BARTLESVILLE LAW BLOG

Earlier today, I represented an adoptive couple at their final hearing on adoption. As soon as the judge signed the order, my clients had a new child. Adoption is one of the most joyous areas of law to practice. It is one of the few types of cases where a client is happy at the end. Celebrating Adoption Awareness Month November is adoption awareness month. Recently, I saw a heartwarming story about a woman who adopted a child she found abandoned at a skilled nursing facility

Understanding what makes a marriage legal in Oklahoma is essential for couples planning to get married or wondering if their union meets the state’s requirements. At Persaud Law Office in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, we have received questions about age limits, marriage licenses, and common-law marriage. Here’s what Oklahoma law says. Requirements for a Legal Marriage in Oklahoma You May Not Be Married to Anyone Else Marriage by someone who has a living spouse is bigamy. Bigamy

This year, the Oklahoma state legislature passed nearly five hundred new laws. Below is a description of some of the most important laws passed this year. Some of these are brand new statutes, others are amendments to existing statutes. Most of these laws will go into effect this November 1; others have already gone into effect.   Birth Certificates HB 1688 – allows parents to apply for a “minor correction” of an error in a child’s birth certificate within one year of the chi

If you have received a summons in a civil case, you have twenty days to respond. In a small claims case, you do not need to respond until your hearing date, or until seven days after you receive a copy of the petition, whichever is later. If you receive a motion in an ongoing civil case, you generally have fifteen days to respond. In any of those cases, you may ask for an extension of the deadline, and judges are often lenient in granting extensions. Depending on how long you

This year the Oklahoma State Legislature passed the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act (UCAPA). UCAPA takes effect on November 1, 2025. The goal of UCAPA is to strengthen the power of the court to prevent abduction of children. Under UCAPA, if a judge, district attorney, parent, or other person with custody or visitation rights to a child, believes that there is a risk that the child will be abducted, the person may file a petition in court showing the facts that demonstr

This September 1, the “Oklahoma Expedited Actions Act” goes into effect. The Expedited Actions Act is designed to make civil lawsuits go...

In Oklahoma, there are procedures that allow adults to gain custody of a relative’s child. However, because parents’ rights are...

Last year, the Oklahoma state legislature passed the “Oklahoma Standby Guardianship Act.” This law allows a parent to designate another...

The Oklahoma courts have created a standard visitation schedule that includes specific holidays. However, every family is different, and...

In Oklahoma, a child may be adopted with the parents’ consent. Generally, both parents must consent to the adoption, unless one parent is...

One of the more complex areas of estate planning law deals with blended families. If a person dies without a will, the intestate...

It depends on what the court found when it issued the protective order. If you had notice and an opportunity to participate in the...

Every year, I publish a list of some of the more important new laws that the Oklahoma Legislature has passed in the year. Here is my list...

If you have to pay child support, you may wonder: Will my child support payments automatically stop? The law on child support...

Federal tax laws say that the parent with whom the child resides for a longer period of time during the taxable year, may claim the child...

Often, when spouses get divorced, one or both spouses owe debt. Recently someone asked me, “What happens to debt in divorce cases?” If...

An increasingly used service in the American court system is “legal ghostwriting.” Legal ghostwriting is the practice where someone...

Many mothers choose to stay at home with their children. Some may ask if not having a job will cause them to lose custody of their...

Someone is listed as your child’s father on your child’s birth certificate, but he’s not the father. You may be wondering: How can you...

The short answer is: A guardianship does override some parental rights, but it does not completely end parental rights. First, a word...