Oklahoma Divorce Requirements
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Oklahoma requires that individuals applying for Oklahoma divorces be state residents. The state also requires that state residents be within the state for a minimum of six months prior to divorce petitioning.
Those who are stationed in Oklahoma for the United States military are considered state residents after six months and may then petition for divorce. Both spouses are not required to be state residents, but a divorce petitioning must be entered into the county court where the state resident resides.
If both individuals are state residents but live in different counties, either spouse may petition for divorce in either county.
Grounds for Divorce
Upon divorce petitioning on Oklahoma, as well as other states, individuals must state the reasons for requesting a divorce. These reasons are called the grounds for divorce. The grounds for which a couple files must be legal in the state of Oklahoma.
Not all states have the same grounds for divorce, and even neighboring states will have different lawful grounds. Individuals may agree upon which divorce grounds they are filing or one individual may present grounds during filing and will need to prove those grounds before the court.
Oklahoma has two set of grounds on which it finds legal reasoning for divorce. The first of these grounds cites no individual solely responsible for the divorce petitioning. This is called No-Fault grounds where a divorce can be granted due to incompatibility. Often times individuals have entered into counseling prior to filing for a divorce on the grounds of incompatibility.
The second set of grounds in Oklahoma states that one individual is responsible for the divorce petitioning. These are called Fault grounds and include reasons of impotency of either individual, adultery of either individual, abandonment of one individual to the other for a minimum of one year, pregnancy by another man during the marriage, imprisonment of either individual to a federal or state institution for a felony conviction, neglect of marital duties by either individual, fraudulent contract, extreme cruelty of either individual, habitual drunken behavior by either individual, or reasons of insanity for a minimum of five years.
Oklahoma Divorce Documents
Each divorce case has different circumstances, and thus can include various amounts of paperwork and documentation. In some cases these documents can reach nearly two dozen different documents.
For instance if children are present and custody must be decided more paperwork is required than if no children were present. The marriage’s length can also increase document numbers. Some of these documents can include a Petition for Divorce and Decree of Divorce form, a Declaration Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act form, a Domestic Relations Cover Sheet, a Marital Settlement Agreement form, a Verification form, and a Notice of Final Hearing form.
Distributing Property
The state of Oklahoma is considered an equitable distribution state where all the property acquired during the marriage is to be split fairly instead of equally. Any property that was obtained prior to the marriage shall be kept by that individual. If the individuals cannot decide who shall possess which form of property the court will award the property.