Oklahoma divorce information

If you and your spouse have initiated divorce proceedings, the last thing both of you want to have to go through is continued interaction with each other on a daily basis. It is possible to have your spouse move out during divorce from the family home in Oklahoma. However, they may be reluctant to leave.

Your spouse’s divorce attorney may advise your spouse not to leave because of possible consequences that result when one spouse leaves the marital home. One the other hand, your divorce attorney may advise you to ask your spouse to leave due to negative interactions with you and your children.

Here we’ll help illuminate the process of having your spouse move out during divorce, how to negotiate their departure, how to legally remove them, and what the judge considers when ordering one spouse to move out.

Initial Agreement

Some of the consequences of moving out of the family home during a divorce include receiving less custody time, the possibility of losing ownership of the family home, and lack of any control over the personal items or marital belongings inside the home.

A way to reassure your spouse that those results are not inevitable when you ask to have your spouse move out during divorce is to have your divorce attorney draft a settlement agreement only identifying the issues the other spouse is concerned about. For example, putting together a temporary custody arrangement can be very reassuring to the other spouse that the parent-child relationship is not negatively affected.

In addition, your divorce attorney can draft a partial settlement outlining items in the home and the spouse’s financial interest in the family home.

Exclusive Occupancy

Once your spouse officially vacates the home, your divorce attorney can file a motion for exclusive occupancy — also called “temporary possession” — of the home while the divorce is still pending.

One of the factors your divorce attorney will have to prove is that the other spouse’s presence in the home is disruptive, hostile, and causing extreme anguish for you and your children. This motion can be filed if your spouse refuses to leave, as well, and is causing physical or psychological damage to you or your children.

Restraining Order

Even though your spouse may have left, if you feel you or your children might be in danger, you should have your divorce attorney assist you in obtaining a temporary restraining order. A temporary restraining order does not require a lot of specific evidence. Thus, it lasts only until the restraining order hearing takes place.

A court tends to only grant a permanent restraining order if there has been physical violence in the past, and you and your divorce attorney can show evidence to that fact.

If you do not have a exclusive occupancy order, and the judge does not grant the permanent restraining order, then your spouse could return to your home in a matter of a few weeks. If domestic violence is occurring, you must speak about it with your divorce attorney immediately.

Considerations

When deciding whether to grant an exclusive occupancy order, the judge takes into consideration several factors:

• Financial resources available to both spouses.
• Whether either spouse has friends or family that are close by that the spouse could reside with.
• Which spouse is most likely going to be awarded primary custody of the children.
• Which spouse is the primary caretaker of the house.

Initial Consultation with a Tulsa Divorce Attorney

A Tulsa divorce attorney can help if you are suffering harm as a result of your spouse continuing to live in the family home. Your divorce attorney will be able to present evidence and professionally emphasize the necessity for your spouse to move out.

Hiring a knowledgeable divorce attorney will ensure the process is expertly conducted and your interests are well represented.

Contact an experienced Tulsa divorce attorney when you need to go through the Oklahoma relocation process.

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

It is common in a marriage for one spouse to stay at home and care for the home and children — if there are children — and the other spouse to work. However, when this couple separates, the stay-at-home spouse may worry about financial support in the form of alimony in Oklahoma once their spouse leaves.

Once the employed spouse leaves, the other spouse may have trouble gaining access to bank accounts, paying bills, or maintaining their residence.

In this case, the court will order temporary spousal support, also known as spousal maintenance. This is not automatic, hiring an experienced family law attorney is crucial for your case and obtaining temporary — and permanent — support.

Spousal Support

Spousal support, also called alimony, is when one spouse or ex-spouse pays a certain amount of money per month to the other.  There are several different timeframes that spousal support can take place: During the divorce process, after the divorce is final, or during a legal separation.

A legal separation is different than the separation that occurs prior to completing the divorce process. It is a formal process through the court system.

The underlying purpose of spousal support is to assist the spouse receiving it in maintaining their standard of living during or after the divorce. In Oklahoma law, this concept is viewed as rehabilitative and not meant to be completely permanent.

In the spirit of rehabilitation, spousal support in the form of alimony assists the receiver in reestablishing their livelihood, obtaining employment, education, or another source of funding other than the ex-spouse.

Calculating Temporary Spousal Support

Temporary spousal support tends to be a larger amount than spousal support after the divorce is final. A gradual decline in dependence on the other spouse is an easier process rather than an abrupt halt.

Under Oklahoma law, courts have great discretion in deciding temporary spousal support.  There is not a calculation that the judge uses. Rather, the couples’ circumstances are considered.

The judge will look at the whole of the financial status of the couple, including the needs of each spouse and any children, the ability for the supporting spouse to pay the supported spouse, how long the couple were married, and the ability of the supported spouse to actually support themselves. This includes any past employment, education and job prospects.

Requesting Temporary Support

If one spouse depended on the other spouse during marriage for support, it is likely a judge will order temporary support while the divorce process is occurring. It is important to retain an experienced family law attorney so your needs are properly presented to the courts.

Failing to properly represent your needs, which sometimes requires using evidence and testimony, can result in a less than comfortable financial situation. Your family law attorney is experienced in requesting temporary support during a temporary order hearing.

Initial Consultation with a Tulsa Divorce Lawyer

It can be devastating both emotionally and financially if you and your spouse separate. In order to ensure your standard of living remains the same it is important to hire a family law attorney that can request temporary support during the divorce process.

Contact an experienced Tulsa divorce attorney when you need to go through the Oklahoma divorce process.

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

There is no question how difficult the divorce of two biological parents is on a child. There are new schedules to adapt to, new step-parents, new homes, and new schools are all part of the adjustment to a divorce. When a child has already gone through the loss of one biological child and has bonded with a new step-parent, that relationship can become very important.  Step-parents take on great responsibility for a child that is biologically not theirs. So when there is a step-parent divorce in Oklahoma, it can be a big deal to the children involved.

Adoption Process

Taking that next step to adopt their step-child, to take this child in as their own, is a profound decision. It is as if the child has always been their natural child and them always their parent. The relationship between an adopted child and a step-parent can be extremely strong.

For a step-parent to adopt a step-child, both biological parents must agree or one biological parent’s parental rights are terminated. One of the most basic human rights, to bear a child, is not lightly terminated, the step-adoption process is taken very seriously in family law. It is important to be represented by an experienced Tulsa family law attorney, so the adoption process is properly conducted.

For an adopted child to experience a second divorce it is as if they have lost two parents — first their biological one, and then their step-parent. Many children blame themselves and feel unworthy during a step-parent divorce. It is important to maintain your relationship with your step-child so as not to feed into their fears.

Parental Rights

After a child is adopted by a step-parent, that parent is the child’s legal parent. The child has all inheritance rights and the parent maintains all rights as a natural parent. When a divorce occurs, child custody and child support proceed as if the child was the step-parent’s biological parent.

Child Custody

Once you and your spouse separate, you should consult a family law attorney so that a custody schedule can be agreed upon. If a custody schedule is not in place, both parents are entitled to custody. Either parent is entitled to have the child live with them until temporary custody orders are filed with the family court.

To request a custody order, your family divorce attorney will file a “Petition for Custody.” This is commonly included in the divorce paperwork your attorney had you fill out already.

Custody is divided into legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody includes the right to make legal decisions for your child, while physical custody refers to where one child lives with one parent and the other has visitation.

Best Interest of the Child

These difficult decisions a family judge must make during a step-parent divorce are based on the best interest of the child doctrine. In order to apply this doctrine, the court considers the following:

• Parent’s wishes, and sometimes the child’s wishes. The child usually has to be older than 12 to testify in Oklahoma.
• Quality of the parental relationships with the child.
• Physical and mental health of the parents.
• Which parent will most likely encourage a relationship between the child and the other parent.
• Which parent is most involved with the child’s activities, school and friends.
• Which parent has been most involved in medical care.
• Present or past physical or drug abuse or criminal activity.
• Ability to provide for the well-being and needs of the child, including food, shelter and care.

There are considerations when a judge must choose how to divide a child between their two parents. However, an expert family divorce attorney can help identify your strengths as a parent and show the evidence to your family judge.

Initial Consultation with a Tulsa Family Divorce Lawyer

As a step-parent, it is important you understand your rights. An experienced family divorce attorney can help with this process.

Contact an experienced Tulsa divorce attorney when you need to go through the Oklahoma divorce process.

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

When litigants enter the courtroom with their child custody attorneys, a common phrase that is used is “the best interest standard.” If you were to ask your attorney or a family court judge to define this standard, odds are they would answer “well, it depends” when it comes to the best interest of child situations in Oklahoma.

As a way to make this concept seem a little more concrete, we gathered three cases that show how this standard is applied in actual cases:

• Scocos v. Scocos (2016)
• Boatman v. Boatman (2017)
• Varbel v. Varbel (2014)

Out of these, we were able to extrapolate some of the most important factors to consider when you prepare for your child custody case with your attorney to help meet the best interest of child standard.

Standards of Review

If your child custody case goes to trial and you do not accomplish what you wanted your child custody attorney to accomplish for you, you have the right for your child custody attorney to appeal the decision.

However, on appeal, your child custody attorney will inform you that unless there was substantial error, the court of appeals gives great deference to the trial court. This means that if the trial court followed all procedures correctly and allowed a fair trial to take place, how they applied the best interests of child standard will be adopted by the appeals court.

This is the procedure because the trial court is better able to assess the witnesses presented, evidence, and the parties. In an appeal, only a written brief is submitted.

Burden of Proof

Whichever party files for a change in custody has the burden to prove that the change is in the best interest of child along with a significant change in the circumstances. Once the moving party is able to show that the standard is met, the burden shifts to the responding party to prove that the change is not in the best interest of child.

Judges Agree on Three Legitimate Factors

Although these circumstances are not exclusive, these three occurrences have been found to be legitimate reasons for a change in location or custody. These situations include:

• Major change in employment hours or work flexibility;
• Relocating for a love interest that is invested in the family and provides emotional, developmental and financial support;
• Financial change — either moving to increase financial well belling, inheritance that allows more time with the child, or moving in with family due to job loss.

Custody Modification Factors

The well known three factors family law judges consider when evaluating a change in custody and the best interest of child involved are:

• Permanent, substantial and material change in circumstances;
• The change in circumstances must adversely affect the best interests of the child;
• The temporal, moral and mental welfare of the child would be better off if custody is changed

Obviously, these factors are extremely general and abstract, not to mention only child custody attorneys and those with family law experience would really know how these factors are applied.

After dissecting and reading through pages of each cases opinion, we were able to pinpoint almost a dozen factors judges discuss when child custody is at issue:

• How parents handle the child’s social interactions
• How parent’s handle child’s activities
• Nutrition and meal habits
• Parent’s education
• Parent’s employment
• Parent’s work schedule
• Use of day care
• Extended family involvement
• New “stepparent” or significant other involvement
• Parent’s flexibility with work hours
• Attachment to siblings

An important issue that was highlighted in all three cases is that a change in circumstances does not necessarily trigger a change in custody. The change in circumstances must adversely affect temporal, moral and mental wellness necessitating a change in the custody arrangement.

Initial Consultation with a Tulsa Child Custody Attorney

Changes in custody and even initial custody determinations are not events to take lightly. Without an experienced child custody attorney to advocate on your behalf and expertly know the law, your case could be unnecessarily negatively impacted.

Hiring a knowledgeable and compassionate family law attorney will ensure the process is expertly conducted and your interests are well represented.

Contact an experienced Tulsa divorce attorney when you need to go through the Oklahoma child custody process.

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

In recent same-sex adoption laws, the Oklahoma legislature approved a bill that allows “faith-based” adoption agencies to deny adoption applicants based on their marital status, religion, or religious beliefs. This includes denying same-sex adoption in Oklahoma.

The bill includes agencies that receive state funds as well. Kansas recently approved a similar bill.

This bill was approved a few years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in all 50 states. As a result, same-sex adoption also became legal in all 50 states.

The governor of Oklahoma signed the bill into law on May 11, 2018. If you are interested in a same-sex adoption, the best resource to start with is an Tulsa adoption attorney that is well-versed in the process.

Faith-Based Argument

Knowing all viewpoints of an issue helps to have a better understanding of the issue and reach an informed opinion about it.

The faith-based adoption agencies have their own set of moral values that they operate the agency based on. One of the values they use to support their argument is their disapproval of same-sex couples adoption.

Because this is a major value of their agency, the directors claim they would be forced to close their doors if required to approve same-sex adoptions. The agencies state that there are many different types of adoption agencies in Oklahoma that all follow the same basic requirements when it comes to placement and child welfare.

If a same-sex couple does not qualify for an adoption through their agency, there are hundreds of thousands of foster children needing homes in other adoption agencies. In turn, if faith-based adoption is protected, more faith-based adoption agencies would form to help even more children of the state.

The faith-based adoption agencies would involuntarily close if required to consider same-sex couples for adoption, and the negative impact of the child of the state of Oklahoma would be substantial. They want to continue to serve the children of Oklahoma while observing their beliefs.

Critics’ Response

Most critics look to the 2015 Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex couples to marry, and thus making same-sex adoption legal.

In addition, in June 2017, the Supreme Court reversed an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling which ultimately forced the state to treat same-sex couples the same as heterosexual couples when issuing a birth certificate, and order all other states to do the same.

Critics rely on many instances of case law that do not allow a state to supersede Supreme Court rulings, and call the choice to not follow the Supreme Court “unAmerican.”

The executive director of Low-costdom Oklahoma states this law will keep “Oklahoma’s most vulnerable youth out of loving and committed homes.”

Others believe children will have to wait longer to be placed and further, put children of the state at risk.

Current Adoption Laws in Oklahoma

An adoption attorney will tell you that although this law passed, same-sex couples are still permitted to adopt in Oklahoma, however they must choose their adoption agency with this law in mind.

Here is a summary of the current laws:

• Same-sex couples are allowed to adopt
• Single homosexual persons are allowed to adopt
• Step-parent adoption of is allowed in a same-sex marriage
• Same-sex couples go through the same filing process as heterosexual couples

Many adoption agencies also report that there is a rise in birth mothers requesting a same-sex couple to adopt their child. In addition, there is little reported bias among adoption attorneys representing same-sex couples.

Initial Consultation with a Tulsa Adoption Attorney

Adoption is one of the most beautiful experiences in a couple’s life. Hiring an adoption attorney for a sex-same adoption will ensure the process is positive and encouraging while minimizing any stress.

Contact an experienced Tulsa divorce attorney when you need to go through the Oklahoma adoption process.

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