What is the remedy available for me to go for an emergency change in custody of my daughter in Oklahoma?
Full Question:
I reside in Oklahoma. The custody of my 8-year-old daughter is with her father. They stay in an industrial area with high pollutants in the air. The child gets asthma attacks and staying in this polluted area will aggravate her asthma. I would like to change the custody at the earliest. What is the remedy available for me to go for an emergency change in custody?
01/16/2017 |
Category: Divorce ยป Child Custody |
State: Oklahoma |
#30271
Answer:
“A. In a court proceeding concerning child custody or visitation, a motion for an emergency custody hearing shall include an independent report, if available, to include but not be limited to, a police report or a report from the Department of Human Services, that demonstrates that the child is in surroundings which endanger the safety of the child and that if such conditions continue, the child would likely be subject to irreparable harm. If there is no such report, the motion shall include a notarized affidavit from an individual with personal knowledge that the child is in surroundings which endanger the safety of the child and that not granting the motion would likely cause irreparable harm to the child. Upon receipt of the motion for emergency custody with supporting documentation, the court shall have seventy-two (72) hours to conduct a hearing. If the court fails to conduct a hearing within such time, the movant may present such motion to the presiding judge of the judicial district, who shall conduct an emergency custody hearing within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of the motion.
B. If the court finds that any relevant information provided to the court upon which the court relied to make its emergency custody decision to be false, the court shall assess against the movant all costs, attorney fees, and other expenses incurred as a result of such emergency custody hearing. The movant shall pay all such costs, fees and expenses within thirty (30) days. Failure to make such payment shall be grounds for contempt, punishable by six (6) months in the county jail, a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($ 1,000.00), or both such imprisonment and fine.”
In Oklahoma, the person who wants to go for an emergency change in child custody can file a motion. The motion shall include a notarized affidavit from an individual with personal knowledge that the child is in surroundings which endanger the safety of the child. The statutory provisions in this regard have been provided in 43 Okl. St. § 107.4, which reads as follows:
“A. In a court proceeding concerning child custody or visitation, a motion for an emergency custody hearing shall include an independent report, if available, to include but not be limited to, a police report or a report from the Department of Human Services, that demonstrates that the child is in surroundings which endanger the safety of the child and that if such conditions continue, the child would likely be subject to irreparable harm. If there is no such report, the motion shall include a notarized affidavit from an individual with personal knowledge that the child is in surroundings which endanger the safety of the child and that not granting the motion would likely cause irreparable harm to the child. Upon receipt of the motion for emergency custody with supporting documentation, the court shall have seventy-two (72) hours to conduct a hearing. If the court fails to conduct a hearing within such time, the movant may present such motion to the presiding judge of the judicial district, who shall conduct an emergency custody hearing within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of the motion.
B. If the court finds that any relevant information provided to the court upon which the court relied to make its emergency custody decision to be false, the court shall assess against the movant all costs, attorney fees, and other expenses incurred as a result of such emergency custody hearing. The movant shall pay all such costs, fees and expenses within thirty (30) days. Failure to make such payment shall be grounds for contempt, punishable by six (6) months in the county jail, a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($ 1,000.00), or both such imprisonment and fine.”
