Rule Text
The provision of the Oklahoma Income Tax Act (68 O.S.A. § 885 (1951)) to the effect that no final account of any fiduciary shall be allowed by any probate court of the state unless such account shows, and the judge of said court finds, that all taxes imposed by the provisions of said Act, or prior income tax laws, upon said fiduciary or on the decedent for whose estate he acts, which may have become payable, have been paid, and that all taxes which may become due are secured by bond, deposit or otherwise, is not jurisdictional and failure to comply with said Act does not deprive the probate court of authority to allow any such final account.
Authority: State ex rel . Williamson v. Longmire, 281 P.2d 949 (Okla. 1955).
Amendment history: /P> History: Adopted as 31, December 6, 1952, 24 O.B.A.J. 74 (1953). Williamson case, supra , added to "Authority," December 1964, as per Proposal No. 7 of 1964 Real Property Committee, 35 O.B.A.J. 2045 (1964), and approval, upon recommendation of Real Property Section, by House of Delegates, 36 O.B.A.J. 179,182 (1955).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When someone handles an estate in Oklahoma, they eventually have to file a "final account" showing how they managed the money and property. State law used to say the court could not approve this final account unless it showed that all state income taxes owed by the estate had been paid, or that money was set aside to cover taxes still owed.
This rule clarifies what happens if that tax information is missing or incomplete. Even if the final account does not show that taxes were paid or secured, the probate court still has the legal power to approve it anyway. Missing the tax information does not stop the judge from being able to close out the estate.
In simple terms, the tax requirement is a good practice to follow, but it is not a strict legal requirement that controls whether the court can act. A court's approval of a final account is still valid and binding even if someone forgot to address the tax payment details. This matters for people examining property titles, because it means an old probate case is not automatically invalid just because the final account did not mention taxes.
