Legal Question in Family Law in Oklahoma

Age limit

my son is 12 yrs old, i have had temp. custody for 18 months, because he was abused by his stepdad. we was to go to court in 4-19-2002 to settle custody, his mother got drunk wrecked her car and was hospitalized for a day. she pleaded guilty to dui. she got a divorce 9-3-2002 had lawyers for both times. 0n 9-5-2002 our case was to be heard again(18 months later) she did not have a lawyer and said she could not afford a lawyer,(she won't get a job.)new man living there. case put off till 1-2-03 how long can she keep putting this off. is their a law that allows my son to choose who he wants to live with? she has not seen him or talked to him in 6 months.(5 times in 18 months.)


Asked on 9/20/02, 3:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Hunt John Urgentlegalcare.com

Re: Age limit

Thank you for your question. The present law creates a presumption that a child of 12 years of age is capable of making a choice as to which parent he desires to live with and to some extent the amount of visitation he wishes to take with the other, if any. Whereas, in the past the court could disregard the childs election he still can but must give written findings of why the decision would not be in the childs best interest and I think justify why the 12 year old is not sufficiently capable of making the selection. As to how long the ex can drag this out, I wouldnt be too concerned as the longer the child is with you the less likely the court would ever award custody to her under the circumstances of her personal behavior you described.

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Answered on 9/20/02, 4:05 pm


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