Oklahoma · probate and estate law
Probate in Oklahoma: do you need a lawyer, and what it costs
Oklahoma law decides whether an estate needs probate and what a lawyer may charge. Every fact links to its statute, with the date we read it. Not legal advice.
We do not endorse or recommend any attorney
Firms are listed by name with what they publish and what the bar roster says about them; you contact them yourself. A firm can never pay to move up a list.
Do I need a lawyer?
- Small-estate limit
- Estates under $50,000 can use a simpler process instead of full probate. In Oklahoma this usually starts with a signed affidavit.
- Formal probate
- Required above $50,000. Independent administration: no. Uniform Probate Code: no.
- Typical duration
- About 9 months.
- Source
- 58 O.S. §393 (affidavit ≤ $50,000); summary administration §245 ≤ $200,000 statute → · checked Sep 20, 2026
Settling an estate in Oklahoma
What an executor deals with after the funeral: the will, the court, creditors, tax and closing the estate. Each fact links to the statute it comes from and shows the date we last read it.
- Filing the original will
In Oklahoma, if you hold the original will of the person who died, you must deliver it to the district court that handles the estate, or to the executor named in the will, within 30 days after you learn of the death.
- Which court handles probate
In Oklahoma, probate is handled by the district court in the county where the person who died lived, no matter where they died. For someone who lived out of state, it goes first to the county where they died if they left property there, otherwise to any county where they left property.
- Creditors' deadline to make claims
In Oklahoma, within two months after receiving letters, the executor or administrator (called the personal representative) must file a notice to creditors, publish it once a week for two weeks and mail it to known creditors. The notice sets a deadline at least two months after it is filed, and claims from contracts made before the death that are not presented by then are barred.
- Estate inventory
In Oklahoma, unless the court orders otherwise, the executor or administrator must file an inventory and appraisal of the estate with the court within two months from the order appointing them. The court can extend the time for good cause.
- The order estate debts are paid
In Oklahoma, the debts of an estate are paid in a set order: funeral expenses first, then last illness expenses, then court-approved family support, then taxes, then other debts with legal priority, then judgments and mortgages, then claims presented within two months of the first notice to creditors, then everything else.
- State estate and inheritance tax
Oklahoma has no estate tax for deaths on or after January 1, 2010, and no inheritance tax. No Oklahoma estate tax lien attaches to property of anyone who died on or after that date.
- Closing an estate
In Oklahoma, when the debts are paid and the estate is ready to close, the executor or administrator files a sworn final account and asks the district court to settle the estate and order distribution. After they show receipts proving everything was paid and handed over as ordered, the court enters a decree discharging them.
What a probate lawyer may charge in Oklahoma
Some states set the fee by statute, as a percentage of the estate. Others say "reasonable compensation", and you agree it with the firm.
No statutory fee schedule is recorded for Oklahoma yet. Either the state leaves fees to "reasonable compensation", or we have not read the statute.
14 metros with named firms
A metro is listed once three firms there have an attorney active on the Oklahoma bar.
| Metro | Firms | Open |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | See firms | |
| 11 | See firms | |
| 5 | See firms | |
| 5 | See firms | |
| 5 | See firms | |
| 4 | See firms | |
| 4 | See firms | |
| 4 | See firms | |
| 4 | See firms | |
| 3 | See firms |
Sorted by how many firms. Placement is never for sale.
Showing 1 to 10 of 14 metros in Oklahoma
Every Oklahoma firm with a roster-checked attorney, by city →
The estate letter · Oklahoma
Settling an estate in Oklahoma, one month at a time
Twelve months of steps with Oklahoma's own numbers and deadlines. Read the checklist now, or sign up there for one email a month.
Get the estate letter- Month 1The first things to gather
- Month 2Work out what the estate is
- Month 3Get the authority to act
- 9 more months
Compare more
Estate checklist for Oklahoma
What the executor does, month by month, with Oklahoma's numbers and deadlines.
Funeral and cremation law in Oklahoma
1 checked facts: who decides, waiting periods, permits.
Before probate
Look a lawyer up yourself
Every attorney we name is checked against the Oklahoma bar roster. You can too: okbar.org →