§ 916.1. Payments upon death--Waiver of probate procedures
Oklahoma Statutes AnnotatedTitle 74. State Government
74 Okl.St.Ann. § 916.1
§ 916.1. Payments upon death--Waiver of probate procedures
A. Upon the death of a retired member, the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System shall pay to the beneficiary of the member or if there is no beneficiary or if the beneficiary predeceases the member, to the estate of the member, the sum of Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) as a death benefit for those retired members who died prior to July 1, 1999. For those retired members who died on or after July 1, 1999, the sum shall be Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00). The benefit payable pursuant to this subsection shall be deemed, for purposes of federal income taxation, as life insurance proceeds and not as a death benefit if the Internal Revenue Service approves this provision pursuant to a private letter ruling request which shall be submitted by the board of trustees of the System for that purpose.
B. Upon the death of a member who dies leaving no living beneficiary or having designated his estate as beneficiary, the System may pay any applicable death benefit, unpaid contributions, or unpaid benefit which may be subject to probate, in an amount of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or less, without the intervention of the probate court or probate procedure pursuant to Section 1 et seq. of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
(4) a statement by each individual claiming heir identifying the amount of personal property that the heir is claiming from the System, and that the heir has been notified of, is aware of and consents to the identified claims of all the other claiming heirs of the deceased member pending with the System,
c. a written agreement or agreements signed by all claiming heirs of the deceased member which provides that the claiming heirs release, discharge and hold harmless the System from any and all liability, obligations and costs which it may incur as a result of making a payment to any of the deceased member's heirs,
2. The Executive Director of the System shall retain complete discretion in determining which requests for probate waiver may be granted or denied, for any reason. Should the System have any question as to the validity of any document presented by the claiming heirs, or as to any statement or assertion contained therein, the probate requirement provided for in Section 1 et seq. of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall not be waived.
3. After paying any death benefits or unpaid contributions to any claiming heirs as provided pursuant to this subsection, the System is discharged and released from any and all liability, obligation and costs to the same extent as if the System had dealt with a personal representative of the deceased member. The System is not required to inquire into the truth of any matter specified in this subsection or into the payment of any estate tax liability.
Credits
Laws 1987, c. 236, § 186, emerg. eff. July 20, 1987; Laws 1995, c. 94, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 1999, c. 167, § 6, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2001, c. 192, § 1, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2002, c. 352, § 6, eff. July 1, 2002; Laws 2010, c. 83, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2010; Laws 2013, c. 159, § 4, eff. July 1, 2013.
74 Okl. St. Ann. § 916.1, OK ST T. 74 § 916.1
Current with emergency effective legislation through Chapter 3 of the Second Regular Session of the 59th Legislature (2024). Some sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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