Understanding Oklahoma child support laws can save you stress during custody agreements

Written by Cassity B. Gies for The Oklahoman.

By law, a child in Oklahoma is entitled to financial support from both parents. This cornerstone belief stems from the legal theory that children are dependent on adults for the necessities in life and deserve to be financially supported by the parents who brought them into the world. Child support is intended to assist with expenses incurred for “housing, food, transportation, public education, clothing, and entertainment”, which will vary according to the family’s circumstances. 43 O.S. § 118.

The statutory guidelines for child support create a rebuttable presumption that the monthly child support calculation resulting from application of the statutory schedule is the correct amount. Beyond determining a child support amount, family lawyers often hear questions about the duration and nature of support as children grow older.

Minor’s age not a factor

Child support calculations do not account for a child’s age. This can be a frustrating to parents of children aging into junior high and high school experiencing increased costs for food, clothing and miscellaneous expenses such as extracurricular activities or team sports. These activities may clearly benefit a child’s temporal and moral development and very often serve the best interest of the child. But, these costs are not included as an input figure in child support calculations. Arguably, the statute intends these things to be provided for by the calculations under the term “entertainment” expenses, and typically courts will not order an obligor to pay for these activities if he does not desire to do so. In that case, one parent may end up footing the entire bill, which can easily be as much or more than the basic child support award itself.