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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 2478 By: Harris
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to custody; amending 10 O.S. 2021,
Section 7700-624, which relates to temporary order
for support, custody, an d visitation; providing for
when domestic abuse has been established; providing
temporary order time frames for the court; amending
43 O.S. 2021, Section 110, which relates to orders
concerning property, children , support, and expenses;
providing for when domestic abuse has been
established; providing temporary order time frames
for the court; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF T HE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 10 O.S. 2021, Section 7700 -624, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 7700-624. A. In a proceeding under this Article, the
court shall issue a temporary order for support of a child if th e
order is appropriate and the individual ordered to pay support is:
1. A presumed father of the child ;
2. Petitioning to have his paternity adjudicated;
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3. Identified as the father through genetic testing under
Section 27 of this act;
4. An alleged father who has declined to submit to geneti c
testing;
5. Shown by clear and convincing evidence to be th e father of
the child; or
6. The mother of the child.
B. A temporary order may include provisions for custody and
visitation as provided by other law o f this state.
C. A party requesting temporary orders, whose application
contains allegations of domestic abuse, and has obtain ed an
emergency temporary protective order against the ot her party for
domestic abuse or the other party ha s been criminally char ged with a
crime involving domestic abuse or another crime wherein the factual
allegations show domestic violence against the requesting party or
their minor child or children, shall be heard by the court within
fourteen (14) days of service to the non -moving party unless waived
by both parties, memorialized by an order of the court. At the
hearing, the Court shall issue orders concerning the parties '
requested relief. The requesting par ty shall attach a copy of the
emergency protective order, probabl e cause affidavit, or charging
information to the temporary orders application.
D. When setting a hearing to determine temporary orders, the
court shall, absent an agreement of the parties memorialized by a
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court order, conduct a substantive hearing and issu e a ruling on
custody, visitation, child support, and other ancillary matters,
including property, within thirty ( 30) days from the date the
hearing is scheduled.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 43 O.S. 2021, Section 110, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 110. A. 1. Except as otherwise provided by this
subsection, upon the filing of a petition for dissolution of
marriage, annulment of a marriage or legal separation by the
petitioner and upon persona l service of the petition and summons on
the respondent, or upon waiver and acceptance of service by the
respondent, an automatic temporary injunction shall be in effect
against both parties pursuant to the provisions of this section:
a. restraining the parties from transferring,
encumbering, concealing, or in any way disposing of ,
without the written consent of the other party or an
order of the court, any marital property, except in
the usual course of business, for the purpose of
retaining an attorney fo r the case or for the
necessities of life and requiri ng each party to notify
the other party of any proposed extraordinary
expenditures and to account to the court for all
extraordinary expenditures made after the injunction
is in effect,
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b. restraining the parties from:
(1) intentionally or knowingly damagi ng or destroying
the tangible property of the parties, or of
either of them, specifically including, but not
limited to, any electronically stored materials,
electronic communications, social network dat a,
financial records, and any document that
represents or embodies anything of value,
(2) making any withdrawal for any purpose from any
retirement, profit-sharing, pension, death, or
other employee benefit plan or employee savings
plan or from any individ ual retirement account or
Keogh account,
(3) withdrawing or borrowing in any manner all or any
part of the cash surrender value of any life
insurance policies on either par ty or their
children,
(4) changing or in any manner altering the
beneficiary designation on any life insurance
policies on the life of ei ther party or any of
their children,
(5) canceling, altering, or in any manner affecting
any casualty, automobile, or h ealth insurance
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policies insuring the parties ' property or
persons,
(6) opening or diverting mail addressed to the other
party, and
(7) signing or endorsing the other party's name on
any negotiable instrument, check, or draft, such
as tax refunds, insuranc e payments, and
dividends, or attempting to negotiate any
negotiable instruments pay able to either party
without the personal signature o f the other
party,
c. requiring the parties to maintain all presently
existing health, property, life and other insuran ce
which the individual is presently carrying on any
member of this family unit, and to cooperate as
necessary in the filing and processi ng of claims. Any
employer-provided health insurance currently in
existence shall remain in full force and effect for
all family members,
d. enjoining both parties from molesting or disturbing
the peace of the other party or of the children to the
marriage,
e. restraining both parties from disrupting or
withdrawing their children from an educational
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facility and programs where the children historically
have been enrolled, or day care,
f. restraining both parties from hiding or secreting
their children from the other party,
g. restraining both parties from removing the minor
children of the parties, if any, beyond the
jurisdiction of the State of Oklahoma, acting directly
or in concert with others, except for vacations of two
(2) weeks or less duration, with out the prior written
consent of the other party, which shall not be
unreasonably withheld , and
h. requiring, unless ot herwise agreed upon by the parties
in writing, the delivery by each party to the oth er
within thirty (30) days from the earlier of either the
date of service of the summons or the filing of an
initial pleading by the respondent, the following
documents:
(1) the federal and state income tax returns of each
party for the past two (2) years and any
nonpublic, limited partnership and privately held
corporate returns for any entity in which either
party has an interest, together with all
supporting documentation for the tax returns,
including but not limited to W -2 forms, 1099
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forms, K-1 forms, Schedule C and Schedule E. If
a return is not compl eted at the time of
disclosure, the parties shall provide the
documents necessary to prepare the tax return of
the party, to include W-2 forms, 1099 forms, K -1
forms, copies of extension requests and est imated
tax payments,
(2) two (2) months of the most r ecent pay stubs from
each employer for whom the party worked,
(3) statements for the past six (6) months for all
bank accounts held in the name of either party
individually or jointly, or in the name of
another person for the benefit of either party,
or held by either party for the benefit of the
minor child or children of the parties,
(4) documentation regarding the cost and nature of
available health insurance coverage for the
benefit of either party or the minor child or
children of the parties,
(5) documentation regarding the cost and nature of
employment or educationally related child care
expenses incurred for the ben efit of the minor
child or children of the parties, and
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(6) documentation regarding all debts in the name of
either party individually or jointly, showing the
most recent balance due and payment terms.
2. If either party is not in possession of a document required
pursuant to subparagraph h of paragraph 1 of this subsection or has
not been able to obtain the document in a timely fashion, t he party
shall state in verified writing, under the penalty of perjury, the
specific document which is not available, t he reasons the document
is not available, and what efforts have been made to obtain the
document. As more information becomes available, there is a
continuing duty to supplement the disclosures.
3. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a party from
conducting further discovery pursuant to the Oklahoma Discovery
Code.
4. a. The provisions of the automatic temporary injunction
shall be printed as an attachm ent to the summons and
the petition and entitled "Automatic Temporary
Injunction Notice".
b. The automatic temporary injunction notice shall
contain a provision which will allow th e parties to
waive the automatic temporary injunction . In
addition, the provision must state that unless both
parties have agreed and have signed their names in the
space provided, that the automatic temporary
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injunction will be effective. Along with the waiver
provision, the notice shall contain a check b ox and
space available for the signatures of the parties.
5. The automatic temporary injunction shall become an order of
the court upon fulfillment of the requirements of paragraph 1 of
this subsection unless and until:
a. the automatic temporary injuncti on is waived by the
parties. Both parties must indicate on the automatic
temporary injunction notice in the space prov ided that
the parties have both agreed to waive the automatic
temporary injunction. Each party must sign his or her
own name on the noti ce in the space provide d, or
b. a party, no later than three (3) days after service on
the party, files an objection to the injunction and
requests a hearing. Provided, the automatic temporary
injunction shall remain in effect until the hearing
and a judge orders the injunction removed.
6. The automatic temporary injunction shall be dissolved upon
the granting of the dis solution of marriage, final order of legal
separation or other final order.
7. Nothing in this subsection shall preclude either party fr om
applying to the cour t for further temporary orders, pursuant to this
section, an expanded automatic temporary injunc tion, or modification
or revocation thereto.
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8. a. With regard to an automatic temp orary injunction, when
a petition for dissolution of marriage, annulment of a
marriage, or a legal separation is filed and served, a
peace officer shall use every reasonabl e means to
enforce the injunction which enjoins both parties from
molesting or disturbing the peace of the other party
or the children of the marriage against a petitioner
or respondent, whenever:
(1) there is exhibited by a respondent or by the
petitioner to the peace officer a copy of the
petition or summons, with an attached Temporary
Injunction Notice, duly filed and issued pursuant
to this section, together with a certified copy
of the affidavit of service of process or a
certified copy of the waiver a nd acceptance of
service, and
(2) the peace officer has cause to believe that a
violation of the automatic temporary injunction
has occurred.
b. A peace officer shall not be held civilly or
criminally liable for his or her action pursuant to
this paragraph if his or her action is in good faith
and without malice.
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B. After a petition has been filed in an action for dissolution
of marriage or legal separation eith er party may request the court
to issue:
1. A temporary order:
a. regarding child custody, supp ort or visitation,
b. regarding spousal maintenance,
c. regarding payment of debt,
d. regarding possession of property,
e. regarding attorney fees, and
f. providing other injunctive relief proper in the
circumstances.
All applications for temporary orders shall set forth the
factual basis for the application and shall be verified by the p arty
seeking relief. The application and a notice of hearing shall be
served on the other party in any manner provided for in the Rules of
Civil Procedure. A party requesting temporary orders, whose
application contains allegations of domestic abuse, and has obtain ed
an emergency temporary protective order against the other party for
domestic abuse or the other party ha s been criminally charged with a
crime involving domes tic abuse or another crime wherein the factual
allegations show domestic violence against the requesting party or
their minor child or children, shall be heard by the court within
fourteen (14) days of service to the non -moving party unless waived
by both parties, memorialized by an order of the court. At the
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hearing, the court shall issue orders concerning the parties '
requested relief. The requesting party shall attach a copy of the
emergency protective order, probabl e cause affidavit, or charging
information to the temporary orders application. When setting a
hearing to determine temporary orders, the court shall, absent an
agreement of the parties memorialized by a court order, conduct a
substantive hearing and issue a ruling on custody, visitation, child
support, and other ancillary matters, including property, within
thirty (30) days from the date the hearing is scheduled.
The court shall not issue a temp orary order until at least five
(5) days' notice of hearing is give n to the other party.
After notice and hearing, a court may issue a temporary order
granting the relief as provided by this paragraph; and/or
2. A temporary restraini ng order. If the cour t finds on the
basis of a verified application and testimony of wit nesses that
irreparable harm will result to the moving party, or a child of a
party if no order is issued before the adverse party or attorney for
the adverse party ca n be heard in oppositi on, the court may issue a
temporary restraining order which shall b ecome immediately effective
and enforceable without requiring notice and opportunity to be heard
to the other party. Provided, for the purposes of this section, no
minor child or children temporarily residing in a licensed,
certified domestic violence she lter in the state shall be re moved by
an ex parte order. If a temporary restraining order is issued
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pursuant to this paragraph, the motion for a temporary order shall
be set within ten (10 ) days.
C. Any temporary orders and the automatic temporary injunc tion,
or specific terms there of, may be vacated or modified prior to or in
conjunction with a final decree on a showing by either party of
facts necessary for vacation or modification. Tem porary orders and
the automatic temporary injunction terminate when the final judgment
on all issues, except attorney fees and costs, is rendered or when
the action is dismissed. The court may reserve jurisdiction to rule
on an application for a contempt citation for a violation of a
temporary order or the automatic temp orary injunction which is fil ed
any time prior to the time the temporary order or injunction
terminates.
D. Upon granting a decree of dissolution of marriage, annulme nt
of a marriage, or legal separation, the court may require either
party to pay such rea sonable expenses of the other as may be just
and proper under the circumstances.
E. The court may in its discretion make additional orders
relative to the expenses of any such subsequent a ctions, including
but not limited to writs of habeas corpus, brough t by the parties or
their attorneys, for the enforcement or modification of any
interlocutory or final orders in the dissolution of marriage action
made for the benefit of either party or t heir respective attorneys.
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SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON RULES, dated 02/28/2024 - DO PASS,
As Amended.