Grandparents Rights Lawyer In Tulsa
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Depending on the circumstances, in Oklahoma, grandparents may:
be granted visitation with their grandchildren,
serve as foster parents for their grandchildren,
seek guardianship of their grandchildren, and
seek to become the adoptive parents of their grandchildren.
Limiting Grandparent Visitation
Oklahoma law specifically states that under no circumstances shall any judge grant the right of visitation to any grandparent if the child is a member of an intact nuclear family and both parents of the child object to the granting of visitation. Title 43 O.S 109.4.
Granting Grandparent Visitation
Visitation may be granted to a grandparent under Oklahoma Grandparental Visitation statute, Title 43 O.S. § 109.4. The statute lists three requirements:
The district court deems it to be in the best interest of the child pursuant to subsection E of this section, and
There is a showing of parental unfitness, or the grandparent has rebutted, by clear and convincing evidence, the presumption that the fit parent is acting in the best interests of the child by showing that the child would suffer harm or potential harm without the granting of visitation rights to the grandparent of the child, and
The intact nuclear family has been disrupted in that one or more of the following conditions has occurred:
an action for divorce, separate maintenance or annulment involving the grandchild's parents is pending before the court, and the grandparent had a preexisting relationship with the child that predates the filing of the action for divorce, separate maintenance or annulment,
the grandchild's parents are divorced, separated under a judgment of separate maintenance, or have had their marriage annulled,
the grandchild's parent who is a child of the grandparent is deceased, and the grandparent had a preexisting relationship with the child that predates the death of the deceased parent unless the death of the mother was due to complications related to the birth of the child,
except as otherwise provided in subsection C or D of this section, legal custody of the grandchild has been given to a person other than the grandchild's parent, or the grandchild does not reside in the home of a parent of the child,
one of the grandchild's parents has had a felony conviction and been incarcerated in the Department of Corrections and the grandparent had a preexisting relationship with the child that predates the incarceration,
grandparent had custody of the grandchild pursuant to Section 21.3 of this title, whether or not the grandparent had custody under a court order, and there exists a strong, continuous grandparental relationship between the grandparent and the child,
the grandchild's parent has deserted the other parent for more than one (1) year and there exists a strong, continuous grandparental relationship between the grandparent and the child,
except as otherwise provided in subsection D of this section, the grandchild's parents have never been married, are not residing in the same household and there exists a strong, continuous grandparental relationship between the grandparent and the child, or
except as otherwise provided by subsection D of this section, the parental rights of one or both parents of the child have been terminated, and the court determines that there is a strong, continuous relationship between the child and the parent of the person whose parental rights have been terminated.
Click here —-> A Tool for Grandparent Caregivers
Guardians of Their Grandchildren
A guardianship may be necessary because of parent’s health, military duties, parental incarceration, and parental unfitness.
A guardianship can be granted with the agreement of the parents, and it can be granted over the objection of the parents if a guardianship would be in the best interest of the child.
A guardianship can have long reaching effects and it is important to speak with an attorney before finalizing any guardianship.