Child Support After Split?
My kids have lived with me for the last six years since I split with their mom. She’s provided no financial support. Can I get child support? I’m Tulsa Lawyer James Wirth and that is the question that we have. If the kids have been living with him for the last six years after the party split, but apparently there’s been no order for child support in place, mom’s provided no financial assistance, can he get child support? And the answer is yes, but it doesn’t happen automatically, just like it didn’t happen automatically for the six years.
What Steps Should I Take to Get Child Support?
You wanna be proactive. You wanna file for a custody, I mean, if you’re married, you file for a divorce or legal separation. If you’re not, you file a paternity action, get paternity established, get your custody rights established, and then go after her for child support. Right now, it sounds like there’s not a court order in place, so although the child has been with you for that six years, it doesn’t sound like you actually have the legal custody rights to make determinations and decisions for the child.
What Are the Legal Implications of Not Establishing Custody Rights?
That could be a problem later when enrolling the child in school or making elective medical decisions. So it is important that somebody that is with the child have those rights. So if you’ve not established them, you definitely wanna file to get them established as part of that.
How Does Child Support Get Determined?
Anytime you get an order for custody and visitation, the court is gonna determine child support based on the Oklahoma Child Support Guidelines. Just because you’re the father, not the mother, doesn’t mean you can’t get child support. The rules are the same regarding the sex or gender of the parent. So child support will be ordered for you in almost all circumstances.
Take Action Now to Secure Your Child Support Rights
Given the circumstances here, you do wanna talk to an attorney privately and confidentially, get more of the facts so you can get legal advice specific to your case and a strategy to determine how to move forward with the best legal footing. To get that scheduled with an attorney at my office, you go online to makelaweasy.com to schedule a low-cost initial strategy session.
