{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-49-113.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 11, § 11-49-113.2","heading":"Death benefit","body":"A. Upon the death of an active or retired member, the System\n\nshall pay to the surviving spouse of the member if the surviving\n\nspouse has been married to the firefighter for thirty (30)\n\ncontinuous months preceding the member's death provided a surviving\n\nspouse of a member who died while in, or as a consequence of, the\n\nperformance of the member's duty for a participating municipality\n\nshall not be subject to the marriage limitation for survivor\n\nbenefits, or if there is no surviving spouse or no surviving spouse\n\nmeeting the requirements of this section, the System shall pay to\n\nthe designated recipient or recipients of the member, or if there is\n\nno designated recipient or if the designated recipient predeceases\n\nthe member, to the estate of the member, the sum of Four Thousand\n\nDollars ($4,000.00) for those active or retired members who died\n\nprior to July 1, 1999. For those active or retired members who die\n\non or after July 1, 1999, the sum shall be Five Thousand Dollars\n\n($5,000.00).\n\nB. Upon the death of a member who dies leaving no living\n\ndesignated recipient or having designated the member's estate as\n\nrecipient, the System may pay any applicable death benefit which may\n\nbe subject to probate, in an amount of Five Thousand Dollars\n\n($5,000.00), to the heir or heirs of the member without the\n\nintervention of a probate court or probate procedures.\n\nC. Before any applicable probate procedure may be waived, the\n\nSystem must be in receipt of the member's proof of death and the\n\nfollowing documents from those persons claiming to be the legal\n\nheirs of the deceased member:\n\n1. The member's last will and testament if available;\n\n2. An affidavit or affidavits of heirship which must contain:\n\na. the names and signatures of all claiming heirs to the\n\ndeceased member's estate including the claiming heirs'\n\nnames, relationship to the deceased member, current\n\naddresses and current telephone numbers,\n\nb. a statement or statements by the claiming heirs that\n\nno application or petition for the appointment of a\n\npersonal representative is pending or has been granted\n\nin any jurisdiction,\n\nc. a statement that the value of the deceased member's\n\nentire probate estate, less liens and encumbrances,\n\ndoes not exceed the dollar limit pursuant to Section\n\n393 of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes, including\n\nthe payment of benefits from the System, and\n\nd. a statement by each individual claiming heir\n\nidentifying the amount of personal property that the\n\nheir is claiming from the System or the amount the\n\nheir agrees to be paid to another person, and that the\n\nheir has been notified of, is aware of and consents to\n\nthe identified claims of all the other claiming heirs\n\nof the deceased member pending with the System;\n\n3. A written agreement or agreements signed by all claiming\n\nheirs of the deceased member which provides that the claiming heirs\n\nrelease, discharge and hold harmless the System from any and all\n\nliability, obligations and costs which it may incur as a result of\n\nmaking a payment to any of the deceased member's heirs;\n\n4. A corroborating affidavit from an individual other than a\n\nclaiming heir, who was familiar with the affairs of the deceased\n\nmember; and\n\n5. Proof that funeral and burial expenses of the deceased\n\nmember have been paid or provided for.\n\nD. The System shall retain complete discretion in determining\n\nwhich requests for probate waiver may be granted or denied, for any\n\nreason. Should the System have any questions as to the validity of\n\nany document presented by the claiming heirs, or as to any statement\n\nor assertion contained therein, the probate requirements provided\n\nfor in Section 1 et seq. of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall\n\nnot be waived.\n\nE. After paying any death benefits to any claiming heirs as\n\nprovided pursuant to this section, the System is discharged and\ndocument presented by the claiming heirs, or as to any statement\n\nor assertion contained therein, the probate requirements provided\n\nfor in Section 1 et seq. of Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall\n\nnot be waived.\n\nE. After paying any death benefits to any claiming heirs as\n\nprovided pursuant to this section, the System is discharged and\n\nreleased from any and all liability, obligation and costs to the\n\nsame extent as if the System had paid a personal representative\n\nholding valid letters testamentary issued by a court of competent\n\njurisdiction. The System is not required to inquire into the truth\n\nof any matter specified in this section or into the payment of any\n\nestate tax liability.\n\nF. The provisions of this section shall not be subject to\n\nqualified domestic orders as provided in subsection B of Section 49-\n\n126 of this title.\n\nG. 1. For purposes of this section, if a person makes a\n\nqualified disclaimer with respect to the death benefit provided for\n\nin subsection A of this section, this section shall apply with\n\nrespect to such death benefit as if the death benefit had never been\n\ntransferred to such person.\n\n2. For purposes of this subsection, the term \"qualified\n\ndisclaimer\" means an irrevocable and unqualified refusal by a\n\nperson, including but not limited to the surviving spouse of the\n\ndeceased member, to accept an interest in the death benefit provided\n\nfor in subsection A of this section, but only if:\n\na. such refusal is in writing,\n\nb. such writing is received by the System not later than\n\nthe date which is nine (9) months after the date of\n\ndeath of the deceased member,\n\nc. such person has not accepted the death benefit\n\nprovided for in subsection A of this section, and\n\nd. as a result of such refusal, the death benefit\n\nprovided for in subsection A of this section passes\n\nwithout any direction on the part of the person making\n\nthe disclaimer and passes first, to the organization\n\nproviding funeral and burial services for the deceased\n\nmember or, if the cost of the funeral and burial\n\nservices for the deceased member has already been\n\npaid, to the person or persons other than the person\n\nmaking the disclaimer as further provided for in this\n\nsection.","path":["OK Code","Title 11"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os11.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"412ec69b84e788c0c4f3c5fd22c219e9a05967d9505e744dc45f833cdf05326d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-49-113","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-11-11-49-114"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}