Child support is payment made after divorce by the parent who does not have physical custody to the parent who does. In cases where the former spouses share custody, child support payment from one parent to the other is still a possibility. This will be the case if one parent makes substantially more income than the other. This ensures that the children do not financially suffer when staying with the other parent.
Of course, child support can also be required of the parent of a child, even if they were never married to the other parent. If a person is the biological parent of a child, they have a legal obligation to contribute to the child’s support, even if they were not married.
How Can I Get Child Support?
A person can petition the court for child support when divorced in Oklahoma. Parents can always agree to a child support plan themselves. Then they can ask a judge to approve it and issue an order in a civil case such as a divorce or other family law proceeding.
However, most cases begin with a form known as an “Application for Child Support Services Overview” submitted to the Oklahoma Central Case Registry. The Registry assigns the case to a child support office.
The most important information needed when a person applies for child support is the other parent’s name and social security number. Other helpful information on hand is the other parent’s date of birth, address, employer, bank account numbers, and property ownership documents.
If the other parent’s location is unknown, a person might want to know the names and addresses of friends and family members who might know where the other parent is. If a person does not have this information, Child Support Services can help them find it or locate the other parent.
How Much Child Support Do I Have to Pay?
Oklahoma uses a formula to calculate the amount of child support that one parent must pay to another. The gross income of each parent is important to the calculation. Gross income is income from any source except child support payments, public assistance, any income the child receives, and payments made for the care of foster children.
The parents’ combined gross income is totaled, and then child support is a percentage of this, split between both parents. A parent may get a child support deduction for any support they provide to other biological, legal, or adopted children that the parent supports and is legally obligated to support.
An Oklahoma child support calculator is available online. It can be misleading, however, because the amount of child support ordered by a court in a particular case may differ from the amount resulting from the calculator.
The calculators usually assume that one parent has sole physical custody of the children. It is not set up to calculate an amount in situations where joint physical custody or split custody exists.
In addition, a court may use other factors in calculating a child support order. The child support calculators found online are based on guidelines from Oklahoma statutes, but they do not figure in extraordinary expenses.
Ultimately a court has the authority to determine the amount of child support it awards. Calculators can only give a person an estimate. An online calculator does not guarantee that any particular amount of child support will be awarded. A court may well consider other factors, such as extraordinary expenses for a child, such as extraordinary expenses for medical care.
What If I Fail to Pay Child Support?
If a person fails to pay child support, the court can order garnishment of their wages or take other collection actions. It is important to remember that a child support order is an order of the court. So, if a person fails to pay, they can be found in contempt of court, which can result in arrest and even jail time.
Nonpayment of child support may be reported to credit reporting agencies, which can lead a person to have a low credit score. This can cause many problems, e.g., difficulty entering into a lease. Finally, in Oklahoma, a person can lose their commercial or regular driver’s license for nonpayment of child support.
What Can the Other Parent Do If I Do Not Pay the Support?
The other parent can go to court and request enforcement of the order to pay child support if it is not paid.
Visitation is not dependent on child support. This means that even if a person has not paid child support or is behind, they can still see your child. The other parent is not allowed to stop visitation because of issues with child support. If a person has difficulty seeing their child because the other parent will not cooperate, they can go to court and ask the court to enforce your visitation order. Of course, the other parent would then seek to get enforcement of the child support order.
A person who does not pay court-ordered child support may find that their state and federal tax refunds can be taken. A lien can be placed on their real property. Then the state can seize the property to satisfy the person’s child support debt. The person’s driver’s license can be taken, and they may not be allowed to register a motor vehicle or a boat. The person might not be able to get a passport.
Finally, the person’s name may be posted on the Oklahoma Child Support Enforcement Most Wanted List. The general public can access this list, which can affect a person’s reputation. It might make it difficult for the person to find a job.
The list shows a person’s name, photograph, date of birth, last known address, and how much child support they owe. So appearing on the list can be quite an embarrassment.
How Can I Stop Paying Child Support?
There are legal ways to stop paying child support. If a person wants child support terminated, it is important to do it legally, so they do not face all the consequences of failure to pay as described above.
A parent’s obligation for child support ends in Oklahoma when the child turns 18 or graduates from high school. If the child turns 18 and is still in high school, the parent has to continue to pay until the child turns 19 or graduates.
Child support can also be terminated if the person paying it should lose their parental rights voluntarily or involuntarily. Finally, if a father paying child support believes that he may not be the child’s biological father, he can request a paternity test. If it is shown that the person is not, in fact, the biological parent, they can seek termination of their child support obligation in court.
Do I Need the Help of a Lawyer for Child Support in Oklahoma?
Since child support can be such a key part of a person’s life and their family’s life, it is important to get legal representation. An Oklahoma child support lawyer can help establish child support and enforce your rights to child support.
If you think you might be ordered to pay child support or have been ordered to do it, you, too, should consult with an experienced child support lawyer to find out what rights and obligations you may have.
