Estate Planning Guide
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2007 This manual is provided courtesy of the law firm of Postic & Bates This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information on the subject matters covered. It is published with the understanding that, in making this publication, the author is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Any similarities between the names, facts and examples set forth in this publication and those of actual persons are unintended and purely coincidental. Any reproduction or other publication of this material without the express written consent of the author is prohibited. INTRODUCTION Thank YOU for considering the law firm of POSTIC & BATES for your legal services. Our mission is to provide the highest quality, professional legal services at a reasonable cost. We believe a successful relationship between an attorney and client is founded upon the confidence and trust which comes from effective communication and responsive service.
All of these factors are addressed in this workbook. At POSTIC & BATES, we believe you have a right to know
BEFORE HIRING YOUR ATTORNEY At POSTIC & BATES, we are concerned about your legal needs and are committed to representing your best legal interests. We have limited our practice to those areas in which we have developed a high degree of skill and efficiency so that your time and money are not wasted. We regularly review changes in the law applicable to these areas to insure you are provided with documents and services reflecting the current law. For those services we do not offer, we provide a free referral service. We have investigated numerous attorneys and law firms and will only refer you to those we feel can best meet your needs professionally, ethically and at a reasonable cost.
Many people feel that they must have done something wrong or have an existing legal problem in order to visit and-counsel with an attorney. However, we believe that you benefit most from professional legal services BEFORE you have a legal problem. In other words, our practice emphasizes the value of preventative legal services. We offer many low cost services to help you determine your legal needs and ways to meet them.
About The Firm Martin Postic, Jr., graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and entered the private practice of law in Moore, Oklahoma in October 1980 with Douglas S. Stults under the firm name of Postic & Stults. Both Marty and Doug had graduated from Moore High School. In January 1982, that law firm was dissolved and, Marty incorporated as Martin Postic, Jr., A Professional Corporation, continuing a general practice of law in Moore, concentrating on estate planning, real estate and probate. Due to the need for more office space, ground was broken on the Shadowlake Law Center in south Oklahoma City in September 1982. After construction was completed, our current law office was officially opened on June 1. 1983. In order to make better use of the office space, major remodeling was performed in 1985 which resulted in a new reception area, more attorney client privacy, and a larger work room to accommodate computer equipment and additional filing space. In April 1987, Julie E. Bates, Marty's wife, joined the practice and the firm name was changed to POSTIC & BATES, A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION. Due to the office location, the attorneys for the firm are readily available for representation in matters to be filed or pending in Oklahoma, Cleveland, Canadian, McClain, Grady and Pottawatomie Counties, as well as in other surrounding counties. Biographies MARTIN (MARN) POSTIC, JR., was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, on August 18, 1956, and moved to Oklahoma in 1966. He is a 1974 graduate of Moore High School. He obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing from the University of Oklahoma in 1977. Upon graduation, he was admitted to the University of Oklahoma College of Law where he received his Juris Doctor degree in May 1980. He was admitted to the practice of law in the State of Oklahoma on October 17, 1980. He is also licensed to practice law in the federal district courts for the Western, Northern and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma, the federal Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He concentrates his law practice in the areas of real estate, estate planning, probate avoidance, asset protection, and estate planning for the disabled. He is the author of Legally Protecting Your Assets From Creditors, Do I Need A Will?, Probating An Estate, The Living Trust, The Right To Die, Increasing Your Giving Potential, The Limited Partnership as an Estate Planning Tool, Trusts and Homesteads – Probate Avoidance or Pandemonium?, The Special Needs Trust, Ethical Considerations for the Attorney in Charitable Estate Planning An Elder Law Primer for Attorneys and Ethics in Estate Planning. Marty is a frequent speaker on the subjects of estate planning, probate avoidance, and asset protection, having appeared personally and as a guest on radio and television throughout the state. He is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and was the 1997 Chairman of the Real Property Section of the Association. He also maintains membership in the Estate Planning and Probate Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Oklahoma City Real Property Lawyers Association. He has also been an Adjunct Professor of Estate Planning at Oklahoma City University. He maintains active membership in the South Oklahoma City Rotary Club and will be the Rotary District Governor for 2007-08 in Rotary District 5750. Marty is also an Eagle Scout and currently serves as an Assistant Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 20 in Oklahoma City. He enjoys playing tennis, playing the guitar and studying foreign languages. He is married to his law partner, Julie Bates, and has two sons, John, age nineteen, and David, age sixteen. JULIE E. BATES was born in Swindon, England, on July 11,1957, but was raised in Oklahoma. She is a 1975 graduate of Midwest City High School. Julie attended Oscar Rose Junior College (now Rose State College) and graduated from Texas Christian University in 1978 with a Bachelors degree in Communications and Business. She served as Coordinator of Public Information at Oscar Rose Junior College prior to entering the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in May 1983. During her law school career, she attended Queens College at Oxford University in England. She was twice a member of the University of Oklahoma National Trial Advocacy Team and was named a member of the prestigious Order of the Barristers -- a select honor for law students and attorneys who have exhibited exemplary trial advocacy skills. After being admitted to the practice of law in the State of Oklahoma on October 6, 1983, Julie joined the Oklahoma City law firm of Linn & Helms as a litigation attorney. She worked with that law firm until leaving to join POSTIC & BATES where she concentrates in adoptions. She is also licensed to practice law in the federal district courts for the Western, Northern, and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma and for the Northern and Western Districts of Texas, the federal Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. She is the author of Civil Appeals to the Tenth Circuit: A General Overview of the Local Court Rules as Amended, and co-author of articles entitled Traffic Accident Reconstruction, Accident Reconstruction, Driver's Viewpoint Important to Design, and Accident Reconstruction in Personal Injury Lawsuits. She has also co-authored a chapter for a legal treatise on personal injury defense litigation. She is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, where she has previously served on the Awards Committee, Diversity Committee, Legal Ethics Committee, Committee on Rules of Professional Conduct and on the Civil Procedure Committee and is a member of the Board of Directors. She is also a member of the Oklahoma County Bar Association where she serves on the Fee Grievance & Ethics Committee and the Awards Committee, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. Julie enjoys reading, gardening and playing the piano. She is married to her law partner, Martin Postic, Jr., and has two sons, John and David.
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