Oklahoma City Wills and Trusts Attorneys
Wills, revocable living trusts, and pour over wills for Oklahoma families, built around the people you want to protect and the property you own.
Schedule a ConsultationClear Instructions Your Family Can Follow
A will and a revocable living trust both say who receives your property and who's in charge after you're gone. A will works through the probate court. A funded living trust lets a successor trustee you choose step in without a court case. Many families use both.
The right choice depends on what you own, where it sits, and who you're providing for. We coordinate your will or trust with the rest of your estate plan, including powers of attorney, health care directives, and beneficiary designations.
We draft wills and living trusts for families in Oklahoma City, Edmond, and the surrounding counties, including Oklahoma, Canadian, Cleveland, and Logan Counties, and for clients who own property elsewhere in Oklahoma.
"A will works through the court. A funded trust works without one."
Our Wills and Trusts Services
We draft each document for your family and your property, not from a template.
Wills
We draft wills that name who receives your property, who serves as personal representative, and who cares for your minor children, signed and witnessed the way Oklahoma law requires.
Revocable Living Trusts
A revocable living trust holds your property during your lifetime, usually with you as trustee, and names a successor trustee to step in if you're incapacitated or after your death. Property titled in the trust passes without probate.
Pour Over Wills
A pour over will sends anything left in your name at death into your trust, so one set of instructions governs everything. That property still goes through probate, which is why funding the trust matters.
Naming Guardians for Minor Children
Under Oklahoma law, a parent can nominate a guardian for a child in a will. The court makes the final appointment. A surviving parent usually comes first, and after that the court considers your choice along with other family members.
Trusts for Children and Grandchildren
A minor can't manage an inheritance, and property left outright may need a court supervised guardianship of the child's estate. A trust lets you choose who manages the money and when a child or grandchild takes control.
Funding Your Trust
A trust controls only the property titled in its name. Funding means retitling your home, land, and accounts into the trust and aligning your beneficiary designations, and mineral interests in other counties need extra attention. An unfunded trust can leave your family in probate anyway.
Reviewing Older or Out of State Plans
A will or trust signed years ago, or in another state, may still be valid but name people who can't serve, miss newer property, or rest on another state's rules. We tell you what still works and what to update.
Wills and Trusts in Oklahoma
Oklahoma sets its own rules for signing a will, for handwritten wills, and for changing a trust. It never adopted the Uniform Probate Code, so forms written for other states often don't fit, and mistakes surface after death, when they're hard or impossible to fix.
Signing and Witnessing a Will
Under Oklahoma law, you sign at the end of the will, in front of two witnesses or by acknowledging your signature to them, and declare that it's your will; each witness signs at your request and in your presence. A gift to a witness can be void unless two other qualified witnesses also sign.
Handwritten Wills
Oklahoma recognizes a will that's entirely written, dated, and signed in your own handwriting, with no witnesses required. The risk is what it leaves out, such as a personal representative or a backup beneficiary.
What a Self Proving Affidavit Does
A self proving affidavit is a sworn statement by you and your witnesses, made at the signing or later, while you and your witnesses are living. Under Oklahoma law, a self proved will can be admitted to probate without witness testimony unless it's contested, so your family doesn't have to find the witnesses years later.
Trusts Are Revocable Unless They Say Otherwise
Under Oklahoma law, a trust can generally be revoked by the person who created it unless it expressly says it's irrevocable. That's why an irrevocable trust must say so in its terms.
What Oklahoma County Families Should Know
Under Oklahoma law, a will is probated in the county where the person lived at death. For most Oklahoma City and Edmond families, that's Oklahoma County District Court, though Oklahoma City crosses county lines, so the home address controls. Whether your family ends up there depends less on the document you sign than on how your property is titled.
When a Will Goes to Court
A will alone doesn't avoid probate. Under Oklahoma law, whoever holds the original must deliver it to the district court or the named personal representative within 30 days of learning of the death. The probate case begins when someone petitions the court to admit the will.
Deeds Into Your Trust
A home or land joins your trust by a deed to the trustee, recorded with the county clerk where it sits, which for most Oklahoma City and Edmond homes is the Oklahoma County Clerk. Under Oklahoma law, an unrecorded deed generally isn't valid against third parties, and recording lets a title company rely on the trust's ownership later.
TODDs as an Alternative
A transfer on death deed (TODD) can pass a home outside probate if it's recorded with the county clerk before the owner's death, and the owner can revoke it. After the death, the beneficiary has nine months to record an affidavit, or the property reverts to the estate.
The Public Court File
Probate filings are public court records, and a probated will usually brings a list of your property and its value into the file. A trust document isn't filed with the court, so who receives what stays private.
Will or Living Trust: A Quick Comparison
Here are the main differences. Our guide to revocable trusts covers each in depth.
| Feature | Will | Revocable Living Trust |
|---|---|---|
| Goes through probate | Usually, for property in your name alone | No, for property titled in the trust |
| Public or private | Becomes part of the public court file | The trust document stays private |
| Covers incapacity | No, a will takes effect only at death | Yes, a successor trustee can manage trust property |
| Controls real estate in other states | Often needs a separate probate in that state | Property titled in the trust can usually avoid one |
| Upfront work and upkeep | Less to set up; review after major life changes | More up front; new assets must be titled in the trust |
| Names guardians for minor children | Yes | Usually handled in the pour over will |
Land or minerals in another state can mean an ancillary probate there, one of the strongest reasons to consider a trust.
When You Need a Wills and Trusts Attorney
These are the most common reasons Oklahoma City and Edmond families call us about a will or trust.
- You don't have a will, or yours predates a marriage, divorce, or child
- You want your family to avoid probate in Oklahoma County District Court
- You have minor children and haven't named a guardian
- You want a trustee to manage what you leave children or grandchildren
- You signed a living trust years ago and aren't sure what's in it
- You moved to Oklahoma with a will or trust from another state
- You own land or minerals in more than one county or state
- You wrote a will by hand or online and want it reviewed
Not sure whether you need a will, a trust, or both? We're happy to talk it through at a free initial consultation.
Who You'll Work With
Our attorneys also handle probate and estate administration, so we draft wills and trusts knowing how they'll be used after a death.
Devon Cantrell, Partner
Devon handles estate planning, including wills and trusts, along with probate and trust and estate administration, drawing on more than a decade of experience in oil and gas title. She earned her law degree at the University of Tulsa College of Law and is licensed in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Wyoming. Read Devon's profile
Chelsey Smith, Associate Attorney
Chelsey assists clients with estate planning, including wills and trusts, and with probate, alongside her oil and gas title and curative title work. A Moore native, she earned her law degree at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and, during law school, worked with several Oklahoma firms, including firms focused on probate and estate planning. Read Chelsey's profile
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Put Your Wishes in Writing?
Whether you need a first will, a living trust, or a review of older documents, we can help you build a plan your family can follow.
Schedule Your Free Consultation Or call us directly at (405) 400-1875Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Each estate planning matter involves unique circumstances that require personalized legal analysis. For guidance specific to your situation, please contact Cantrell Law Firm to schedule a consultation. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.