First, congratulations. For whatever reasons (and those reasons may become very important), it’s an opportunity for you to make an enormous, positive changes, by following pretty straight-forward legal rights. This is because the law encourages positive relationships between parents and their child, when that parent is earnest about that relationship. That’s why it may someday be important as to why it took so long for you to be “given” that right. You may need to show your son’s mother interfered with your right. Obviously, it’s best if you have a smooth relationship with the mother: for everyone concerned! Still, as good as the news appears to be, you also should be ready to deal with the possibility of the mother not acting consistently. In other words, I’d recommend you also talk to a legal professional to explain why it took so long for the mother to allow communication. Depending on your financial conditions, you may even receive low cost help from Oklahoma legal aid groups. Here’s a place to start: http://www.legalaidok.org/. The age of your son, both when (if ever) you last saw him and his present age, and the length of time you were stopped from seeing him are important. If he’s old enough (usually 12), he may have something important about the role you’ll play in his life. It’s even possible he already has a father figure, or other half siblings, in case his mother married. And as happy as you are now, and because I don’t know anything about the mother, be prepared for unpleasant surprises, too. For example, it has happened that sometimes the unknown paternity of a child motivates a mother not to ask for help for a long time. In this case, I’m assuming, however, that you have had fairly specific knowledge and trust about the paternity of your son. Perhaps you’ve already looked at his birth record to see if you are listed as the father? Other issues can come up, based on your skills in parenting and whether you have other children: these can be important in terms of decisions you’ll eventually want to make in terms of getting a child custody agreement. If, however, you have had some second thoughts about paternity (or just what to be legally covered), we’ll talk about some information on what Oklahoma requires about paternity under the law. One aspect of this new change will be the possibility of your having to pay child support, past and present, as well as possibly paying for insurance or special costs. Oklahoma courts have also said that it’s a possibility for parents to agree to waive payments…especially in cases where the father was destitute, and the mother had no need for the assistance…which sounds to be the case here. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ar-court-of-appeals/1172277.html. Here’s another case, where the parents agreed (stipulated) as to paternity, and but later disputed whether the son should have the father’s or the mother’s last name and about visitation…http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ok-court-of-civil-appeals/1494257.html. At any rate, you’ll see one goal is to avoid emotional confusion for the child, in the process of deciding important issues such as visitation. The bottom line is that you are finally moving into a position to begin to get your own control and rights for your own child’s welfare. For whatever the reasons you had no earlier parental rights, you will need to be consistent with whatever you begin now. So if, for example, the mother changes her mind, you don’t have to. By thinking in terms of developing a “fathering” plan, such as taking parenting classes or counseling, you will be able to address the best interests of your son. Here’s a case where that did not happen: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ok-court-of-civil-appeals/1445052.html. Eventually, this “Best Interests of the Child” rule is how a court will decide everyone’s rights.