Order of Preference for Guardianship
Hi, I’m Oklahoma Attorney Brian Glass, and we’re talking about the order of preference in guardianship in the state of Oklahoma. The order of preference is going to go first, you know, the natural parents, they need someone to take care of the child, or they can’t. Either they’re incapacitated, they are possibly deceased, or they’re incarcerated. They need someone to take guardianship of the child to make decisions as far as the education, medical care, and everyday needs of the child.
Oklahoma has a list of preferences for guardianships. The first of these will be the grandparents, either the maternal grandparents, meaning the mom’s mother and father, or the paternal grandparents, which is the father’s mother and father. These are the first in line for preference in Oklahoma guardianships.
Next in line are going to be aunts and uncles. Anybody who is directly related to either mom and dad, you know, it could be any of their siblings, direct aunt, and uncle, or any of the aunts and uncles of the grandparents. It could be granddads or granduncles.
Preference for Cousins
And then next in line will be cousins. And these cousins will need to be, like first or second cousins, will be the preference of the court. And you go further and further out, and you’d have to prove a great necessity and that there’s no one else that would qualify to withhold this guardianship, or uphold this guardianship, excuse me.
Low-cost Consultation for Guardianship Questions
If you have any guardianship questions or you have any other legal questions, you can find me, a Chickasha grandparents’ rights lawyer, at chickshalawyer.com. Contact our office at 918-485-0336 for a initial consultation and get the answers you need.