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Divorce
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At
one time, there were certainties like death, taxes
and an oath to stay faithful and married. As they
say, two out of three ain't bad, we suppose. You're
probably in somewhat of a a panic, looking for
answers? Take
a deep breath. If nothing else, we'll give you
some answers and ease your anxiety. If you're
having a tough time coping, perhaps you should view
this page first.
Child Support
Oklahoma
divorce laws mandate that a child is entitled
to child support until the child reaches eighteen
(18) years of age. A petition or cross-petition
for a divorce, legal separation, or annulment
must state whether or not the parties have minor
children of the marriage. If there are minor children
of the marriage, the court: A. will provide for
guardianship, custody, medical care, support and
education of the children; B. may provide for
the visitation of the non custodial parent with
any of the children of the non custodial parent;
C. May find the need to modify or change any order
either before or after final judgment in the action
and D. will require the parties to complete a
child support computation that gets filed with
the child support order. When it is in the best
interests of a minor unmarried child, the court
will: |
»Assure
children of frequent and continuing contact with
both parents after the parents have separated
or dissolved their marriage, and
»Encourage parents
to share the rights and responsibilities of child
rearing in order to effect this policy.
»There will be neither a legal preference nor a
presumption for or against joint legal custody,
joint physical custody, or sole custody.
»When in the best interests of the child, custody
will be awarded in a way which assures the frequent
and continuing contact of the child with both
parents.
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Child Custody
Oklahoma divorce laws
dictate that in any divorce or separation, the
petition must declare if there are any minor children
of the union. If there are minor children of the
marriage, the court will determine child custody,
medical care, support and education of the children;
provide for the visitation of the non custodial
parent and change or modify any order when circumstances
warrant.
When in the best interests
of the child, custody will be awarded in a way
which assures the frequent and continuing contact
of the child with both parents. When awarding
custody to either parent, the court: 1. will consider
which parent is more likely to allow the child
or children frequent and continuing contact with
the non custodial parent,
Oklahoma Alternative Dispute Resolution
Oklahoma Child Support Calculator
Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence
Oklahoma State Bar Association
Oklahoma Child Support Enforcement Division
Oklahoma Divorce Laws |
2.
will not prefer a parent as a custodian of the
child because of the gender of that parent (Dads
have an equal opportunity for custody, although
Mothers get awarded custody in more than 80% of
the cases) and 3. In any action, there will be
neither a legal preference or a presumption for
or against private or public school or home-schooling
in awarding child custody.
In making an order for
custody, the court may specify that: 1. the non-custodial
parent be notified of any residence change by
the custodian plans to change the permanent residence
of the child, and 2. Any child will be entitled
to financial support by the parents until the
child reaches eighteen (18) years of age or until
the child completes high school, whichever is
later.
State courts frown on
one parents failure to notify the other of a change
of residence. Oklahoma divorce laws clearly mandate
one adhere to this notice. Don't use this to frustrate
your partner. It can backfire the next time you
have to face that court.
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Visitation/Co-Parenting
Parties
to an Oklahoma separation or dissolution (divorce)
have the opportunity to construct a visitation
(parenting) schedule between themselves and have
it become a permanent part of their proceeding.
If they are unable to agree, the court has a schedule
it will impose. If you and your spouse can agree
on a parenting schedule, leave nothing to interpretation.
Be as specific as you can including the right
language in your agreement. How is the decreed
custody defined? What are the rights and responsibilities?
Who has legal custody? Which holiday does the
child spend with you? What time and where may
the other parent pick the child up? What time
should the child be returned home? What is the
procedure to follow if either of you are running
late and won't be there on time? How
much notice should you be given if they are planning
a vacation? How far away may the other spouse
move? What about
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future
partners? Should those partners stay overnight
in front of the children?
In any case, a visitation
schedule in Oklahoma for the non-custodial parent
and the children should have the following components:
alternate weekend visitation (3-day weekends included),
mid-week visitation, sharing of the children during
periods of school recess -winter, spring and summer,
New Year's Eve, Easter, Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with one parent
or the other in alternate years, Father's Day
with Father, Mother's Day with Mother, alternate
years on the children's birthdays, and open communication
by phone and computer.
Be aware that you have to guide your side of
the divorce. Don't rely that your attorney will
think of everything. You set the course; your
lawyer navigates. If you anticipate any problems
with custody or visitation, we suggest you own Child
Custody Strategies. |
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Alimony/
Maintenance/ Spousal Support
When a divorce
is granted, the wife will be restored to her maiden
or former name if she so desires. The court will
enter its decree confirming in each spouse the
property owned by him or her before marriage and
the |
un
disposed-of property acquired after marriage by
him or her in his or her own right. Either spouse
may be allowed such alimony out of real and personal
property of the other as the court shall think
reasonable. Oklahoma courts may issue orders for
alimony (sometimes called spousal support or maintenance)
for a definite period, or an indefinite period.
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Grounds
For Divorce
The
district court, guided by Oklahoma divorce statutes,
may grant a divorce for any of the following causes
(grounds): 1. Abandonment for one (1) year, 2.
Adultery, 3. Impotency, 4. When the wife at the
time of her marriage, was pregnant by another
than her husband, |
5.
Extreme cruelty, 6. Fraudulent contract, 7. Incompatibility,
8. Habitual drunkenness, 9. Gross neglect of duty,
10. Imprisonment of the other party in a state
or federal penal institution, 11. Insanity for
a period of five (5) years.
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Marriage
Annulment
Marital Annulment
An
Oklahoma marriage annulment is a decree ending
an illegal marital relationship, while a divorce
is the termination of a legal marriage. The
marriage annulment process (sometimes called a
marital annulment) is similar to the divorce or
separation processes in that you petition the
court citing grounds for a marital annulment,
and prove your claim with evidence. The burden
of proof is greater for an annulment than a divorce,
however. Oklahoma requires citing a ground for
the annulment petition. Acceptable grounds for
annulment include: Fraud- You
can obtain an annulment in Oklahoma if your spouse
got your consent for marriage by fraud or by misrepresenting
him or herself, |
Mental
Illness- Oklahoma annulment laws state that
a mentally incapacitated person can’t enter
into a marital contract. If your spouse is mentally
incapacitated, you can obtain an Oklahoma annulment, Underage
Marriage- Based on Oklahoma annulment laws,
any person that has not attained the legal marriageable
age specified by Oklahoma marriage laws, he or
she can’t get married. However if your marriage
occurred anyway, you can get your marriage annulled
in Oklahoma, Incest- Entering a marriage
with someone who is too closely related to you,
Oklahoma annulment laws restrict marital contracts
from such individuals and Impotency-Impotence
is a valid annulment ground according to Oklahoma
annulment laws. If your spouse is impotent, you
can get your a Oklahoma marital annulment. |
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Marriage
Counseling/
Mediation
In all actions for divorce,
separate maintenance, guardianship, paternity,
custody or visitation, including modifications
or enforcement's of a prior court order, where
the interest of a child under eighteen (18) years
of age is involved, the court may require all
adult parties to attend an educational program
concerning, as appropriate, the impact of separate
parenting and co parenting on children, |
the
implications for visitation and conflict management,
development of children, separate financial responsibility
for children and such other instruction as deemed
necessary by the court. The court can order mediation
if it feels it is warranted. Marriage counseling,
while not state-sponsored, should always be considered
if there is still some hope the marriage can be
saved.
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Legal
Separation/
Marital Separation
An Oklahoma legal separation
means the husband and wife are living apart and
has the added element that the arrangement is
ordered by the court or agreed to by the parties
in a written agreement. The fact that the legal
separation (also known as a marital separation
or divorce separation) is part of a court order
or written agreement makes it a "legal separation”.
Legal Separations require a separation agreement
agreed to by the parties. The legal separation
makes more certain the rights and responsibilities
of the parties during the period of separation
as opposed to an informal separation. Payments
of support during a period of separation
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sometimes
are called temporary maintenance or alimony pen
dente lite. The separation (informal or legal)
keeps the marital status intact until or unless
one files for divorce. Legal
separation is often pursued when one of the parties
wants to stay married for religious reasons, wants
the advantage of deductibility of spousal support
payments for income tax reasons, wants to maintain
various insurance coverage's, or do not want to
wait the state statutory waiting period for termination
of marital status.
One does not
need to get a legal separation in order to divorce.
In fact, most bypass the legal separation and
go straight to the divorce. The marital separation
can last the life of the parties, without conversion
to a divorce, until or unless someone files to
convert the separation into a divorce. |
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Waiting
Period
In an action for divorce
where there are minor children involved, the court
will not issue a final order for at least ninety
(90) days from the date of filing the petition.
In the event no minor children are involved and
there is full agreement by the parties, your divorce
can be completed in as little as ten days. |
Oklahoma
divorce statutes specify that the court may require
that within the ninety-day period the parties
attend and complete an educational program.
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Grandparents Rights
Grandparents
of an unmarried minor child will have reasonable
rights of visitation to the child if the court
deems it to be in the best interest of the child.
(This right is conferred by federal statute) The
right of visitation to any grandparent of an unmarried
minor child will be granted unless it has been
specifically denied by the court. |
If
a child is born out of wedlock, the parents of
the father of such child will not have the right
of visitation unless the father has been judicially
determined to be the father of the child.
If one
natural parent is deceased and the surviving natural
parent remarries, any subsequent adoption proceedings
will not terminate any court-granted grandparental
rights belonging to the parents of the deceased
natural parent. |
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Divorce
Settlement
Oklahoma
is an equitable distribution state. State divorce
laws mandate that the courts divide the marital
property between the parties in an equitable and
just manner. This means the court will attempt
to divide the marital assets fairly, but not necessarily
evenly. As is always the case, if you and the
divorcing spouse can agree on a divorce settlement
of marital assets and liabilities first, the court
won't have to. Did
you come into this marriage owning a house? Concerned
about the equity in that house that you brought
into the marriage? Worried about property that
was yours before the
marriage and that it may now be part of a divorce
settlement? Here's how it works generally. What
you |
brought
into the marriage is usually all yours. However,
any appreciation of the house or the property
value is normally treated as a "marital asset", meaning
that you will likely forfeit a third to a half
of that appreciation to your spouse in the divorce.
Did you come into this
marriage owning a house? Concerned about the equity
in that house that you brought into the marriage?
Here's how it works generally. What you brought
into the marriage is usually all yours. However,
any appreciation of the house or the property
value is normally treated as a "marital asset",
meaning that you will likely forfeit a third to
a half of that appreciation to your spouse in
the divorce.
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Residency
Requirements
Either the plaintiff
or the defendant must have been an actual resident
for six (6) months next prior the filing of the
petition. United States military personnel are
afforded the same 6 month requirement according
to Oklahoma divorce statutes and federal law. |
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