No Will – Who is in Charge? (Part 8)

The last post began looking at the Watson case [In the Matter of the Estates of Watson, 135 P. 3d 853, 2006 OK CIV APP 55 (Okla. Civ. App. 2006)] and some important issues it dealt with regarding the law with respect to Administrators in probate.  Perhaps the most important issue the Watson case addressed was: what kind of guardian qualifies under Okla. Stat. tit. 58 § 125 to serve on a minor’s behalf as an Administrator of an estate? 

One answer we discovered in the last post was the Court in Watson established that a Court may appoint the guardian ad litem of a minor to act as Administrator on behalf of the minor under Okla. Stat. tit. 58 § 125 – in addition to general guardians and other types of guardians.   

Another important answer is the subject of this post: the guardian must be appointed in Oklahoma.  A Court may not appoint a guardian, including a general guardian of the person or property of a minor, who is appointed in another state other than Oklahoma to serve on behalf of the minor as Administrator of an Oklahoma estate the minor is entitled to serve in.  The Court did not get into a lot of analysis here but mainly relied on the precedent of In re Enoch’s Estates, 322 P.2d 197, 1958 OK 40 (Okla. 1958).

If our office may be of assistance to you in these areas, do not hesitate to contact us at (580) 338-6503 or at coryhicks@fieldandhicks.comor using any of our contact information in the profile.  You can also visit www.fieldandhicks.com for more information. 

This blog contains general information and the opinions of the author – not legal advice; you should seek the advice of competent counsel (attorney/lawyer) when considering any legal issues.