How do I Look Up Living Trusts in Edmond, Oklahoma?

In the state of Oklahoma, anyone can set up a living trust to separate legal ownership of property (insurance policy, real estate, an so on) from the person who creates the trust (trustor). A living trust is typically set up to protect the assets from tax liability, to determine who the assets go to and to avoid the cost and potential obstruction of probate. A living trust is established with the creation of a trust agreement, and legal actions to transfer ownership of the assets into the trust must be conducted separately. A living trust becomes active upon the death of the trustor, but does not have to be filed with the state.

• 1

  Contact the family or personal attorney. If there is a family or personal attorney, that person is likely to have created or helped to create the living trust and will typically keep a copy of the document on file. Since a living trust does not have to be filed with the state of Oklahoma, this is the first option that should be exercised, because the only copies of the trust may be with the attorney and the trustee, and there is no way to identify the trustee without the trust document.

• 2

  Ask family members and close friends of the person who may have been the trustor of a living trust. Someone may know whether a trust existed and may know where it is located, or at least who the trustee may be. If there is any internal family struggle, there may be efforts to keep the trust inconspicuous.

• 3

  Locate any financial documents that may reveal a connection to a trust. Such documents include real estate deeds, life insurance policies or any other documents that verify ownership of property and/or insurance policies. If there is a trust, those documents will reveal the trust as the owner. If you have access to the person's home, these documents may be in a safe. If you have access to their bank, the documents may be in a safe deposit box.

• 4

  Contact the insurance company the policy in the living trust was written by if there is a life insurance policy. The insurance company will have the original policy as well as a record of the transfer of the policy into the trust.

• 5

  Search the title to any real estate that may have been held by the trustor. If it was added to the living trust, the property underwent a change of deed/title and associated documents and transactions were recorded with the state of Oklahoma, revealing the trust as the owner of the real estate.

• 6

  Seek legal counsel to communicate with any persons or institutions that may not be forthcoming. If you are a beneficiary, Oklahoma law requires that the trustee contact you within 60 days of the trustor's death. An attorney can bring legal action to compel any and all parties to make the trust available to you.