Legal Question in Family Law in Oklahoma
signing of parental rights
my ex- husband signed away his parental rights in 1988 , but it was never stated if he had to continue to pay the child support as agreed to in our divorce decree that was final dec of 1984. i hae contacted several lawyers and each say they will see what the law states but have never been able to give a straight answer. he does see her by means of his mother. only because i dont want her not to know her grandparent. but also want to make sure that she is not missing what should be hers if he was to pay child support. i know there was a law pasted that even if you gave up rights that didnt keep you from the resposiblity of child support. my question is " would he be liable for child support from 1988 to now or was that law past to protect him from any court action
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: signing of parental rights
Until your daughter is adopted(say by your new husband), her father continues to be responsible for child support. This is the general rule. There are exceptions to every rule based on all of the facts and circumstances of the individual case before the court. To find out if you can collect back child support you will need to sit down with your attorney and go over all of the facts with him/her. This should be done as soon as possible. Based on the date of your divorce, your daughter may be approaching age 18. Once she reaches 18 and is no longer attending high school, you will not be able to enforce the child support obligation through contempt proceedings.