Child Custody

If your spouse disobeys a Tulsa family court decree, you can have the order enforced by filing a lawsuit asking the court to hold your spouse in contempt of a court order.

An enforcement lawsuit can be initiated to force your spouse to obey Tulsa family court orders pertaining to the following:

• Child support.

• Medical obligations.

• The division of property in a divorce decree.

• Visitation.

• Spousal support.

Enforcing a Tulsa Family Court Order

A Tulsa family court decree will be enforceable if the language it contains is clear, specific and unambiguous.

For a visitation order, for example, this means that it must specify when the party with custody must surrender the children to the other party, and when that party must return the children.  In addition, it must specify where the exchange is to take place and the exact length of the visitation period.

Likewise, for child support, the order must specify the amount to be paid, the date upon which it must be paid, to whom it must be paid, the date upon which payments are to commence,  and the date upon which payments cease.

If the language contained in the court order is not clear, specific, and unambiguous, a Tulsa family court will clarify the order and allow your spouse ample time to comply.

The Consequences of Disobeying a Tulsa Family Court Decree

If your spouse disobeys a Tulsa family court decree and is held in contempt of a court order, he or she will face the following consequences:

• An order may be given to his or her employer to withhold income from his or her paycheck.

• Federal and state tax returns may be intercepted to force compliance.

• He or she may have liens placed on property.

• His or her name may be included on the Oklahoma Child Support Enforcement’s Most Wanted list.

• He or she may have his or her driver’s license, professional licenses, recreational licenses and/or his or her business permits suspended.

• He or she may have his/her car, motorcycle, boat, airplane, or truck registrations suspended.

• He/she may be denied a passport.

• He or she may be sentenced to jail time.

In addition, unless your spouse has good cause for disobeying a Tulsa family court decree, he or she will be held liable to you for all court and legal costs spent on enforcing the court order.

 Tulsa Family Law Attorney: Low-cost Initial Consultation

To find out how the Divorce of Tulsa Law Office can assist in your Tulsa family law matter, call us today.

Alternately, send the Tulsa divorce lawyer a question using the “Ask a Lawyer” form on this page. Enter your e-mail address or phone number and we’ll get in touch as soon as possible.

For a low-cost confidential consultation, call now: 918-924-5526.

Whether grandparents should receive visitation rights or not is highly debatable. Parents have the primary right to determine how their children are raised, but many states provide certain rights for grandparents as well. This article explores the basics of visitation rights for grandparents in Oklahoma.

Unfortunately, when the relationship between mother and father sours, grandparent often find themselves at the mercy of the parents in regards to seeing their grandchildren. Fortunately, grandparents can petition to the court to receive visitation rights in Oklahoma. However, like with child custody and visitation rights between parents, visitation rights for grandparents will be decided in accordance with what the courts believes is in the best interest of the child.

Oklahoma recognizes the rights of parents to raise their children and will typically not interfere as long as the parents are deemed fit to raise their own children. But, if a parent is deemed unfit and/or absent, for instance where there is drug abuse, incarceration or  premature death, the state recognizes the right of the child to have a relationship with his or her the grandparents on that side of the family and encourages this relationship through grandparent’s visitation rights.

Grandparents Visitation Rights in Oklahoma

Visitation rights for grand parents in Oklahoma are determined based on:

1. What is in the best interest of the child, for which the court will evaluate at least 14 predetermined factors, which include:

• the grandparent’s preexisting relationship with the child;
• the benefit in maintaining the preexisting relationship;
• the stability of the child’s family unit and environment;
• the ages and preference of the child; and
• the parent’s reasons for denying visitation.

2. Parental unfitness or clear and convincing evidence from the grandparents that the parents are not acting in the best interest of the child, or that the child would suffer harm without the grandparents having visitation rights.

3. A disruption in the child’s nuclear family, meaning that family structure in which the child resides is no longer intact, due to divorce, separation or because the parents were never married

All three of these elements must be met in order for the grandparent(s) to receive visitation rights and filing a case for visitation without meeting any one of these requirements is usually discouraged.

The child’s parents may agree on there own to grant or deny visitation to the grandparent(s). Either way , it will be assumed that the parents are fit and acting in the best interest of their children, unless proven otherwise. In  cases where one parent wants the grandparent to receive visitation rights and the other does not, the determination will be made by the court based on what it finds is in the best interest of the child. For more detailed information on receiving visitation rights as a grandparent, you should consult with an experienced family law attorney.

 Tulsa Family Law Attorney: Low-cost Initial Consultation

We know it’s may not always easy to find an Oklahoma family law attorney who understands your particular need. Because we want to earn your trust before you invest your resources in someone who will represent you in court, we offer private initial consultations. To find out how the Divorce of Tulsa Law Office can assist in your Tulsa family law matter, call us today.

Alternately, send the Tulsa divorce lawyer a question using the “Ask a Lawyer” form on this page. Enter your e-mail address or phone number and we’ll get in touch as soon as possible.

For a low-cost confidential consultation, call now: 918-924-5526.