Oklahoma Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

Animal law is NOT a specialty of mine, but I believe a seller can chose who to sell to and not to sell to (based on the pet being allowed inside, etc.) and possibly subject to terms they specify in a sale contract, but (1) once they sell the pet, they cold possibly sue the buyer for NOT honoring the terms of the agreement, which licensed vet you take the pet too is most likely not going to be an inforcable issue and the seller bad mouthing a particular VET would open them up to potential issues they would NOT want to face, i.e. "Defamation Per Se".  There are Attorneys who specialize in animal law, I would suggest you google that for more focused advice, but such a specialty may carry with it a charge for a consultation and advice.... Read More

You should meet with a lawyer in or near the county where you live.  Filing for dissolution of marriage (a/k/a divorce) and including a a discription of the circumstances suggesting that it may be necessary to obtain permission to obtain service via publication, seeking spousal support, payment of attorney fees, custody, child support, restricting any potential visitation to being restricted until certain conditions are met, property division, etc. would all be appropriate.  You will need to also give notice to DHS. It is often possible to obtain an initial consultation FREE of any charge, if you con't have funds to hire a lawyer, you may try contacting "Legal Aid Services" which often can represent on a Pro Bono (FREE) basis.... Read More

Someone will have to finish the probate and amoung other things seeking an appointment of someone else to serve as Personal Representative.  I presume they were probating the will of your Grandfather, the attorney withdrew in 2005, then your Grandmother passed in 2009.  I'm not clear on all of the necessary facts, but NO, your Aunt would not be able to take over for your late uncle without being appointed by the Court to do so.  It sounds like wraping up the first probate will be necessary in order to then address any issues relating to your Uncle's death.  There may be some conflict of interest issues too from the sound of things with your other Uncle living in the house, paying rent and your Aunt then inheriting anything that was going to her husband (your now deceased uncle). Sometimes everyone can get together to work up an accounting and to resolve all issues by signing off on an agreed final Decree.  Even if your uncle left everything to your aunt, there are issues that must be resolved relating to his "estate" since he has died. See a lawyer, take all copies you can find and they can help you map out a plan of action.... Read More

If none of the beneficiaries has any child support obligation, then it could just be a blanket provision that doesn't apply at present.  I don't know what type of Probate document you are ferring to, but if it is a Court Order, take it to see a lawyer who can better answer your question.... Read More

Anyone can ask the court to be appointed Personal Representative, showing the Court that the nominated parties are unable and/or unwilling to serve, the Court will most likely appoint the person makeing the request or some alternate person.   If nothing has been filed, something has to happen.  If the matter is pending and the Personal Representative has been appointed but is not taking any action, they can give some other person authority to help them, or to have a Co-Representative appointed who is better able to take action to preserve the property and take other time sensitive action.  If a case is pending and there is a lawyer, call the lawyer to explore options to preserve the property.... Read More

When parental rights are terminated by the State, the obligation to pay support is usually terminated as well; If parents give consent to an adoption or if their "consent" was found to NOT be necessary, there could be a support obligation plus interest, but the ongoing duty to support would terminate when the Adoption was finalized.  You can request a review of support oblication(s) and Payments utilizing a "Record of Payments" it will clarify any accounting error or data error, which have been known to happen. A lawyer may be able to request certain things to asist in this regard, if there are irregularities they can advise what to do to address them.... Read More

As you note, she (your daughter) is still his wife, if she wants to take that responsibility, the divorce court won't have any ongoing jurisdiction so if she anticipates being challenged by some blood family member of his, then she can file to open a probate proceeding and request an order giving her that authority.  I'm sorry for the loss this presents to your grandson.  If she has a lawyer in the divorce action, he/she should be able to assist her in handling this, if his family wants to challenge her, they can and a court will sort things out. Reaching out to his family may also be appropriate if for no other reason than to give them an opportunity to express their preferences for planning purposes.  The funeral director may be able to assist in this regard.... Read More

If you don't already have a Victim Protective Order (VPO), it sounds like you should get one.  Many counties will consolidate that with a pending divorce case, an Application for Temporary Order should be filed seeking money for your living expenses and suit money for legal representation.  If your attorney's wife suggested tha you get a new attorney, asking for an accounting of the retainer you paid and meeting with an different attorney where you are living would be very wise. Continuances are sometimes necessary, but you are entitled to an explanation of why your matter has not been heard by a Judge during the time it has been pending.  If you don't get answers and an accounting, you may want to go to the Bar Association website to complete a grievance, but getting another attorney may be more pressing given the threats and his puchase of a gun.  If a VPO is granted after a hearing in which your husband takes part or has been given notice and an opportunity to take part, in almost every case it would then be illegal under Federal Law for him to possess a fire arm or amunition. If you can't find an attorney to assist you try contacting legal aid services, they have offices all over the state and have as a priority assisting victims of domestic violence. If the police were never made aware of the threat you received, it would probably be a good idea to give them a detailed report, it would seem that charges may be appropriate for theatenting to kill you. Some counties have volunteer attorneys available to assist with getting a VPO, reach out to agencies in your area, some operate shelters and can also provide you with educational programs and counseling services to help you be safe while learngin to stand up to domestic violence.... Read More

If you apply for TANF and any other public assistance including Food Stamps, they should open a multi-state support case, as long as you cooperate with giving them information on the Texas support case you should be able to obtain any assistance available.  Any money he may beceive would be intercepted by Texas or Oklahoma agencies.  I don't know but wouldn't expect him to have been eligible for any COVID-19 stimulus payments, if he was, it should have been intercepted by the existing Texas Order. There are a lot of potential sources for assistance other than government, like Salvation Army, Churchs, etc.  I would recommend that you ask around in your area, some may have volunteering or working opportunities that understand disabilities and may offer income opportunities to supplement your modest amount of disability income and other resources. ... Read More

Judges often will take a position that children shouldn't be around new significant others, but visitation should still be allowed and may be altered to address any issues, like not overnight, not when your boyfriend is around, etc.  I would imagine he would have a different view of things if he had a girlfriend... moving forward with orders for custody and parenting time (visitation) is the best remedy.  You may still shoot for joint custody even if he has them more nights of the year. If he is just trying to control you, that is a bad sign and should be discussed in detail with a lawyer.... Read More

There is a high probability that if you file jointly, that your refund will be snagged for his child support obligation, but you will have an option to then file an "injured spouse" form with the IRS to show that the refund is yours and should NOT be seized in connection with his obligation. This would delay you from getting your money, but you would probably get most or all of the refund that is due to you. It is difficult to avoid child support seizures if there is ANY arrearage at all, sometimes it is worth it to seek a review of child support and a recalculation may make it easier for him to keep up with the obligation.  If his unemployment was denied...that could be something to really focus on, the amount of unemployment paid during COVID actually helped some people get ahead on child support obligations.... Read More

I'm sorry to hear of you being a victim of domestic violence and during or near the end of such a long marriage. I'm sure you feel betrayed to learn your attorney met with your abuser, this meeting would have been something to talk about before doing it... but if you asked him/her why they met it may clear things up and I would presume it was in an effort to be prepared to better represent your interests.  Ask them why they met without first telling you they were going to do so.... Read More

As an adult, you can do another adult adoption so you biological mother is reinstated as your legal mother.  You can inherit from her as it is, but doing an adult adoption would reinstate her to a status where if something happened to you, she would legally be your Mom. There are NOT many steps to an adult adoption, but it would be much easier to do with an attorney in or near the county where you live.... Read More

Oklahoma does recognize common law marriage, if established through evidence then you would have the potential protections of going through a divorce just as if you had a ceremonial marriage. A number of factors will be looked at for a judge to find you both had an intent of being married... did you hold yourselves out as being married?  Did you file taxes jointly?  etc. If you can't establish that, other legal protection could come through a law suit for unjust enrichment, breech of contract, etc. I found an interesting website that suggests defenses to saying there is a common law marriage... but it is still up to a judge to say if there is a marriage, which would then provide "Property Division" (assets and liabilities), provision for payment of debts, possible payments in support alimony, etc.  That site is:  https://www.thespruce.com/common-law-marriage-in-oklahoma-2302242 Call an attorney in or near your county to get more specific recommendations.... Read More

If you wish to adopt your stepchildren, the rights of the biological Dad can either be terminated by his voluntary consent, or without his consent.  To terminate by consent, he must sign a waiver in person in court before the adoption Judge.  To terminate involuntarily, you must show that bio dad has either failed to voluntarily provide support for the children in 12 out of the last 14 months, or that he has failed to have a meaningful relationship with the children in 12 of the last 14 months.  The TANF payments should not exclude you from pursuing an adoption. ... Read More

If your youngest son is a minor, both parents can sign a Temporary Power of Attorney giving custody, authority to enroll in school and seek medical treatment.  This is revocable at will.  Any family law attorney should be able to provide it. Only a court can award guardianship. ... Read More

So if you are a US citizen, and you have met your fiancé in person, within the last two years, then you can sponsor him for a fiancée visa. Consider working with an attorney to assist you in handling your case from beginning to end to make sure that it is processed correctly. Counsel in any state can represent clients all over the world. ... Read More

I gather from your fact situation that that your husband went through the process of I-751 application to remove the conditional basis of his green card. Under the circumstances, it would be difficult for USCIS to take away his green card. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read More

You would sue the university to compel it to honor your contract by providing you with a diploma.  The university will claim that you breached the contract by not paying, you will argue that you fully performed, and that the university screwed up.  From whaq you've written, however, the breach occurred four years ago, and you may be beyond the statute of limitations, depending on which jurisdiction's laws apply.... Read More

Assuming that you are sued for something for which your husband had no part, it's not really a matter of protecting your husband's money, it's a matter of making sure that your husband's money is recognized as his and not yours.  If you've already committed, or are already contemplating,  the act for which you are facing liability, this may be difficult, because any transfer of assets from your name or joint names to his name alone may be viewed as a fraudulent conveyance designed to defraul creditors.  Nevertheless, to protect his assets, you should maintain separate bank accounts, and avoid being joint owners of assets.  But first consider how certain you are of your relationship with your husband, because you will be handling over control of assets to him, which could come back to bite you if, for example, you get divorced.  If you start taking the position that certain assets are his alone, you may not be able to change your position at a later time when you may want to claim an interest in those assets.... Read More

You must go through probate to settle an estate.  Probate is proving what was owned, what was owed and to whom the balance should go, whether under a Will or, if there was no Will, the state's laws of inheritance.  However, given the size of the estate, an informal probate may be available.  Please contact a probate attorney who practices in the county in which the person died.... Read More

Only a court can award guardianship. Ask your mother to sign a limited waiver, allowing the lawyer to disclose information to you even though your mother, not you, is the client. If you are not satisfied with the responses, know that you can file a grievance with the state bar and, if the lawyer is taking advantage of your mother, report him to APS. If the lawyer is your mother's friend, the lawyer may get to the hospital before you do and so be a reasonable choice for your mother's agent under a Medical Power of Attorney.  But there are very narrow and specific circumstances in which a lawyer becoming a client's agent under a Durable Power of Attorney and handling her finances would align with the rules of professional responsibility.... Read More