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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
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3 SENATE BILL 1708 By: Jech
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to child custody; amending 43 O.S.
7 2021, Sections 109, as amended by Section 1, Chapter
8 24, O.S.L. 2024, and 112 (43 O.S. Supp. 2025, Section
8 109), which relate to care and custody of children;
9 creating a rebuttable presumption of joint child
9 custody; updating statutory language; and providing
10 an effective date.
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13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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14 SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 43 O.S. 2021, Section 109, as
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15 amended by Section 1, Chapter 24, O.S.L. 2024 (43 O.S. Supp. 2025,
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16 Section 109), is amended to read as follows:
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17 Section 109. A. In awarding the custody of a minor unmarried
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18 child or in appointing a general guardian for the child, the court
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19 shall consider what appears to be in the best interests of the
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20 physical and mental and moral welfare of the child. Subject to
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21 subsection I of this section, there shall be a presumption,
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22 rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence, that joint custody
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23 and equally shared parenting time, to the extent feasible, is in the
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24 best interest of the child.
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1 B. The court, pursuant to the provisions of subsection A of
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2 this section, may grant the care, custody, and control of a child to
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3 either parent or to the parents jointly.
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4 For the purposes of this section, the terms joint custody and
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5 joint care, custody, and control mean the sharing by parents in all
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6 or some of the aspects of physical and legal care, custody, and
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7 control of their children.
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8 C. If either or both parents have requested joint custody, the
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9 parents shall file with the court their plans for the exercise of
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10 joint care, custody, and control of their child. The parents of the
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11 child may submit a plan jointly, or either parent or both parents
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12 may submit separate plans. Any plan shall include, but is not
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13 limited to, provisions detailing the physical living arrangements
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14 for the child, child support obligations, medical and dental care
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15 for the child, school placement, and visitation rights. A plan
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16 shall be accompanied by an affidavit signed by each parent stating
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17 that the parent agrees to the plan and will abide by its terms. The
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18 plan and affidavit shall be filed with the petition for a divorce or
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19 legal separation or after the petition is filed.
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20 D. The court shall issue a final plan for the exercise of joint
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21 care, custody, and control of the child or children, based upon the
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22 plan submitted by the parents, separate or jointly, with appropriate
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23 changes deemed by the court to be in the best interests of the
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1 child. The court also may reject a request for joint custody and
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2 proceed as if the request for joint custody had not been made.
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3 E. The parents having joint custody of the child may modify the
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4 terms of the plan for joint care, custody, and control. The
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5 modification to the plan shall be filed with the court and included
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6 with the plan. If the court determines the modifications are in the
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7 best interests of the child, the court shall approve the
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8 modifications.
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9 F. The court also may modify the terms of the plan for joint
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10 care, custody, and control upon the request of one parent. The
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11 court shall not modify the plan unless the modifications are in the
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12 best interests of the child.
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13 G. 1. The court may terminate a joint custody decree upon the
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14 request of one or both of the parents or whenever the court
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15 determines the decree is not in the best interests of the child.
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16 2. Upon termination of a joint custody decree, the court shall
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17 proceed and issue a modified decree for the care, custody, and
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18 control of the child as if no such joint custody decree had been
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19 made.
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20 H. In the event of a dispute between the parents having joint
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21 custody of a child as to the interpretation of a provision of the
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22 plan, the court may appoint an arbitrator to resolve the dispute.
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23 The arbitrator shall be a disinterested person knowledgeable in
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24 domestic relations law and family counseling. The determination of
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1 the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties to the
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2 proceedings until further order of the court. If a parent refuses
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3 to consent to arbitration, the court may terminate the joint custody
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4 decree.
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5 I. 1. In every proceeding in which there is a dispute as to
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6 the custody of a minor child, a determination by the court that
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7 child abuse, domestic violence, stalking, or harassment has occurred
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8 raises a rebuttable presumption that sole custody, joint legal or
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9 physical custody, or any shared parenting plan with the perpetrator
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10 of child abuse, domestic violence, harassing, or stalking behavior
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11 is detrimental and not in the best interest of the child, and it is
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12 in the best interest of the child to reside with the parent who is
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13 not a perpetrator of child abuse, domestic violence, harassing, or
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14 stalking behavior.
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15 2. For the purposes of this subsection:
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16 a. "child abuse" shall have the same meaning as "abuse"
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17 as defined pursuant to the Oklahoma Children's Code in
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18 Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes,
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19 b. "domestic violence" means the threat of the infliction
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20 of physical injury, any act of physical harm or the
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21 creation of a reasonable fear thereof, or the
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22 intentional infliction of emotional distress by a
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23 parent or a present or former member of the household
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24 of the child, against the child or another member of
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1 the household including coercive control by a parent
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2 involving physical, sexual, psychological, emotional,
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3 economic, or financial abuse,
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4 c. "harassment" means a knowing and willful course or
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5 pattern of conduct by a parent directed at another
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6 parent which seriously alarms or is a nuisance to the
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7 person, and which serves no legitimate purpose
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8 including, but not limited to, harassing or obscene
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9 telephone calls or conduct that would cause a
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10 reasonable person to have a fear of death or bodily
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11 injury, and
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12 d. "stalking" means the willful course of conduct by a
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13 parent who repeatedly follows or harasses another
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14 person as defined in Section 1173 of Title 21 of the
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15 Oklahoma Statutes.
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16 3. If a parent is absent or relocates as a result of an act of
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17 domestic violence by the other parent, the absence or relocation
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18 shall not be a factor that weighs against the parent in determining
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19 custody or visitation.
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20 4. The court shall consider, as a primary factor, the safety
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21 and well-being of the child who is the victim of child abuse and of
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22 the parent who is the victim of domestic violence, harassment, or
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23 stalking behavior, in addition to other facts regarding the best
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24 interest of the child.
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1 5. The court shall consider the history of the parent causing
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2 physical harm, bodily injury, assault, verbal threats, stalking, or
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3 harassing behavior, or the fear of physical harm, bodily injury, or
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4 assault to another person including the minor child, in determining
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5 issues regarding custody and visitation.
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6 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 43 O.S. 2021, Section 112, is
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7 amended to read as follows:
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8 Section 112. A. A petition or cross-petition for a divorce,
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9 legal separation, or annulment must state whether or not the parties
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10 have minor children of the marriage. If there are minor children of
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11 the marriage, the court:
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12 1. Shall make provision for guardianship, custody, medical
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13 care, support, and education of the children;
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14 2. Unless not in the best interests of the children, may
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15 provide for the visitation of the noncustodial parent with any of
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16 the children of the noncustodial parent; and
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17 3. May modify or change any order whenever circumstances render
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18 the change proper either before or after final judgment in the
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19 action; provided, that the amount of the periodic child support
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20 payment shall not be modified retroactively or payment of all or a
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21 portion of the past due amount waived, except by mutual agreement of
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22 the obligor and obligee, or if the obligee has assigned child
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23 support rights to the Department of Human Services or other entity,
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24 by agreement of the Department or other entity. Unless the parties
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1 agree to the contrary, a completed child support computation form
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2 provided for in Section 120 of this title shall be required to be
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3 filed with the child support order.
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4 The social security numbers of both parents and the child shall
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5 be included on the child support order summary form provided for in
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6 Section 120 of this title, which shall be submitted to the Central
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7 Case Registry central case registry as provided for in Section 112A
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8 of this title with all child support or paternity orders.
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9 B. In any action in which there are minor unmarried children in
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10 awarding or modifying the custody of the child or in appointing a
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11 general guardian for the child, the court shall be guided by the
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12 provisions of Section 112.5 of this title and shall consider what
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13 appears to be in the best interests of the child.
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14 C. 1. When it is in the best interests of a minor unmarried
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15 child, the court shall:
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16 a. assure children of frequent and continuing contact
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17 with both parents after the parents have separated or
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18 dissolved their marriage, and
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19 b. encourage parents to share the rights and
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20 responsibilities of child rearing in order to effect
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21 this policy.
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22 2. There shall be neither a legal preference nor a presumption
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23 for or against, rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence, that
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24 joint legal custody, joint physical custody, or sole custody and
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1 equally shared parenting time, to the extent feasible, is in the
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2 best interest of the child. If the presumption is rebutted, the
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3 court shall construct a parenting time schedule that is consistent
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4 with the best interest of the child and maximizes the time each
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5 parent has with the child.
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6 3. When in the best interests of the child, custody shall be
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7 awarded in a way which assures the frequent and continuing contact
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8 of the child with both parents. When awarding custody to either
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9 parent, the court:
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10 a. shall consider, among other facts, which parent is
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11 more likely to allow the child or children frequent
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12 and continuing contact with the noncustodial parent,
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13 and
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14 b. shall not prefer a parent as a custodian of the child
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15 because of the gender of that parent.
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16 4. In any action, there shall be neither a legal preference or
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17 a presumption for or against private or public school or home-
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18 schooling in awarding the custody of a child, or in appointing a
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19 general guardian for the child.
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20 5. Notwithstanding any custody determination made pursuant to
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21 the Oklahoma Children's Code, when a parent of a child is required
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22 to be separated from a child due to military service, the court
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23 shall not enter a final order modifying an existing custody order
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1 until such time as the parent has completed the term of duty
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2 requiring separation. For purposes of this paragraph:
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3 a. in the case of a parent who is a member of the Army,
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4 Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, the
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5 term "military service" means a combat deployment,
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6 contingency operation, or natural disaster requiring
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7 the use of orders that do not permit any family member
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8 to accompany the member,
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9 b. in the case of a parent who is a member of the
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10 National Guard, the term "military service" military
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11 service means service under a call to active service
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12 authorized by the President of the United States or
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13 the Secretary of Defense for a period of more than
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14 thirty (30) consecutive days under 32 U.S.C., Section
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15 502(f) for purposes of responding to a national
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16 emergency declared by the President and supported by
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17 federal funds. "Military service" Military service
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18 shall include any period during which a member is
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19 absent from duty on account of sickness, wounds,
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20 leave, or other lawful cause, and
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21 c. the court may enter a temporary custody or visitation
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22 order pursuant to the requirements of the Deployed
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23 Parents Custody and Visitation Act.
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1 6. In making an order for custody, the court shall require
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2 compliance with Section 112.3 of this title.
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3 D. 1. Except for good cause shown, a pattern of failure to
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4 allow court-ordered visitation may be determined to be contrary to
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5 the best interests of the child and as such may be grounds for
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6 modification of the child custody order.
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7 2. For any action brought pursuant to the provisions of this
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8 section which the court determines to be contrary to the best
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9 interests of the child, the prevailing party shall be entitled to
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10 recover court costs, attorney fees, and any other reasonable costs
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11 and expenses incurred with the action.
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12 E. Except as otherwise provided by Section 112.1A of this
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13 title, any child shall be entitled to support by the parents until
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14 the child reaches eighteen (18) years of age. If a child is
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15 regularly enrolled in and attending high school, as set forth in
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16 Section 11-103.6 of Title 70 of the Oklahoma Statutes, other means
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17 of high school education, or an alternative high school education
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18 program as a full-time student, the child shall be entitled to
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19 support by the parents until the child graduates from high school or
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20 until the age of twenty (20) years, whichever occurs first. Full-
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21 time attendance shall include regularly scheduled breaks from the
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22 school year. No hearing or further order is required to extend
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23 support pursuant to this subsection after the child reaches the age
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24 of eighteen (18) years.
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1 F. In any case in which provision is made for the custody or
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2 support of a minor child or enforcement of such order and before
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3 hearing the matter or signing any orders, the court shall inquire
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4 whether public assistance money or medical support has been provided
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5 by the Department of Human Services, hereafter referred to as the
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6 Department, for the benefit of each child. If public assistance
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7 money, medical support, or child support services under the state
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8 child support plan as provided in Section 237 of Title 56 of the
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9 Oklahoma Statutes have been provided for the benefit of the child,
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10 the Department shall be a necessary party for the adjudication of
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11 the debt due to the State of Oklahoma, as defined in Section 238 of
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12 Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and for the adjudication of
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13 paternity, child support, and medical insurance coverage for the
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14 minor children in accordance with federal regulations. When an
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15 action is filed, the petitioner shall give the Department notice of
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16 the action according to Section 2004 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma
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17 Statutes. The Department shall not be required to intervene in the
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18 action to have standing to appear and participate in the action.
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19 When the Department is a necessary party to the action, any orders
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20 concerning paternity, child support, medical support, or the debt
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21 due to the State of Oklahoma shall be approved and signed by the
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22 Department.
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1 G. In any case in which a child support order or custody order
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2 or both is entered, enforced, or modified, the court may make a
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3 determination of the arrearages of child support.
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4 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2026.
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6 60-2-2743 BLB 1/14/2026 10:45:47 AM
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Req. No. 2743 Page 12Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.