Oklahoma Lawyer Protecting Your Family, Your Wealth, and Your Business
At Goodnight Law, we provide clear next steps, plain-language advice, and practical legal documents. Work directly with an Oklahoma attorney built around your needs.
Why Our OKC Firm is Different
Start your peace of mind journey now. Protect your family’s future with an expert estate planning attorney in Oklahoma.
How Can Our OKC Attorneys Help You Today?
Wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney, and coordinated planning that can reduce or avoid probate when the right tools are properly implemented.
Compassionate and efficient guidance through Oklahoma probate court administration during a difficult time.
When disputes require courtroom advocacy, we provide effective representation through negotiation and trial.
Also handling estate/trust disputes, contract disagreements, and civil property matters under Civil Litigation.
Meet Your Attorney: Kelli J. Goodnight
Led by Kelli J. Goodnight, a University of Oklahoma College of Law graduate living in Moore with her son – a Chickasaw Nation citizen. With a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing from Louisiana State University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma College of Law (ranking in the top half of her class), Kelli brings both business acumen and legal expertise to every client relationship.
Serving All of Oklahoma
FAQs
If I have a Will, does my family still have to go through probate court?
Not necessarily, but a Will by itself does not avoid probate.
A Will tells the court who you want to handle your estate and who should receive property that passes through your probate estate. Whether a probate case is actually necessary depends on what you own, how your assets are titled, their value, and whether any property passes through a trust, beneficiary designation, or another nonprobate transfer. Oklahoma recognizes assets that can pass directly to beneficiaries outside probate.
If avoiding probate is one of your goals, a properly designed and funded revocable living trust may allow assets held in the trust to pass without a probate proceeding. The key is not just signing the trust. The assets that are meant to avoid probate generally need to be properly coordinated with the plan.
What happens if I pass away without an estate plan in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma has default inheritance rules for property that becomes part of an intestate estate. Those rules follow a statutory formula based on which relatives survive you rather than your personal relationships or wishes.
That can produce results you never intended. For example, an unadopted stepchild you raised may not inherit from your intestate estate simply because you considered them your child. Oklahoma’s intestacy statute focuses on legally recognized family relationships and lineal descendants.
Planning also lets you formally nominate the person you want to serve as guardian if your minor children ever need a court-appointed guardian. The court retains final appointment authority under Oklahoma law, but documenting your choice gives the court your instructions instead of leaving that decision unaddressed.
Writing your own plan is how you replace Oklahoma’s default rules with decisions built around your family.
I just lost a loved one. How long does the Oklahoma probate process take?
Many regular, uncontested Oklahoma probates take roughly six to twelve months, but there is no one timeline that applies to every estate.
Oklahoma probate includes required notices and creditor procedures, and the timing can also depend on the assets involved, the court’s calendar, tax or title issues, and whether anyone objects. Regular probate generally includes a creditor presentment period of at least two months.
Some estates qualify for Oklahoma’s summary administration procedure, which can move substantially faster. Oklahoma law allows the final hearing in a qualifying summary administration to be set on a timetable measured in at least 45 days rather than six months, although complications or objections can extend the case.
We determine which procedure fits the estate, handle the filings and deadlines, and keep you informed about what happens next.
The probate process feels incredibly overwhelming. What do I have to do first?
Breathe, and take care of your family. In most estates, you do not need to file a probate case the day after someone dies.
Start by securing important property and records and locating the original Will if there is one. Oklahoma does have deadlines. For example, the person holding the original Will generally must deliver it to the appropriate district court within 30 days after learning of the death.
Then call us. We’ll sit down, look at what your loved one actually owned, determine what does and does not require probate, and walk through the steps in order.
You do not have to reverse engineer the process on your own.
Can't I just form my own Oklahoma LLC online using a generic legal website?
You can. Filing the state formation document is only one part of creating an LLC.
The bigger questions are how the company will actually operate: who owns what, who can make decisions, how profits are distributed, what happens if an owner leaves, how personal and business finances are handled, and whether the operating agreement matches the way the business functions. Oklahoma law gives operating agreements an important role in defining the rights and responsibilities within an LLC.
Oklahoma law generally protects LLC members and managers from being personally liable solely because of their status as a member or manager, but that protection is not unlimited. Courts can disregard an entity in appropriate circumstances under doctrines such as alter ego, and owners can create personal liability in other ways as well.
We help you build both the legal documents and the business practices that support the separation you formed the LLC to create.
I'm buying property or transferring a land deed. Why do I need an attorney instead of just a title company?
A title company performs important title, insurance, escrow, and closing functions. But that does not automatically mean someone involved in the closing is acting as your personal legal adviser. The lawyer examining title may represent a lender, title insurer, buyer, or another client depending on the engagement.
A deed also raises questions beyond whether title can be transferred. The way you hold property can affect control during your lifetime, what happens when you die, whether probate may be required, and potentially creditor, marital, and tax consequences.
We look at the ownership decision in the context of what else you own and who you are trying to protect, and we coordinate with tax or other professionals when the situation calls for it.
How does your flat-fee pricing work? Will I get surprise bills for phone calls?
For most estate-planning, business-formation, and deed matters, we quote a flat legal fee before the work begins. Your engagement agreement explains what work is included and identifies any filing, recording, publication, or other third-party costs that are separate from our legal fee.
Questions within the agreed scope of your project do not turn into surprise hourly legal bills. If your matter changes or additional work falls outside the original scope, we discuss the additional work and fee with you before moving forward.
Oklahoma’s professional-conduct rules require attorney fees to be reasonable, and Oklahoma Bar guidance emphasizes clearly communicating the scope and basis of fee arrangements.
Will I actually work with you, or will my file be handed off to an assistant?
You work directly with your attorney throughout your matter. Our staff may assist with scheduling, document preparation, and administrative tasks, but your legal advice and strategy come from your attorney.
We intentionally limit our caseload so we can provide responsive, personal attention from the first consultation through completion of your matter.
Ready to Protect What Matters Most?
Schedule a consultation to discuss your Estate Planning, Probate and Business Counsel.
Monday – Friday
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday – Sunday (By Appointment)
We're One Call Away.
Tell us a bit about your situation and we’ll be in touch to schedule a time to talk with Kelli directly.