One of the primary duties of a parent is to fully support the growth, health and development of their children. For a primary caregiver/custodial parent, this includes everything from keeping a roof over their heads to shuttling them to school or practice, but following a divorce the term “child support” takes on another meaning.

Although the parties may not believe child support is an issue, the court is independently required to ensure that appropriate child support obligations are set in all family law cases involving children (under the theory that parents should support their children so that state taxpayers are not called upon to do so). This can be complicated and a knowledgeable child support attorney is essential to the process.

In the eyes of the law, child support is considered the responsibility of a non-custodial parent to provide direct financial support for any children in the form of payments to custodial parent.

Calculating Support

Support obligations are set according to a statutory formula. OKDHS has a worksheet tool that can assist you in estimating child support obligations. This worksheet may be found on the Oklahoma Department of Human Services website.

Support obligations are determined based on the monthly gross incomes of the parties. Calculating child support can be complicated, and it is advisable to seek the advice of a qualified Tulsa child support attorney to answer questions regarding your specific situation.

Enforcing Support

Our attorneys can assist in having child support deducted from wages, unemployment, workers compensation, or retirement benefits.  Our attorneys can also file a contempt action to ask a district court judge to force the non-custodial parent to pay child support.

Modification of Child Support

The court can modify a child support order whenever there is “a material change in circumstances.” Courts have held that a material change of circumstance can be an increase or decrease in either parent’s income, or a change in the needs of the child. Child support is based on income, not expenses. Therefore, expenses  are not typically, by themselves, grounds to modify child support.

Our skilled and compassionate family lawyers represent custodial and non custodial parents of children in support actions. If you are in need of a legal opinion from an attorney knowledgeable regarding child support in Oklahoma, contact our office for a consultation.