Oklahoma Blog: Family Law and Lawsuits

Divorce creates a very emotionally-charged and sensitive time for the parties involved. Each party is inundated with new questions of what will happen in the future and how to deal with this inevitably trying time. When a child is involved, no question is more important than that of the child’s living arrangements and well-being. For this reason, Oklahoma’s child custody laws are geared toward awarding custody to the parent(s) who would create the best situation for the child to be raised.  Our Oklahoma City Child Custody attorneys help parents navigate through this legal process.

 

Oklahoma City Child Custody Attorneys

The main goal of the child custody laws in Oklahoma is to find the best arrangement for the child involved. The court looks to several factors, such as evidence of domestic abuse, proof of skills necessary to care for the child, and any proof of immoral behavior by a parent to decide custodial and visitation rights in child custody proceedings. The court will not consider gender, school district (public or private), or the parent’s lifestyle in its decision. The court’s decision is based on what would be in the best interests of the child.

The child custody process in Oklahoma contains three steps. The first step in this process is temporal custody. Temporal custody is the decision the parents make regarding custody of the child or children at the time of the separation. This is often a temporary arrangement until the next step in the process is decided.

The second step in the Oklahoma child custody process is legal custody. The parent or parents who gain legal custody of a child are responsible for making the legal decisions for the child regarding education, health care, and overall general welfare. In child custody proceedings, parents can receive either joint legal custody or sole legal custody of the child. Joint legal custody splits the decision-making responsibilities between both parents. A parent who is awarded sole legal custody is alone responsible for making all decisions involving the child.

The third and final step is physical custody. Physical custody is where the child actually lives. Sole physical custody is the most common form of physical custody in Oklahoma. A parent with sole physical custody is the parent whom the child actually lives with. In this situation, the non-custodial parent is usually awarded visitation rights where he/she may see the child during certain scheduled times. A less likely form of physical custody is joint physical custody. It is rarely in the child’s best interest to award joint physical custody, forcing the child to live with each parent for a predetermined amount of time.

The child custody process is dynamic. The conclusion of the final step does not preclude modifications to custodial decisions in the future. If visitation rights are not being recognized or are being abused, a motion can be made to resolve the issue in a manner best suited to the child’s interests.

Nothing is more important to a parent than the welfare of his/her child. Contact the Oklahoma Family Law Center today with your questions or concerns regarding child custody law or visitation rights for your child.

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