Complex Will with Trust - Oklahoma

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

and Testamentary Trust of [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Declaration and Family Information
2. Definitions
3. Appointment of Personal Representative and Trustee
4. Debts, Taxes, and Specific Gifts
5. Residuary Estate and Creation of Testamentary Trust
6. Testamentary Trust Terms
7. Digital Assets
8. Removal, Remedies, and Liability Standards
9. Governing Law and Forum
10. General Provisions
11. Execution, Witness Attestation, and Self-Proof

1. DECLARATION AND FAMILY INFORMATION

I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], residing at [ADDRESS], County of [COUNTY], Oklahoma, declare this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament. I am eligible to make a will under 84 O.S. § 41 and am acting freely and of sound mind.

I revoke all prior wills and codicils in the manner authorized by 84 O.S. § 101.

My marital status is [MARRIED / UNMARRIED / WIDOWED / DIVORCED]. My spouse, if any, is [SPOUSE NAME]. The persons I intend to identify as my descendants are [NAMES AND RELATIONSHIPS].

If I am subject to a guardianship or conservatorship when this Will is executed, the additional execution requirements in 84 O.S. § 41(B) must be satisfied before a district-court judge.

2. DEFINITIONS

“Beneficiary” means a person or organization entitled to receive property under this Will or the Trust.

“Personal Representative” means the executor or other representative appointed by the district court after nomination in Article 3.

“Residue” means all property subject to disposition by this Will that is not otherwise effectively disposed of, after proper administration charges.

“Trust” means the testamentary trust created in Article 5 and administered under Article 6.

“Trustee” means the initial, successor, or additional trustee serving under Article 6.

3. APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND TRUSTEE

3.1 Personal Representative

I nominate [PRIMARY PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME AND ADDRESS] as Personal Representative. If that person does not qualify or ceases to serve, I nominate [SUCCESSOR NAME AND ADDRESS].

I authorize the Personal Representative to sell or otherwise deal with estate property as permitted by 58 O.S. § 462, subject to that section's return, direction, and confirmation requirements.

3.2 Trustee

I appoint [PRIMARY TRUSTEE NAME AND ADDRESS] as initial Trustee. If that person rejects the trusteeship, cannot serve, or ceases to serve, I appoint [SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE NAME AND ADDRESS]. Any remaining vacancy shall be filled under 60 O.S. § 1607.4.

4. DEBTS, TAXES, AND SPECIFIC GIFTS

4.1 Debts and Expenses

The Personal Representative shall pay allowed debts and expenses in the order required by 58 O.S. § 591. This direction does not change creditor priority or claims procedures.

4.2 Tax Direction

After review by Oklahoma tax counsel, complete one:

☐ Taxes shall be equitably apportioned under applicable law and court orders.

☐ Taxes shall be allocated as follows: [INSERT EXPRESS TAX-ALLOCATION DIRECTION].

The district court administering the estate has the estate-tax apportionment jurisdiction stated in 58 O.S. § 1(B).

4.3 Specific Gifts

I give the following property:

1. [DESCRIPTION OR AMOUNT] to [BENEFICIARY].
2. [DESCRIPTION OR AMOUNT] to [BENEFICIARY].

A devise passes subject to an existing charge or encumbrance under 84 O.S. § 110. Substitute gifts for a deceased child or other relation are governed by § 142 unless this Will supplies a contrary disposition. A gift to a subscribing witness may be void under § 143 unless two other competent subscribing witnesses sign.

This Will does not rely on a later-created separate tangible-personal-property list. Any outside writing intended to affect a gift must be reviewed for valid incorporation or other treatment under Oklahoma law before execution.

5. RESIDUARY ESTATE AND CREATION OF TESTAMENTARY TRUST

I give the Residue to the Trustee, IN TRUST, to administer and distribute under Article 6. A trust may be created by will under 60 O.S. § 1604.1, subject to the requirements in § 1604.2.

6. TESTAMENTARY TRUST TERMS

6.1 Name, Beneficiaries, and Purpose

The Trust shall be known as “The [TESTATOR SURNAME] Testamentary Trust.” Its beneficiaries are [IDENTIFY BENEFICIARIES OR DEFINITE CLASS]. Its purpose is to hold, manage, and distribute property for those beneficiaries under the standards below.

6.2 Separate Shares and Distributions

The Trustee shall establish a separate share for each [BENEFICIARY / BRANCH OF DESCENDANTS].

Before final distribution, the Trustee may distribute income or principal for a beneficiary's health, education, maintenance, and support after considering [OTHER RESOURCES / DO NOT CONSIDER OTHER RESOURCES].

Each beneficiary shall receive:

• [PERCENTAGE] at age [AGE];
• [PERCENTAGE OF REMAINDER] at age [AGE]; and
• the balance at age [AGE].

If a beneficiary dies before complete distribution, the remaining share shall pass to [BENEFICIARY'S DESCENDANTS / ALTERNATE BENEFICIARIES].

6.3 Trustee Duties and Powers

The Trustee shall administer the Trust in good faith and solely in the beneficiaries' interests, using the reasonable care, skill, and caution required by 60 O.S. §§ 1608.1, 1608.2, and 1608.4.

Subject to those duties and this Will, the Trustee may exercise the general and specific powers in 60 O.S. §§ 1608.14 and 1608.15, including authority to:

1. acquire, sell, exchange, lease, or encumber Trust property;
2. borrow money and pledge or mortgage Trust property;
3. insure Trust property and administration-related liability;
4. settle claims and pay taxes, compensation, and expenses;
5. make distributions in cash or in kind and in proportionate or disproportionate shares;
6. employ attorneys, accountants, investment advisers, and other professionals;
7. prosecute or defend proceedings to protect Trust property; and
8. use mediation, arbitration, or another alternative procedure to resolve a Trust interpretation or administration dispute when consistent with fiduciary duties.

Delegation must satisfy 60 O.S. § 1608.7.

6.4 Information and Reports

The Trustee shall provide the information, notices, and annual and termination reports required by 60 O.S. § 1608.12.

6.5 Compensation and Reimbursement

If this Will does not specify compensation, the Trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation under 60 O.S. § 1607.8. Reimbursement and any lien for advances are governed by § 1607.9.

6.6 Spendthrift Provision

Each beneficiary's interest is held subject to a spendthrift provision restraining voluntary and involuntary transfer before receipt, subject to 60 O.S. § 175.85 and other applicable creditor-rights rules.

6.7 Uneconomic Trust and Final Distribution

After notice to qualified beneficiaries, the Trustee may terminate a Trust valued at less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) when its value is insufficient to justify administration costs, as provided by 60 O.S. § 1604.13. On any termination, the Trustee shall proceed reasonably to distribute property to the persons entitled to it under § 1608.16.

7. DIGITAL ASSETS

Under 58 O.S. § 3104(B), I expressly consent to disclosure to my Personal Representative of the content of electronic communications and my other digital assets. The Personal Representative may request disclosure under §§ 3107 and 3108 and may exercise authority only within the fiduciary duties and limits stated in § 3115 and other applicable law.

I also consent to disclosure to the Trustee of electronic-communication content held in an account of the Trust when 58 O.S. § 3112 applies.

A qualifying online-tool direction overrides a contrary direction in this Will to the extent provided by 58 O.S. § 3104(A).

8. REMOVAL, REMEDIES, AND LIABILITY STANDARDS

8.1 Removal

Trustee removal is governed by 60 O.S. § 1607.6. This Will creates no mandatory thirty-day cure period that delays statutory relief.

8.2 Remedies and Damages

For an actual or threatened breach, the district court may grant the remedies listed in 60 O.S. § 175.57, including performance, injunction, restoration, accounting, suspension, removal, or other appropriate relief. Trustee damages are governed by § 175.57(C).

8.3 Exculpation and Personal Liability

No provision relieves the Trustee from liability for a breach committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the Trust's purposes or the beneficiaries' interests, or when otherwise unenforceable under 60 O.S. § 175.57(F).

Contract, tort, and property-related liability are governed by 60 O.S. § 175.57(H) and § 1609.5. This Will creates no blanket limitation of Trustee liability to Trust assets and does not protect a Trustee who is personally at fault.

9. GOVERNING LAW AND FORUM

Oklahoma law governs this Will and the Trust while Oklahoma is the applicable jurisdiction.

The Oklahoma district court has probate jurisdiction under 58 O.S. § 1. Trust proceedings are subject to the district-court jurisdiction and venue rules in 60 O.S. § 175.23, including venue in a county where a trustee or co-trustee resides.

This Will does not require arbitration and does not waive any jury right that otherwise exists. Section 6.3 permits the Trustee to use alternative dispute resolution only within the authority provided by 60 O.S. § 1608.15(23).

10. GENERAL PROVISIONS

10.1 Amendment and Revocation

Any codicil or other written alteration must satisfy the applicable formalities in 84 O.S. §§ 55 and 101.

10.2 Severability

If a provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions continue to the extent they can operate consistently with my plan and applicable law.

10.3 Headings and Construction

Headings are for convenience only. Words used in the singular include the plural when appropriate, and a fiduciary designation includes a properly appointed successor.

10.4 Electronic Execution

Do not use electronic or facsimile signatures to execute this Will. The Oklahoma Uniform Electronic Transactions Act excludes transactions governed by laws concerning the creation and execution of wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts. See 12A O.S. § 15-103(b)(1).

11. EXECUTION, WITNESS ATTESTATION, AND SELF-PROOF

11.1 Testator Signature

I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], subscribe my name at the end of this instrument on [__/__/____], declare to the witnesses that it is my Last Will and Testament, and request that they sign as witnesses.

_______________________________________
[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], Testator

11.2 Witness Attestation

We, the undersigned witnesses, state that the Testator subscribed this Will in our presence or acknowledged the subscription to us; declared this instrument to be the Testator's Will; and requested that each of us sign at the end of the Will in the Testator's presence, as required by 84 O.S. § 55.

Under 84 O.S. § 56, each witness should write the witness's place of residence with the witness's name.

11.3 Optional Self-Proving Affidavit

This affidavit is intended to follow the form authorized by 84 O.S. § 55(5)(a).

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

COUNTY OF [COUNTY]

Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared [TESTATOR], [WITNESS 1], and [WITNESS 2], known to me to be the Testator and witnesses whose names are subscribed to this instrument. All being first duly sworn, the Testator declared to me and to the witnesses in my presence that this instrument is the Testator's Last Will and Testament and that the Testator willingly made and executed it as a free and voluntary act and deed for the purposes expressed. Each witness, on oath and in the presence and hearing of the Testator, stated that the Testator declared the instrument to be the Testator's Last Will and Testament, executed it as such, and requested each witness to sign it; and each witness further stated that the witness signed in the Testator's presence and at the Testator's request and that the Testator was then eighteen (18) years of age or older and of sound mind.

_______________________________________
[TESTATOR], Testator

_______________________________________
[WITNESS 1], Witness

Name and Residence: [________________________________]

_______________________________________
[WITNESS 2], Witness

Name and Residence: [________________________________]

Subscribed and acknowledged before me by the Testator, and subscribed and sworn before me by the witnesses, on [__/__/____].

(Seal)

_______________________________________
Notary Public / Officer Authorized to Take Acknowledgments and Administer Oaths

My Commission Expires: __________________

Sources and References

• Oklahoma Legislature, current Title 84 — Wills and Succession
• Oklahoma Legislature, current Title 58 — Probate Procedure and Digital Assets
• Oklahoma Legislature, current Title 60 — Property, Trust Act, and Uniform Trust Code
• Oklahoma Legislature, current Title 12A — Uniform Electronic Transactions Act