Custody

As long as paternity is established, and the child is living with you, you are entitled to receive support for your child if you apply for it. If you are married, you may be able to get spousal support (alimony). However, the court makes separate decisions when awarding support for you and your children, so it is possible that you may only be able to get support for your children, and not for yourself. It is also possible that you can get both.

Support for your child. Child support is usually addressed in the custody agreement. However, if your custody agreement does not order the noncustodial parent to pay child support and you do not have any other child support order, the noncustodial parent does not have a legal obligation to pay child support. To see what the court does and does not consider as part of the parents’ income, go to our Oklahoma Child Support section.

Support for yourself. Alimony, also called spousal support, is something that you can ask for as a part of your divorce¹ or by filing a petition in the district court before getting a divorce. You can get alimony without divorce in the district court for the same reasons (grounds) that a person could use to get divorced.² Some of the most common grounds for divorce or alimony without divorce are extreme cruelty (abuse), habitual drunkenness, adultery, and incompatibility but you can read all of the reasons that a judge may grant alimony in our Divorce section.

¹ 43 O.S. § 121(B)
² 43 O.S. § 129