Parental Rights in Oklahoma

Are you facing a bitter custody battle or worried that your parental rights might be stripped away? Parents in Oklahoma have reason for hope.

Oklahoma courts regularly stick up for parental rights. The Oklahoma Supreme Court and others in the state have repeatedly ruled that parental rights are paramount and deserve a high level of protection from government interference. However, you aren’t necessarily guaranteed to have your parental rights protected just because your case is being handled in an Oklahoma court. You will need experienced parental rights lawyers on your side to advocate and fight for you and make sure you are treated fairly.

Don’t let anyone trample on your parental rights—let us help you fight for a fair child custody agreement.

Contact Ball Morse Lowe online or call us at (405) 701-5355 or to schedule your first meeting.

Parental Rights Are a Fundamental Right

Parental rights have long been considered a fundamental liberty in the United States, and it is no different in the state of Oklahoma. In the 1972 case of Stanley v. Ill., 405 U.S. 645, 651, the United States Supreme Court ruled to protect parental rights, offering the following as justification:

• Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
• Meyer v. Nebraska, supra, at 399
• Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
• Skinner v. Oklahoma, supra, at 541
• Ninth Amendment
• Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 496 (1965) (Goldberg, J., concurring).
• Stanley v. Ill., 405 U.S. 645, 651.”

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has also ruled that parental rights are vastly important and to be treated with deference. In the 1986 case ofBass v. Justus, the Court ruled that “parents have a fundamental, constitutionally protected interest in the continuity of the legal bond between themselves and their children. The integrity of familial status is a value and to be regarded with great solicitude.”

Protecting Parental Rights in Child Custody Arrangements & Modifications

In the 2011 case of Johnson v. Wingert, the Oklahoma Supreme Court recognized that “the relationship of parents to their children is a fundamental, constitutionally protected right,” and applied this truth to a custody modification case.

This is good news for parents facing child custody arrangements or modifications.

Oklahoma courts understand that child custody arrangements have the potential to step on parents’ fundamental, inalienable rights and have demonstrated a commitment to making sure that doesn’t happen. Citing another related case, the Oklahoma Supreme Court stated, “A custody modification involves the health, safety, and well-being of a minor child. At the same time, it impacts the ‘right of a parent to the care, custody, companionship and management of his or her child [which] is a fundamental right protected by the federal and state constitutions.”

Oklahoma courts are on your side, and so are we. Call (405) 701-5355 today to speak to one of our attorneys.

Chris Smith is a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent peer-review rated attorney that has been recognized as a Journal Record Achiever Under 40, and has been named to the Super Lawyer Rising Star list from 2014-2020 as well as identified by Best Lawyers in the area of Family Law.