The first and most important thing is you really need to get your proof of income together before the Planned Parenting Conference. That is one thing that you will need to proceed with any family law case anywhere in Oklahoma, especially in Tulsa County. So, if you have a regular nine-to-five where you get a W2 and need a copy of your W2, you need a copy of six months worth of paychecks, and if you filed taxes the previous year, your last year’s tax return.

Another thing that’s a good thing to have because it establishes pretty much verbatim what your income looks like are bank statements because that show precisely what you got coming in and what you got going out. So that’s another good thing to have. Those are things you should always have going into a Planned Parenting Conference.

Also, in Tulsa County, as part of the preparation for the Planned Parenting Conference, there are two videos you have to watch. They are on tulsacountycourts.org and under the Family Law tab; you must watch these videos. And once you watch those videos, there’s a form there you sign called the Attestation Form and you sign that and you want to take that and file that on record before the Planned Parenting Conference so that when you walk in there if you cannot make an agreement on a Temporary Order, there’s nothing standing between you and getting a Temporary Orders hearing date set. If you haven’t taken care of those things first, then you will not get a Temporary Orders hearing date unless and until you take care of that stuff. So the faster you do that, the faster you can move your case along.

The last thing I would say you should do to give yourself the maximum opportunity for success, the PPC, is to be open to compromise. Now that’s not to say that you have to give up the house, that’s not to say you bend to the stick. You should be aware of what you’re willing to negotiate with and what you’re not, and have some idea that you’re not going to get absolutely everything you want. And guys, if you are headed to a PPC and then you need legal representation, one place you can find a really good family law attorney in Oklahoma is at Dads.Law where fathers are not disposable.