Consult An Attorney When Needed

Video Transcribed: My name is Brian L. Jackson. I am a Tulsa fathers’ rights attorney, and I want to talk to you guys today about extraordinary relief for extraordinary circumstances.

What am I talking about? Well, what I’m really talking about is when you would go and get a writ or an emergency. I’ve talked in the past about emergencies and writs, and I want to discuss some specific circumstances where you might want to get both.

For example, if you are dealing with a situation where the other parent, i.e. baby mama, has threatened to abscond. She’s threatening to take the kids out of state. She’s threatening to take the kids and disappear. That is an emergency. It is also grounds for the court to issue a writ.

I would note too if you’re talking about an active divorce, paternity, or legal separation proceeding, if you have a parent that’s threatening to take the children and disappear, particularly if they’re threatening to leave the state, that is in fact a criminal violation of the automatic temporary injunction that comes in as a function of statute anytime you file a family law proceeding.

What is the automatic temporary injunction? Well, basically it is a court order that comes into play immediately upon filing and service of a petition in family law. And it, among other things, prohibits removing the children from the state. Or I should say relocating the children from the state, I want to be clear about that, without permission of the court. It prohibits secreting children. It prohibits changing their schools. All those things are prohibited.

Now, the school and the relocation one can be… Obviously, there can be an agreement reached by the parties to waive that, or the court can enter temporary orders allowing a relocation, allowing a change in schools. However, absent that, it is contempt of court, and that is a crime in Oklahoma.

One type of relief you might get in a situation, and it would be something to talk to an attorney about, is an emergency custody order and/or a writ of habeas corpus. A writ of habeas corpus basically orders the other parent to produce the children before the court, so that the court might make a disposition as to custody.

There are those who will argue that if one parent is keeping the kids away from the other parent, that that’s not unlawful. I would beg to differ about that. Because of the express language of the automatic temporary injunction, yes it is. If you are secreting the children, if you remove the children from the state without permission, that is per se a violation of the automatic temporary injunction and it is a crime.

I’m not mincing any words with that. You are committing a crime under Title 21 if you violate a court order. And if your ex is doing it, she’s committing a crime. So yes, it is an illegal detention, such as to satisfy the requirements under Title 12 for a writ of habeas corpus.

If you are facing this situation, it is appropriate to pursue that writ and to pursue an emergency, because the other parent is not entitled to hide the children from you just because you’re getting a divorce. That’s not okay. If you are looking for a Men’s Child Custody Lawyer in Tulsa Ok visit dads.law.