- AdoptionIn an adoption proceeding, a Court permanently places an eligible individual with an adoptive parent or parents who legally and completely accepted the individual as his, her, or their own child. The adopting parent(s) then have all the legal rights duties, and responsibilities to the child. The adoption terminates the parental rights of one or both of the birth parents, unless one of the adopting parents is the natural parent of the child, such as in a step-parent adoption. When the biological parent’s rights are terminated, they no longer have rights to contact the child, have information about the child, or make decisions regarding the child. The adopted child is legally viewed as if he or she were the natural child of the adoptive parent(s). Adoption proceedings can take place in the county where the adopting parents reside or where the child lives.
- GuardianshipA Guardianship is a formal court procedure where a legal Guardian is appointed to have either complete or limited control to make personal or financial decisions for another person (a Ward) based on the amount of assistance the Ward requires. Elizabeth assists in establishing court-ordered guardianships for special needs individuals or for other adults and represents the proposed Guardian(s) in the case.
- Business FormationWhether your goal is to set up a Limited Liability Company for your new business or a charitable organization in central Oklahoma, Elizabeth can help with the legal formalities to get your company’s operation started in the best way possible.
- Estate PlanningMost services are provided on a fixed cost basis. This will be the case with estate planning, uncontested guardianship, and uncontested adoption. However, in limited situations where this is not possible, including but not limited to some probate matters and contested matters, she charges a reasonable fee based on the nature and complexity of the case, the time and skill required, the novelty and difficulty of the case, whether the case would preclude her from taking other cases, and other similar factors in accordance with attorneys’ professional rules of ethics. She always discusses fees fully with clients in advance and gets their written approval prior to starting work. If a client simply needs a legal consultation consisting of an hour or less of the attorney’s time, then in that event Elizabeth will charge her prorated hourly rate.
- WillsProbate is the legal process by which a deceased person’s Last Will and Testament is proved valid and then to distribute the person’s estate in accordance with the instructions in their Last Will and Testament. If the Will is invalid, or if there is no Will to provide to the Probate court, then the deceased person’s assets are distributed in accordance with the Intestacy laws of the State of Oklahoma. Probate can be time consuming and costly for your loved ones. There are, however, ways to avoid probate by careful advanced planning. Learn more about what you can do now to avoid probate in the future.
- TrustsThe main advantage of having a Revocable Living Trust, and having your deeded or titled property placed in the Trust, is that your loved ones may not have to ask a Court’s permission in order to distribute your assets upon your death. This is referred to as “avoiding probate.” A revocable living trust names you as Trustor (the person creating the trust) and Trustee (the person managing the trust) and allows you to own and manage all of your property as Trustee while you are alive. Spouses can be Co-Trustees of their joint revocable living trust. When one spouse passes on, the remaining spouse can continue as the sole Trustee. When the final Trustor passes on, a successor Trustee named in the Trust document takes over management and distribution of the trust assets in accordance with your instructions stated in the trust’s terms and conditions. As long as your deeded or titled property in placed in the trust by said deeds or titles, then those assets will not need to go through probate.
- Power of AttorneyIf your child has sufficient mental capacity, a guardianship may not be required at all. A Durable Power of Attorney allows parents to assist their adult child in handling financial matters, contracts, etc., but does not affect their adult child’s ability to manage his or her own matters and does not limit his or her legal rights. A Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) can grant limited rights over certain things or it can grant the right for the attorney-in-fact to do all things that the person making the DPOA could make if he or she had the mental capacity. The DPOA continues to be in effect if the creator of the DPOA loses mental capacity, thereby making it “durable.”
- Probate