Family Law
Determining Child Custody and Child Support
If you are going through a divorce in Oklahoma and have children, you may have many questions about determining child custody and child support. Whether you are considering divorce or are in the process of ending your marriage, it is important to understand the laws regarding custody and support as they pertain to your situation […] Read more »
Filing a Response and Counterclaim in Divorce
You Must File a Responsive Pleading So your spouse has filed and served you with a Petition for Divorce in Oklahoma. Being on the receiving end of this petition can be an emotional experience if you don’t know that it is coming. And how you respond to a divorce petition matters. You can prepare and […] Read more »
Can Grandparents Be Foster Parents to Their Grandchildren?
Grandparent Foster Care Can Be Preferred in an Emergency When a parent or parents are unable to properly care for their child, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) may intervene. Specifically, when the DHS Child Protective Services (CPS) unit identifies a deprived child, CPS can take custody of the child from the parents – […] Read more »
Oklahoma Grandparent Adoption Attorney
Helping Grandparents Adopting Grandchildren Grandparents can often be highly important figures in the lives of their grandchildren. They can be role models and provide love, guidance, and support. In some situations, a grandparent can take on an even bigger role if they decide to legally adopt a grandchild in Oklahoma. They then become a parent […] Read more »
Grandparents Visitation Rights in Oklahoma
Protecting Oklahoma Grandparents Visitation Rights The bond between grandparents and their grandchildren can be strong, and maintaining this relationship can be emotionally beneficial for everyone involved. However, there are certain situations in which a parent will refuse to allow their child to visit with grandparents. In these cases, grandparents often ask, “do grandparents have visitation […] Read more »
How to Get Custody of a Grandchild in Oklahoma
Grandchild Custody Attorney in Tulsa Ok There are, unfortunately, circumstances under which children are unable to continue living with their parents. In many cases, this occurs during a time of crisis, and grandparents are often the most qualified and appropriate people to care for minor children. Fortunately, Oklahoma law has a preference for family members […] Read more »
Statute of Limitations in Oklahoma Child Support Collections
Child Support in Oklahoma Everyone has a moral, ethical and legal obligation to support their children. And in Oklahoma, that obligation is taken seriously. This includes child support for the children of a divorced couple. Past due child support must be paid. In Oklahoma, there is no statute of limitations for past due child support […] Read more »
Can I Get a Child Support Modification in Oklahoma for an Out of State Divorce?
People seek to modify child support obligations for varying reasons: a change in income, the loss of a job, or other substantial changes to a parent’s financial situation. When you divorce in another state and move to Oklahoma, how do you handle the need to get a child support modification? The answer lies in the […] Read more »
Oklahoma Child Support Laws
Oklahoma child support laws are crafted to ensure that children enjoy adequate financial support from their parents. Like those of every other state, Oklahoma child support laws obligate each parent to support their minor children. Calculating Child Support Each divorced or unmarried parent’s child support obligations are calculated based on their income and their relative […] Read more »
What is the Age of Majority in Oklahoma Child Support Law?
Age of Majority: The End of Childhood Supporting our children is our moral and legal duty. However, the law only requires us to support our children monetarily until they reach the age of majority. Okla. Stat. tit. 43 § 112 After that, a child is legally considered to be an adult, and support payments may […] Read more »
When Can I File a Child Support Modification in Oklahoma?
Child Support Modification: A Matter of Need The hastily-drafted child support order filed when your divorce became final may not fit your circumstances a few years down the line. Things change. That streak of good income can dry up. Maybe you agreed to change custody arrangements so now you have more overnights. These things can […] Read more »
How Does Oklahoma Calculate Child Support Payments?
It is the law. If you have children in Oklahoma you are legally required to financially support them whether you are married or divorced. When a couple decides to divorce, issues of custody and child support must be decided by the parties and approved by the court. Oklahoma child support payments are calculated based on […] Read more »
How Can I Collect Delinquent Child Support Payments in Oklahoma?
You Must Support Your Children People fall behind on child support payments for a variety of reasons. Most often, this does not occur intentionally. But the law requires that both parents support their children until they reach the age of majority, which is 18 years of age in Oklahoma. When a parent falls behind, it […] Read more »
Refusal of Visitation Due to Abuse and Neglect in Oklahoma
All good parents want to protect their children. Often, the period leading to a divorce and after is fraught with high emotions. The concerns that we have regarding the health and safety of our children become heightened. And while this can be an emotional time for all concerned, when a parent becomes concerned that their […] Read more »
Priority of Preferences in Oklahoma Child Custody Cases
In Oklahoma, courts will always strive to place the custody a child with one or both of the parents in a divorce. But what happens when one or both parents are unable to care for the child? One or both parents may be deceased, unable, or unfit to properly care for a child. In that […] Read more »
Oklahoma Child Custody Relocation Laws
The Right to Relocate Relocation of a parent after a divorce in Oklahoma can become an issue when children are involved in the move. Though we may wish to always live close to our children, sometimes work or other obligations require us to move. If this happens after a child custody order has been put […] Read more »
A Child’s Preference in Oklahoma Custody Disputes
A Child’s Preference Can Influence Custody The best interests of the child is the controlling standard in all court matters concerning child custody and visitation in Oklahoma. In determining what is in the best interests of the child, courts look to a number of factors, including a child’s preference. When a Court Looks at a […] Read more »
How Oklahoma Custody Laws Define Best Interests of the Child
Best Interests of the Child Explained Oklahoma courts look at the best interests of the child for guidance in decisions regarding custody and visitation. Because this standard can affect overall direction and particular details of child custody and support, it is important for a divorcing parent to understand what the standard means. In weighing the […] Read more »
Oklahoma Child Custody Law
When you are going through a divorce in Oklahoma and have children, it is important to understand Oklahoma child custody laws, visitation and support. All too often, parents become involved in the divorce process without fully understanding their duties and rights under the law regarding their children. If childhood is a fleeting moment in a […] Read more »
A Tulsa Attorney's Guide to Oklahoma Family Law
What is Family Law? Oklahoma family law governs the creation, maintenance, and dissolution of family relationships. Family law includes procedures for divorce, of course, and for child custody and support after a divorce. Family law further addresses various circumstances where biological family relationships emerge outside a legal framework — paternity matters, in particular. Guardianships, foster […] Read more »
DHS to Start Pocketing a Share of Your Child Support
Oklahoma DHS Child Support Services has announced plans to charge custodial parents a 3 percent fee - per child - for collecting support payments from a non-custodial parent. A Tulsa child support attorney explains. Read more »
State Court Defines Primary Physical Custody in Oklahoma Joint Custody Orders
In a landmark child custody ruling, The Oklahoma Supreme Court has decided parents who share share joint custody of a child may not petition to relocate the child unless a court has declared one parent to be the primary physical custodian. A Tulsa child custody attoroIn a landmark child custody ruling, The Oklahoma Supreme Court has decided parents who share share joint custody of a child may not petition to relocate the child unless a court has declared one parent to be the primary physical custodian. explains how the ruling affects parents with various types of child custody in Oklahoma. Read more »
Does a Joint Tax Return Make a Common Law Marriage in Oklahoma?
Filing joint tax returns can have serious implications involving common law marriage in Oklahoma. A joint tax return can be enough to tip the scales creating a common law marriage, but a legal divorce might be required to end a common law marriage. Read more »
Court Says DHS Overcharged Interest on Back Child Support in Oklahoma
A court says Oklahoma DHS relied on the wrong law for nearly 20 years when it assessed parents 10 percent interest on certain child support accruals. In a published 1993 case, the state appeals court had determined that, when back child support in Oklahoma is accrued before a child support judgment is in place, interest is set according to the state's Civil Procedure, which results in a significantly lower rate than the 10 percent assessed by law on delinquent child support. Read more »
Oklahoma Foster Parents Rights are the Law
Oklahoma's childrens code defines specific rights of foster parents, including the right to information necessary for providing proper care, the right to be notified before a child is relocated and the right to be heard in a judicial proceeding if a foster parent objects to relocation of a foster child. A Tulsa foster parents attorney helps foster families exercise their rights. Read more »