Who Inherits If You Die Without a Will in Oklahoma

For deaths on or after July 1, 1985, the surviving spouse takes: (a) everything if there are no descendants, parents or siblings; (b) if there are no descendants but a parent or sibling survives, all property acquired by the joint industry of the spouses during the marriage plus one-third of the rest; (c) one-half of the whole estate if all of the decedent's descendants are also the surviving spouse's descendants; (d) if any descendant is not the surviving spouse's, one-half of the jointly acquired property plus an equal child's share of the other property. The rest (or everything, if there is no spouse) goes to children and descendants of deceased children by representation; if none, to parents; if none, to descendants of parents (siblings, nieces and nephews); if none, half to paternal and half to maternal grandparents or their descendants; then to the next of kin. If there are no relatives, the estate goes to the state for the support of public schools.

A spouse cannot be left, by will, less than an undivided one-half interest in the property acquired by the joint industry of the spouses during the marriage. The surviving spouse may elect to take that one-half interest instead of what the will provides. The election must be made in a separate written document filed in the district court where the estate is being administered on or before the final date for the hearing on the petition for final distribution. A written antenuptial (prenuptial) agreement controls. Oklahoma is not a community property state.

Ten or more days after the death, a successor may collect money owed to the decedent, tangible personal property, and instruments such as stock or other evidence of a debt or obligation by presenting an affidavit stating that: the fair market value of the decedent's Oklahoma property subject to a will or intestate succession, less liens and encumbrances, is not more than $50,000; no petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted anywhere; each claiming successor is entitled to the property in the stated shares; and all taxes and debts of the estate have been paid, provided for, or are barred. Transfer agents and officials who keep title records (for example, vehicle titles) must re-register the property to the successor. The affidavit covers personal property; it does not transfer title to real estate.