Are you a resident of Oklahoma? If you are a parent, especially as a father you must know your rights. Parents here develop with their child a bond right from the minute the child is born. There is a very important role for the parents in providing and taking care of their children. As this role is given so much importance, Oklahoma state legislation works to protect children and holds their parents to be responsible to take good care of their children, However, when this responsibility comes into questioning, the issue reaches the Oklahoma family court system. It also means there is a need for the fathers to know fathers rights Oklahoma.
Father’s role in the life of a child
Historically, mothers are favored in the family court and mostly the decisions are in the favor of the mothers as the court decisions. This happens to owe to the traditional role that mothers are the primary caregivers.
There are families even today following the typical structure of mother taking care at home and father earning a living outside. Now, fathers also are taking responsibility in the upbringing of the children as they earn the living, but research shows fathers have the main role in the academic and social development of the children.
Establishing Paternity
Many parents dealing with issues in the family court cases also fight for child custody and child support. Earlier these issues of the child’s paternity implied the biological and legal father should be identified. The presumption of paternity is honored in married parents having a child born after marriage. The court agrees the child’s mother’s husband be the father of the child. In such cases, parents need not to establish paternity and fathers rights in utah are addressed.
The issue is when a couple stays unmarried. The paternity establishing path appears unclear. The unmarried parents in Oklahoma State should use a form ‘Acknowledgement of Paternity’. This is a voluntary process establishing the biological and legal father in the law’s eyes. This form that is known as AOP – Acknowledgement of Paternity form is available at the hospital or the birthing center the child is born and the staff helps the parents in filling the form.
Procedure of AOP
The AOP form requires to be signed by parents before a witness. On completion of the AOP form, the hospital staff ascertains the form is filed with the proper government office and the name of the father is added to the birth certificate of the child. In case, the parents are not willing to sign at the hospital the AOP form, they can do it at the State’s Division office.
There is a need to understand the importance of signing an AOP form as it binds legally. It is crucial for both parents to sign with acceptance and they should be comfortable with this decision prior to signing. This is seriously essential for unmarried fathers rights utah. Anyhow, if the parents do not agree about being the child’s father, they can consider filing a paternity lawsuit. This will establish paternity when the mother or the presumed father of the child files it.
Generally, Oklahoma Child Support Services get involved in the cases of paternity, especially when the child’s mother or the child is received through the state financial support. The organization’s mission is to ascertain the biological parents of the children are providing financial support, while the family courts of Oklahoma cannot pass this to a child until the child’s paternity is involved and the case is established. The foremost step is in establishing paternity in the family court issues and this includes child custody, child support orders, and visitation.
The paternity lawsuit can settle at any point this case or can take to trial. The judge determines the alleged father and at the trial end, the judge makes a paternity order establishing the child’s paternity. This is done by DNA testing providing the father alleges is 99 % or more likely the biological father of the child.
The paternity order in such cases is established and the court moves to evaluate the financial obligations of the parents to understand if they can support the child. The court also initiates the schedule of establishing the process of custody visitation and agreement for the parents.