USA – OKLAHOMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Danya Bundy, Aaron Bundy and Catherine Hensley, Bundy
3. Child Law 3.1 Choice of Jurisdiction in Children Proceedings
There are a few ways to remove matters from the pub ‑ lic eye. Most courts permit the use of abbreviating first names to limit public searches. Venue may be waived by agreement, so filing a proceeding in a remote venue by agreement may be a strategy. Following a settlement, the decree may incorporate a settlement agreement by reference that is not filed in the publicly accessible court file. Properly done, unfiled settlement agreements may remove most of the details of a set ‑ tlement from the public record, while retaining all the enforceability and weight of a court order. 2.9 ADR in Financial Matters Oklahoma’s civil statutes include a Dispute Resolution Act and a Uniform Arbitration Act. Parties to a dispute, including a divorce, may agree for their matter to be heard by an arbitrator. The rules governing arbitration include the right to counsel and the right to conduct discovery. Arbitration can be a powerful tool to ensure privacy and to provide scheduling flexibility and con ‑ trols to both sides and their counsel. In many cases, an arbitrator may hear and decide a contested matter months before a public judicial officer would be able to hear it. Once an arbitration decision is issued, either party may apply for a court to confirm the award and make it an enforceable order of the court. Parties to an arbitration also have the right to appeal. Oklahoma family law statutes give family courts the ability to require parties to attend mediation. Penalties for non-compliance could range from financial sanc ‑ tions, to an award of attorney fees to the compliant party, or even contempt of court. Agreements reached by parties privately, whether through mediation or simply between themselves, are enforceable. Appellate courts have developed the law and provided trial courts with guidance and an analysis for determining the propriety of enforcing a settlement agreement when one side wishes to renege after making the deal. A settlement agreement should not be approved unless it is fair, just and reasonable. In considering whether a divorce settlement agree ‑ ment is fair and reasonable, the trial court must look beyond the terms of the agreement and consider the relationship between the parties at the time of trial, their ages, health, financial conditions, opportunities, and contribution of each to the joint estate.
Oklahoma has adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), which applies to all matters involving minor children. The UCCJEA gives Oklahoma the authority to make an initial child custody determination only in specific cir ‑ cumstances, as follows: • “[t]his state is the home state of the child on the date of the commencement of the proceeding, or was the home state of the child within six months before the commencement of the proceeding and the child is absent from this state, but a parent or person acting as a parent continues to live in this state; • [a] court of another state does not have jurisdiction under paragraph 1 of this subsection, or a court of the home state of the child has declined to exer ‑ cise jurisdiction on the ground that this state is the more appropriate forum under Section 19 or 20 of this Act[,] and: (a) the child and the child’s parents, or the child and at least one parent or a person acting as a parent, have a significant connection with this state other than mere physical presence; and (b) substantial evidence is available in this state concerning the child’s care, protection, training, and personal relationships; • [a]ll courts having jurisdiction under paragraph 1 or 2 of this subsection have declined to exercise jurisdiction on the ground that a court of this state is the more appropriate forum to determine the custody of the child under Section 19 or 20 of this Act; or • no court of any other state would have jurisdiction under the criteria specified in paragraph 1, 2, or 3 of this subsection”. For a child under six months of age, the UCCJEA defines the “home state” as the state where the child has lived from birth, meaning a subsequent state of residence cannot acquire home state jurisdiction until the child has lived there for a full six months. This “birth state” priority prevents a new state from assum ‑
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