appoint or distribute, you need to make sure that the provisions of your will appoint and distribute. While the length of the document is not important, what you say is.

I like to think of a will like I think of a story: each will has an opening, appointment, distribution, and closing clause. Each clause serves a specific purpose, and is necessary to complete the whole matter.

The Opening Clause

Your opening clause should contain a title and a direct statement that this is your last will and testament. Like any good story, people want to know what its title is when they pick up a document. You can use a simple sentence like "This is the last will and testament of John Doe"; or a more complex one. Regardless of your style, remember to clearly tell the reader what you’re purporting to create.

The Appointment Clause

You should appoint someone to act as the executor of your estate. This person is your personal representative to handle your affairs when you die. This person will pay your debts, close any accounts you have, and distribute your property according to your distribution clause.

Your appointment clause can be simple or complex, but remember, clearly tell the reader who you’re choosing. You can add multiple successor executors, if your primary executor declines to perform the function.

The Distribution Clause(s)

Unless you want a gigantic argument your relatives over who gets your junk, it’s vitally important you tell your survivors how you want to distribute your property. Remember, the state will split your property equally among your descendants. If you don’t want your estranged brother whom you’re feuding with to take a split, you’d better clearly state that in your will. You may use a sentence like "I have specifically left out my brother John, in making my distributions."

As you prepare, you should make a list of your property and decide who gets what. If you want, you can draw columns on the list and write your beneficiaries’ names next to the item. Remember to reference your list in your will! You may wish to add a sentence like this: "I created a list on January 1, 2010 describing how I want my property distributed, my executor should refer to this list when distributing my property."

If you’re leaving all of your property to one person, it’s much less complicated, but you should still make the particular considerations discussed above.

Your descendants or beneficiaries will have no idea what your wishes are unless you tell them. If you clearly outline your wishes, then you’ll create much less stress for those who administer your affairs after your death.

The Closing Clause

Your closing should be straightforward and simple. Again, let the reader know you’re done appointing and distributing. The most important thing to remember is that your holographic will must be signed and dated. The closing is the perfect place to meet those two requirements.

Finally, as one last reminder, please remember the holographic requirements: written entirely in the testator’s handwriting, signed, and dated. If you’ve done the things we’ve discussed in this series, your beneficiaries will have little or no problems deciphering your wishes, probating your estate, and honoring your memory.

If you’d wish to add additional protections, or if you’d like help drafting your will, you should contact our office at (405) 748-0318. We can discuss in-depth estate planning and trust creation which will help protect your assets, and offer you legal advice for your particular situation.

Note: you can find part 1 here, and part 2 here.

How to Write Your Own Will – Part 3: Content is King is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

As we stated previously, the holographic will is written, signed, and dated by the testator (the person drafting the will). The important thing to remember is that Oklahoma, and generally most other states, requires that the testator hand write the entire will.

You should pay particular attention to the writing requirement, because the will is invalid if any portion is not in the testator’s handwriting. If there’s an invalid will, the laws of intestate succession apply. Any provisions which you thought you’d considered no longer apply. Your state’s statutes prevail, and your property gets divided according to your state’s laws. In some cases, these may not be the people you’d choose to get your property.

You may sign and date the document anywhere you choose. These are not as important as the writing requirement, but the three elements must exist together on the document if you want to have a valid will.

Most people, intentionally or not, have drafted some sort of holographic will. I remember as a young boy I’d pretend to draft our Last Will and Testament" where my entire baseball card collection would get delivered to my brother or best friend upon my death. I’d use a simple sentence like "I give my baseball card collection to John", then sign and date the document, and deliver it to my friend. This is an example of a valid will.

However, the wills I created as a child lacked one important element: capacity. Regardless of the type of will, it cannot be valid unless the testator has capacity to create the document. In Oklahoma, any person over 18, in a good mental state, has capacity to create a will.

It’s very important to remember these specifics when you’re creating a holographic will. In our final part of this series, we’ll discuss what content you should include in your will.

Note: you can find part 1 here, and part 3 here.

How to Write Your Own Will – Part 2: Holographic Wills is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

Contrary to many assumptions, it’s not necessary to hire an attorney to help write your will. Websites, such as LegalZoom.com, show that  you can draft a will without paying the expense of an attorney. Of course, it’s always better if you use an attorney because the attorney will help you specifically match your needs to the will, or offer you advice regarding legal issue that might arise. Note too, Absolute Legal Services, LLC, ocassionally offers a pretty sweet basic estate planning package for $50 per person (basic will plus attorney), that can give you assistance.

Hopefully, this short series will help you ascertain enough information about Oklahoma statutes to help you draft your own will, and draft it properly. As always, if you’re seeking help drafting and executing a will, please contact our office at (405) 748-0318 or at contact@absolutelawfirm.com, to discuss your estate planning issue.

Generally, when people think of a "Last Will and Testament," they think of two types of wills. The first is the self-proving will, the second is the holographic will. There are also the nunculpative will, which is a verbal will witnessed by two people, and only deals with the verbal distribution of property.

The self-proving will is named such because the will contains elements that prove or verify its authenticity. This is the strongest type of will because it contains provisions that help to ensure authenticity. The Oklahoma statutes outline the requirements for the self-proving will.

The second type of will is the holographic will. This is a common type of will, which I refer to as the "death bed will." In most situations, individuals who draft these types of will are mindful that they may soon die, and wish to distribute their estate. In Oklahoma, the statutes require that the will is written, signed, and dated by the testator. This means everything.

I’ve seen a fair amount of "holographic wills" that purport to be valid, which a testator took from a fill-in-the-blank form printed from the internet. In Oklahoma, these are not valid wills. As the statute clearly outlines, the will must be "entirely…by the testator."

I hope you have a quick sense of the two common types of wills. In the next post, I’ll be discussing how to draft your holographic will. Until then, I will encourage you to check out these posts (here, here, here, and here) where I’ve discussed the importance of proper estate planning. Remember, even though you can write your own will, only an estate planning attorney can give you the legal advice necessary to keep your heirs from increased legal hassles.

How to Write Your Own Will – Part 1: The Types of Wills is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

The first case dealt with an older gentlemen whose wife had recently deceased. This was a second marriage for each of them, and both had children from their prior marriages. The couple spent several wonderful years together, but that didn’t stop issues from developing.

Of course, neither spouse anticipated the other’s early departure, and therefore, any work to plan for future events, never occurred. On this particular day, we stood before an Oklahoma judge initiating the probate procedure. As is usually the case, I awkwardly explained to the gentleman and his step-daughter, what he should expect. The two explained that there were some sentimental items they wished to divide, and some more valuable pieces, the gentleman wished to sell.

There was some obvious distress on the step-daughter and gentleman’s faces as I explained that they would essentially share proceeds from any estate sales. Unfortunately, each party was ill-equipped to face the reality. I explained to the parties that wills or trusts are a simple way to relieve all post-mortem chaos.

The second case involved a disabled client whose mother passed away. Fortunately, the mother, anticipating her early departure, had created a will that devised (gave) all of her possessions and property to the client. Part of the transfer of property involved significant amounts of death benefits and real property (a home and automobile), which he accepted from the life insurance agency. Unfortunately for this client, because of the nature of the disability, the client requires extensive state-funded disability benefits. The client stands to jeopardize those benefits simply because the client accepted the money, rather than properly planning the transfer.

In each circumstance, both parties suffer because of their inadequate estate planning measures. As you see, merely having a will is not the same as proper estate planning. These clients are not unique. Everyday, thousands of people suffer the same consequences simply because they haven’t prepared. It’s extremely important to discuss all of your options with an attorney before the incident arises. Had these individuals discussed their situations with me, I could have discussed their needs, concerns, and options, and them advised them properly before they faced  these discouraging scenarios. Quite simply, a few hundred dollars for a consultation is a valuable investment when you’re discussing estates worth thousands or millions.

As the end of the year approaches, it’s the perfect time to evaluate your estate plan. If you haven’t got that in order, then it’s important for you to contact our office, and schedule an appointment with an attorney to discuss your planning needs. If you’re "already set," then how about a special gift for a loved one. We offer simple will packages to complex estate plans, that can fit any holiday budget.

Don’t get caught off guard with inadequate preparations to protect your property and survivors.

Your Most “Trusted” Relationship is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

A low credit score can effect a number of things, including your current credit cards, future lending options, employment, and This post talks about sources you can use to check your credit score. The Wall Street Journal article gives some practical educational advice about credit scores, and provides links to free or low-cost resources for checking your credit score. Most of the options are limited, but they all give you a decent representation of what your credit score might be.

I encourage you to regularly check your credit score. If you’re having trouble with collections, past-due accounts, high-interest credit cards, or any other consumer credit issue, please contact us. We help people evaluate their debt situation, and assess various legal and personal options for managing debt.

Credit & Debt is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

We’re offering a basic will and healthcare directive for a discount: $100 per couple or $50 per person. This is available through the end of the year for the first 25 people who take advantage of the value.

You can download the documents you need by visiting our forms page, and downloading the estate planning intake form. Give us a call when you’re ready to schedule an appointment.

Or, if you’d like to have a more involved involved estate planning session, give us a call at (405) 748-0318, or email us (contact@absolutelawfirm.com). Sign up for in-depth estate planning, and you’ll receive $350 off our service. Don’t delay!

End-of-the-Year Essential Estate Planning is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

Generally speaking, no. The only sure way to avoid probate is to create a living trust.

Probate is the procedure states use to administer a deceased person’s affairs. Probate is the court-supervised process of appointing a personal representative and directing the distribution of a deceased individual’s property and affairs.

The advantage of having a will or testamentary document is that the probate process is shortened considerably from the normal process. In cases where a deceased person has a will, the court follows the individual’s desires and directs the personal representative to handle the affairs in accordance with the will. Without a will, probate could last for years as potential beneficiary squabble or miniscule matters.

The living trust is a separate item all together. The living trust is a super-hybrid of the probate process and the will because the trust functions in a similar way as judge and personal representative. Having a trust helps speed the distribution process along all because the trustee (or successor trustee) distributes the estate as designated in the trust.The trustee holds the property separately from him/herself, therefore distribution of the property occurs quickly and easily, and rarely with judicial involvement.

While there are some formal papers that need to be filed with the county court and other county offices, there are no court proceedings.

The distinct difference between the general will and the living trust is the way which the  deceased individual holds the property.

If you’d like to discuss your options, and the advantages for you, please contact our office.

Probate’s Misconceptions is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

Oklahoma has specific statutes regarding the distribution of your property upon your death. Some may be favorable, but in general, most never quite execute themselves like you want.

In California, we’re seeing a great example of some of the problems associated with poor estate planning. Surprisingly, the death of Michael Jackson (see a copy of MJ’s will), is reiterating why you need a will, and more importantly, why you need to let a lot of people know you have a will.

The will allows you to direct the distribution of your assets and the care of your children. It’s tragic when one’s poor planning causes such commotion and turmoil.

I recently met with a couple who were looking to dispute statutory provisions because their deceased relative desired something different. The relative never signed a will or other testamentary document, but rather made several expressions and desires regarding her wishes. The couple wondered whether a cherished piece of land could be recovered from an uncherished relative. Sadly, I advised that the likelihood was slim and the cost to attempt the change was great. The couple left my office discourage and wondered whether "the law" had failed them.

Quite simply, the law had not. The relative’s disinterest in properly allocating her property caused the commotion. The properly executed will can prevent any hardship and arguments regarding the distribution of property.

If you’re interested in a full estate review, please contact our office: (405) 748-0318.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way! is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has affirmed an issue regarding omitted children, which I discussed here. In Welch v. Crow, 2009 OK 20, the Court again refused to apply the principles of 84 O.S. § 132 to revocable inter vivos trusts.

You should get the picture by now that this is an important issue. Check your estate plans, and speak with your estate attorney regarding this. If you intend that your grandchildren get a portion of your estate, you had better spell it out.

Importance of Proper Estate Planning 2.0 is a post from: Oklahoma Legal Issues. You can read the original post by visiting our site. Please visit our homepage for more information about our law firm. Absolute Legal Services, LLC is an Oklahoma City law firm helping people with legal issues in personal injury actions, consumer claims, immigration, and social security. Please see our services page for more information.