Oklahoma Child Custody Legal Questions

If the child is in the legal custody of the state through DHS, you can not alter the placement of the child on your own. At the present time, you do not have legal custody of your child. DHS has legal custody and DHS decides placement issues for now. Also, if your child has been removed from your home, you either have retained counsel or you have court appointed counsel, or you really need to be obtaining counsel asap.... Read More

Because as a matter of policy, if you create a life, you help support it. If you want to avoid financial responsibility, use more effective protection, and do not have relations with anyone who doesn't believe the same regarding creating life. Easy peasy, provided one thinks logically and not lustfully,... Read More

Yes, you may file for divorce here and attempt to file the issue of custody for your children in the US. With that being said, it will have absolutely no effect on reality. The US government has no control over people located within the country of Jordan. And I am sure that the country of Jordan will not force anyone citizen of Jordan to follow any law that is dictated by the US government. So yes you can file for divorce in the US and yes you can attempt to get custody of your children in a US court of law, but the simple fact of the matter is they will just be useless pieces of paper because the government of Jordan is not going to abide by anything a US court dictates. I would certainly get it done, because if for any reason they ever come back to the United States to visit the moment they step here you can have police officers seize your wife and children and they will no longer be able to leave the country and you can have their passports taken away from them for the situation will not occur again. But short of them returning to this country on their own, there is simply nothing you're going to be able to do. I have responded to your inquiry according to the laws of Massachusetts, where my firm is located. Laws can vary significantly from state to state and cases tend to be rather fact-specific, so you are best served by consulting with a knowledgeable attorney in weighing your options. Email messages/Online Correspondence are akin to conversations and do not reflect the level of analysis applied to formal legal opinions. Email/Online responses do not form an attorney-client relationship.    Joseph F. Botelho, Esq. BOTELHO LAW GROUP Attorneys At Law 901 Eastern Ave.  Unit 2 Fall River, MA 02723  Office:  888-269-0688 FAX:    877-475-8147 http://massachusettslawyeronline.com/   #child, #support, #custody, #divorce, #lawyer, #attorney, #separation, #family, #probate, #alimony... Read More

If the child resides in OK over six months, have your proceedings transferred to OK as the home state. (it will most likely happen anyway if you try to pursue things in AL.) If you can not engage counsel, try again once your case is in OK. Not every attorney requires a significant retainer up front. Your counsel, or you, if you do not obtain counsel, can rely on the simplified motion to enforce visitation (if having visitation take place as previously ordered is what you are seeking.) If you are thinking a change in custody altogether, as you have been denied visits for years, starting with establishing visits anew is not a bad start.... Read More

The short answer is no. Hopefully you and your spouse can work through the betrayal that may well be arising due to his poor choice, but state law does not permit a biological father to simply call for a mulligan and act as though that night never happened if the night produces a child. Until the test comes back, he is simply alleged to be the father. If paternity is established, he can not be forced to be a loving father. Nor can he be legally denied the opportunity to be active in the life of a child if he desires to be a loving father going forward. A spouse's betrayal can indeed rock a marriage, but it is up to the two spouses whether it will destroy their union. Some can not get past it, some can with outside counseling assistance, and some can focus on moving forward working it out between the couple. As for your child you brought into the world together, how she will accept and adjust to learning of a half-sibling, if indeed this becomes the situation, will largely be dependent on how the parents react initially, how the news is presented to her, and what level of involvement the father takes in the life of both of the children. There is no reason the news of a half-sibling should be treated as automatically devastating to your existing child.... Read More

You can not compel him to be a good father, or to even spend any time with the child. However, once paternity is established, he can not simply choose to walk away from his support obligations. Likewise, you can not preclude him from being in the child's life if he decides he wants to be included, unless a court does so after finding it would be in the child's best interest. A court might restrict involvement, but it does not terminate parental rights on a whim or a wish. Unless there is someone else right there ready to adopt, his financial obligations do not go away even if he chooses to be an absent father. He may not realize that, especially if he is a younger man and not yet familiar with the notion of actions have consequences.... Read More

Take a deep breath. Take a giant step back. You do not have to be ok with it. With respect, it is not about you. It is about both parents learning the necessity to be respectful with each other regarding their children. You may be brought into the matter in time. Perhaps even early on. But the priority is going to be children and that even though adults go apart, they are still parents. If they do not interact appropriately with each other, there will be no chance of appropriate interaction with you. Stay calm and significant other on.... Read More

Protect yourself by gathering together your documentation. Expect someone to ask why you sat silent for seventeen years instead of filing a paternity action and asserting your rights, especially when you were paying over funds to the mother. Expect someone, either her, or someone else, to ponder if she did not tell because you made threats for her to keep quiet and that you both benefited from her receiving state aid rather than you paying in. Do not expect her to ever acknowledge she was scamming the state all the while hoping for a later payday from you.... Read More

Middle of a custody case or operating under a normal order, there is a process to follow when wanting to move more than 75 miles away from the current location, in state or out. The first place to start is with consulting your existing counsel, assuming you have counsel. If not, I encourage you to obtain counsel, especially with this new wrinkle in your custody issue. Counsel is familiar with the relocation statute and the process, including seeking judicial approval for a move such as yours if the parents are unable to agree on their own. You can not simply up and move and say you had no choice. Well, you can, but the other side can haul you back into court if you do. I would not expect it to end happily from your perspective if you just move. If you did not feel you needed counsel before, your circumstances have changed and you need counsel.... Read More

I am sorry for the loss of your grandchild and his child. If the time for viewing and the funeral has not passed, he and his kin can also attend. Everyone needs to take care to not make a scene of course, but if paternity was in fact established, this was his child as well. Again, I am sorry for your loss.... Read More

If you do not already have counsel, it is past time you correct that situation. If you do have counsel, all questions need to be directed to your counsel. If you are not already aware, one could commit an act of rape and still not be the biological father of a fetus growing in the accuser. If you are not already aware, an inconclusive reading for a polygraph, while not admissible, is not a great indicator of a suspect's veracity. One can stand trial for termination of parental rights even if a criminal action is not perused.... Read More

If there is a documented case of her trying to harm herself, then yes, there is a good possibility that the children would live predominately with you and that she would only have supervised timesharing, at least until she is well. You should consult with an attorney in order to be certain that the proper evidence is introduced to the court so that the Judge can make an informed decision.... Read More