Paternity Lawyers will make sure that you get visitation and custody orders put in place. Either parent of a minor child can assert Oklahoma paternity actions. Paternity cases are similar to divorce actions with minor children. The main
difference is that the parties don’t normally deal with property or debt division. Custody, visitation and child support in Oklahoma Paternity cases are generally highly contested issues. This occurs particularly when one parent has remained absent in the child’s life for sometime. Additionally, if regarding an infant child, the appropriate amount of visitation for the non-custodial parent often leads to intense litigation. This is especially true when the amount of overnight visitation strongly ties to the amount child support a parent pays. If you are an unwed parent you need a paternity lawyer to help set up custody and visitation.
How Do I Establish Paternity:
The Oklahoma paternity laws provide that a man legally declares himself the father when:
He and the mother married each other and the child was born during the marriage;
He and the mother of the child married each other and the child is born within three hundred (300) days after the marriage was terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution of marriage or after decree of separation;
Before the birth of the child, he and the mother of the child married each other, even if the marriage was or could be invalid, and the child was born during the invalid marriage or within three hundred (300) days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, a decree of separation, or dissolution of marriage;
After the birth of the child, he and the mother of the child married each other in apparent compliance with law, whether or not the validity of the marriage stands;
The child was held out, by him, as his own and he asserts his paternity of the child,
He executed and filed an Affidavit Acknowledging Paternity with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services
He agreed to be and is named as the child’s father on the child’s birth certificate;
The child has his last name
He promised in a record to support the child as his own;
Both he and the mother have openly and voluntarily asserted his paternity of the child;
For the first two (2) years of the child’s life, he resided in the same household with the child and openly held out the child as his own; and
The results of a legally binding DNA test prove that he is the biological father of the child.
Check out this article about child custody and child preference
Paternity in Oklahoma and Visitation Rights:
It is extremely important to understand that despite any of the previous situations to be true, the father has limited rights to custody or visitation until an
order of the court has officially declared him the legal father of the child.
Other items of importance that are unique to Oklahoma paternity actions are: a parent, most often times the father, can be liable for back child support and child medical expenses for the previous two (2) years, subject to 10% annual interest; and if deemed appropriate by the court the child’s name and birth certificate can change to reflect the child’s true paternity.
Contact Our Paternity Lawyers in Tulsa Oklahoma:
If you have any questions about pursuing a paternity actions or establishing your paternal rights, please feel free to call. We offer Free advice regarding custody and visitation in Oklahoma. Get a free consultation with one of our Tulsa paternity lawyers by calling 539-302-0303 or follow this link and ask an online family law question.