Frequently Asked Questions Archives

Visitation
- Can I hire you to draw up paperwork for an Oklahoma visitation case?
- How do I enforce my visitation order?
Paternity
- Why am I not getting equal rights to see my child?
General Questions
Divorce
- If my spouse has property solely in his or her name, does that mean I won’t get a share in the property?
- Can divorcing spouses both use the same lawyer?
Billing
Child Custody
- Is there a way I can get my ex to sign over their rights?
- How do I fight DHS for custody of my children back? It is at the termination level.
Child Support

Visitation
- Can I hire you to draw up paperwork for an Oklahoma visitation case?
  
  Yes. We can draw up paperwork and give you instructions on what you need to do to go through an Oklahoma visitation case.
- How do I enforce my visitation order?
  
  You either need to file a Motion to Enforce Visitation or file an Application for Contempt and a Motion to Modify.
Paternity
- Why am I not getting equal rights to see my child?
  
  You need to file a Paternity action to give you equal rights to your child.
General Questions
- How do I go about changing my child custody and child support orders?
  
  There has to be a material, permanent change in circumstances in the home where the child lives in order to file a Motion to Modify to change child custody and child support orders.
- Can divorcing spouses both use the same lawyer?
  
  No. An attorney may not represent two clients who are on opposite sides of the same court action as that creates a conflict of interest. If you and your spouse are not able to fully agree about things such as property and debt division or child custody and visitation, then you should each have your own lawyer from separate law firms. (You can, of course, represent yourself in court, but it's not highly recommended, especially if your spouse has hired their own attorney)
  
  If you and your spouse are 100% in agreement about EVERY term of your divorce agreement, then you may utilize just one attorney to help you with an uncontested or "waiver" divorce. In this instance, one of you will be the client and the other will be self-represented, or "pro se". The pro se party will sign a Waiver of Summons/Entry of Appearance that tells the court that they know the divorce papers have been filed, they don't want an attorney of their own, and they are okay with the terms of the decree their spouse will take to the court. The attorney for the other spouse will prepare all the documents necessary, have both parties sign them, and then go with their client to have them signed by the judge and entered as a Final Decree.
  
  Uncontested divorces handled this way are much faster and far less expensive than arguing in court and are a perfect choice for couples who have already agreed on how everything will be handled and just want a quick and streamlined court process. If you are interested in finding out if an uncontested divorce is right for you, please call us at (405) 792-2400 to schedule a consultation.
- Can I obtain child support without filing for divorce?
  
  Child support can be obtained without filing for divorce. You will need to speak with an experienced attorney.
- Do I have rights to a child’s custody if I was not married to the mother?
  
  To receive paternal rights, which would allow you to take custody of the child, you would need to first establish paternity. When a child is conceived during a marriage, the husband is assumed to be the father. Otherwise, paternity must be established by either by signing an acknowledgment of paternity or obtaining an order of filiation from the court before custody and visitation rights can be addressed.
- Does my spouse need to consent to a divorce in Oklahoma City?
  
  In short, no. When someone files for a divorce, the other spouse has a certain amount of time to respond. If the spouse does not respond in the given time frame, the court may grant a default divorce. If your spouse does respond, you can still file for divorce without consent. The no-fault divorce clause adopted by the State of Oklahoma in 2010 allows for this.
Divorce
- If my spouse has property solely in his or her name, does that mean I won’t get a share in the property?
  
  No. When couples get divorced, their property is divided into separate and marital property. Separate property is anything acquired before the marriage (with some exceptions). Marital property is any property or assets acquired after the marriage, regardless of whose name is on it. Anything considered marital property will be subject to equitable division by the court system. This means that if your spouse’s property was acquired after you were married, you may be entitled to receive a share.
  
  If you have other questions about your divorce and property settlement options, contact Naidu Law today to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys!
- Can divorcing spouses both use the same lawyer?
  
  No. An attorney may not represent two clients who are on opposite sides of the same court action as that creates a conflict of interest. If you and your spouse are not able to fully agree about things such as property and debt division or child custody and visitation, then you should each have your own lawyer from separate law firms. (You can, of course, represent yourself in court, but it's not highly recommended, especially if your spouse has hired their own attorney)
  
  If you and your spouse are 100% in agreement about EVERY term of your divorce agreement, then you may utilize just one attorney to help you with an uncontested or "waiver" divorce. In this instance, one of you will be the client and the other will be self-represented, or "pro se". The pro se party will sign a Waiver of Summons/Entry of Appearance that tells the court that they know the divorce papers have been filed, they don't want an attorney of their own, and they are okay with the terms of the decree their spouse will take to the court. The attorney for the other spouse will prepare all the documents necessary, have both parties sign them, and then go with their client to have them signed by the judge and entered as a Final Decree.
  
  Uncontested divorces handled this way are much faster and far less expensive than arguing in court and are a perfect choice for couples who have already agreed on how everything will be handled and just want a quick and streamlined court process. If you are interested in finding out if an uncontested divorce is right for you, please call us at (405) 792-2400 to schedule a consultation.
Billing
- I received my monthly invoice but my payment isn’t reflective on it, where is my payment?
  
  Due to us offering monthly payments it isn’t unusual that you will have more than one outstanding monthly invoice at a time. If this happens to be case, your payment(s) are applied to the most outstanding (oldest) invoice first to pay that bill off before applying any payments to more recent invoices. So to find your payment it will be on your oldest, outstanding bill.
- Who do I need to speak to regarding billing and/or payment questions?
  
  When you hire our firm you will be assigned to a live, personable Accounts Receivable Rep. They are available during working hours to answer any questions you might regarding your account with our firm as well taking payment over the phone.
- How do I go about hiring you for separate case then what I already hired you for?
  
  This isn’t difficult to do at all! As long as it is a type of case our office is capable of handling you would just need to let our office know and come in for a consult for this new matter and sign a new contract as well as discuss payments for your new case.
- How long do I have to dispute anything on my bill once I get it?
  
  It is according to your contract. Most of our contracts allow for 30 days from when you receive your invoice. You will need to put in writing what line items you are disputing and why and email that to your Accounts Receivable Clerk for review.
- Can I make payments online?
  
  Yes! You can pay online via our website; just click on “Pay Online” near the top. Please make sure you put the clients name in the Reference Line so we know which case to record the payment to.
Child Custody
- Is there a way I can get my ex to sign over their rights?
  
  The only way to do this is if you have been re-married for one year and your new spouse is willing to adopt your child.
- How do I fight DHS for custody of my children back? It is at the termination level.
  
  In order for Oklahoma to terminate your parental rights in a DHS case you have the right to a jury trial. If you have done your treatment plan then that information is what you will use to fight termination of your parental rights.
Child Support
- Can I voluntarily give up my parental rights so that I don’t have to pay child support?
  
  Yes you can, if someone is waiting to adopt your child. You can not do this through a family law, custody case.
- My ex-spouse has had an increase in income. Can I get them to pay more in child support?
  
  Short answer? Yes.
  
  Longer answer? It depends - most of the time if an ex is making quite a bit more than they were when your original child support order was entered and there haven't been any significant changes to your income, then yes, a higher support amount is probably likely. However, the income of the parties is not the only factor that goes into calculating child support - things such as health insurance and child care costs, other children being supported, court-ordered marital debt payments, and the number of overnight visits that your ex gets with your child all play a role in calculating the final amount of child support to be paid.
  
  If you would like to have a detailed assessment of your child support matter, give Naidu Law a call at (405) 792-2400 to schedule a consultation.
- Can I force my spouse to help pay for our child’s college costs?
  
  Like most questions that come up in family law matters, the answer to this one is "it depends". Generally speaking, in Oklahoma, there is no default rule that a parent is required to pay for some or all of a child's college costs, and it's very rare that a court will order such a thing to be done unless there's a compelling reason to do so. This doesn't mean that it can't be worked into a divorce decree, though - it simply takes some negotiation skill on the part of the attorneys.
  
  Anything that a divorcing couple agrees to do after their divorce is finalized can be incorporated into an enforceable court Order in the final divorce decree - including an agreement for the parents to either share the college costs or for one person to pay the bulk of them. If you want this to be part of your decree and your ex won't agree to it, your attorney can ask the court to make a ruling on that issue at trial, as long as they file something specifically requesting it and they can make a legitimate argument as to why it needs to be part of the final decree. Things such as large income disparity, special needs of the child or children, and other factors may support a ruling that specifically addresses college costs. These factors are specific to each family and it is not an automatic given that the court will make a ruling in your favor if you are requesting that your ex be ordered to pay these costs.
  
  If you would like to have one of our attorneys evaluate your situation, please call us at (405) 792-2400 to schedule a consultation.