In Oklahoma, if there is no custody order from a court, BOTH parents have an equal right to physical custody of any child born during marriage or born to parents before marriage and there is agreement that the husband is the father - usually by putting his name on the birth certificate. Brief information about Oklahoma child custody law when parents are married or divorcing. Oklahoma does not use a parenting plan. Oklahoma does implement a Joint Custody Plan if the parties are going to exercise joint custody of the child.
When a court grants custody, the court will generally grant visitation to the other parent. State law requires a court to “ensure that children have frequent and ongoing contact with both parents. A court should not deny visitation unless there are exceptional circumstances. Often, if a parent has been abusive or unfit, or is using drugs, the court will grant supervised visitation to that parent, rather than denying him or her visitation altogether.
Joint custody with a primary decision maker means that both parents have a say in decisions related to health, education and more. However, if the parties cannot agree on a decision, the parent with primary custody makes the final decision. Joint legal custody with a primary decision maker can result in a variety of physical custody or visitation programs ranging from the same time to the standard visit.
