Oklahoma City Fathers’ Rights Lawyers

In Oklahoma, paternal rights are greatly affected by whether or not the child was born during a marriage. We commonly hear “his name was listed as the father on the birth certificate.” Many people mistakenly assumes that this establishes paternity. While it may be evidence in a paternity action, by itself, that does not establish a legal father-child relationship. If the father and mother are unmarried, the mother is presumed under the law to have custody of the child until a court determines otherwise.

Understanding Fathers' Rights in Oklahoma

Understanding Oklahoma's fathers' rights begins with understanding how paternity is established:

• Unlike the mother-child relationship which is legally established when the mother gives birth to a child, a father-child relationship is not automatically established upon the child’s birth.

Under the law, father-child relationship is established with an un-rebuttable presumption of paternity, a court adjudication of paternity, or an acknowledgment of paternity (AO).

A man is only presumed to be the father if the child was:

• Born during the marriage
• Within 300 days after the marriage was terminated
• If the father was living with the child during the first two years of the child’s life and openly held the child out as his own

Once the presumption of paternity is established, it will not be displaced without an adjudication of non-paternity by a court having jurisdiction in a divorce proceeding or a paternity action. Additionally, the presumption of paternity can be rebutted with a timely, validly executed and filed denial of paternity if another man has already acknowledged paternity (discussed below) and the denial occurs within 2 years of the child’s birth.

Steps to Take if Your Child Has No Presumed Father

If there is not a presumed father, an Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP) is the equivalent to an adjudication of paternity of a child and confers upon the acknowledged father all the rights and duties of a parent. Once an Acknowledgment of Paternity has been executed, any challenge to the established paternity is barred after two years. Usually, An AOP is offered to the parents at the hospital upon birth of their child. The Department of Human Services prescribes forms for the acknowledgment of paternity and the denial of paternity, and those forms must be signed and filed with the State Department of Health, Division of Vital Records.

Contact Mazaheri Law Firm to speak with a skilled attorney in Oklahoma City regarding your rights.