Oklahoma Child Support Legal Questions

There are a few options you have.  Some depend on whether you and the mother can come to agreement or not.  Option 1.  You can file for a modification in Colorado, which would not be practical if this will be a contested proceeding requiring court appearances in Colorado.  If you were both in agreement to updating child support, then you could likely have a Colorado attorney do it with both of you signing an order but not needing to appear in person.  Option 2.  You take the Colorado order and file it in Oklahoma to be recognized and modified as an Oklahoma order.  It would need to be Oklahoma as opposed to Texas, because jurisdiction for child custody and support is where the children live. Option 3.  The child support enforcement agency in Oklahoma or Texas may be able to open a case in their administrative court and modify child support there.   There may be more facts to your situation that would affect these answers.  An interactive conversation is the best way to address all the details specific to your case. ... Read More

If you were not married to either of the childrens' fathers, it would be best to obtain a Decree of Paternity in each case, this Decree can adopt any child support order that was previously entered by DHS (if there is one) and allow for you to relocate with the children. If you take them and just move you could be dragged back by either of the father's seeking a Decree of Paternity ... often I suggest that where there is little visitation taking place that a provision be included that they can't just show up and act like they are entitled to take the child for a period of time, any visitation schedule can be dependent on they stepping up and seeing them on a regular basis. If you get married, it sounds like you would have two good cases for Step-Parent Adoption.  Call a lawyer, it is often possible to get a FREE initial consultation.... Read More

That is usually correct, but if there was a past due amount, it along with interest will still be due.  Ask for a Record of payments and look for entried for current support obligation to end at the time Parental rights were terminated by the State.  If they weren't terminated, ask for a hearing and challenge their computation.  The method used for applying payments, seized tax returns and lump sum payments can warrant hiring a lawyer to get them to compute the figures as they should be computed.... 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

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

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

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 she loses her job she could file a motion to modify child support.  Nothing is automatic.  She has to file a motion in the court.  If the court finds a change of circumstances, the court can set child support based on her income from a new job, or impute to her minimum wage.  If the court finds she intentionally became unemployed or underemployed solely to affect child support, the Court can impute to her the income she was making.  If the Court uses a lesser amount of income such as minimum wage, you will wind up paying a lager percentage of a smaller amount of base support and a larger percentage of health insurnce and child care.  However you only have to pay for child care for her to: 1. go to work; 2. look for work; or 3. go to school to improve her pay.... Read More

The answer depends on why DHS is involved in your case.  Your ex-wife has every right to close her child support enforcement case.  That will stop DHS if the only reason they are involved is because she opened a child support enforcement case.  However, if your ex-wife ever received any form of public assistance,  such as TANF, Sooner Care, subsidized child care or otherwise, she may have  assigned to DHS the right to recover your share of the costs of such assistance, in which case she will have no control over DHS, at all.   If that is the case, she will also have a duty to turn over to DHS the portion of this "undisclosed sum" you are paying to her that they might be entitled to receive.  She should be able to ask her caseworker whether she can close her case without going into specifics.  Be aware that if she can't close her case, she is required to report all payments through the registry and failure to do so could have severe consequences for her.... Read More

Generally a state that enters an order always retains jurisdiction to enforce that order. Jurisdiction over the obligor to modify an order stays with the state that entered it until all of the parents and children involved have moved away from the original state.  Enforcement of an order against the obligor can also be accomplished in the the obligor's new state of residence by registering the order in that state. If all the parties and children have moved from the original state, then the obligor can seek to modify in the state where the recipient lives, and the recipient can seek to modify in the state where the obligor lives.   Provisions of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act make it possible for parents in different states to work cooperatively through each of their states' child support enforcement agencies to simplify matters.... Read More

Unfortunately, because Oklahoma is just the enforcement state, it can only enforce what the Missouri Court has ordered.  We have this same issue come up in Oklahoma because child support can be modified retroactive to the date of filing the Motion, but you have to pay the old amount until the final order modifying is entered.  In these cases, I request the court to address the issue of overpayment in the Order Modifying to allow a recoupment over time by a partial reduction until recovered.  At this point you have no choice other than to go back to the Missouri court for relief.... Read More