Grandparents Rights in Oklahoma
When Can a Child Express a Preference about Where They Want to Live?
In the guardianship statutes in the state of Oklahoma, the age is actually 14. At 14 a minor child is allowed to nominate a person to be their guardian, and that nomination carries some pretty heavy presumptions with it. Similarly, in a family law case, a divorce or a paternity action, a child at 12 years old is allowed to express preference. That's different than the nomination, they're just expressing a preference about where they want to live. And the court must take that consideration into account. And when making their decision, if the child has expressed a preference and the court goes against that stated preference, there needs to be some reasoning in the order about why the court has decided to disregard the child's stated preference. Read more »Do Parents Lose Rights When Grandparent Visitation Is Granted in Oklahoma?
So to think of it in a better way, instead of saying, let's assume that I've divorced and we have children together. My ex-wife and I share custody of the child. Now in that situation, each of us has 100% of the custody. So when the child is with me, I'm going to make all the regular routine decisions for that child. And if there's a big issue that comes up, typically my divorce order is going to require that I consult with my ex. Now the same is true in other situations like a grandparent's rights order. So if a court orders that grandparent visitation rights be granted, it doesn't mean that the parents have less authority. In fact, grandparent visitation is just that. Read more »Does an Oklahoma Guardianship Override Parental Rights?
You're still the legal parent of that child. You just have your rights curtailed, as a result of the guardianship.
You still, for instance, have to pay child support to the guardian, or to anyone who's taking care of the child, that's not you, if you're in the noncustodial parent. But doesn't mean the termination of your rights, and guardianships are, by their nature, meant to be temporary stop gap measures, to make for sure a child has somebody in their life that can take care of them, and make those important decisions. Read more »