Things happen in marriage in any state and you have decided to dissolve yours. You may be a new Oklahoma resident or someone who has lived there for decades, but this is new territory. Before you hire an Oklahoma divorce lawyer , you want to make sure that you are familiar with some of the basics before you proceed.
What is Considered Marriage in Oklahoma?
This is not quite as straightforward as you might think. Were you married in a ceremony or by what is known as "common law." In both of those cases, you need to get a divorce in order to end your relationship.
A common law marriage is for people who have been together and are old enough to be married - over 18 - and have shown to others as being married. A judge will look at what you have done there, like one person adopting the other person's last name or filing joint tax returns, to name a few things.
What Are The Grounds For Divorce?
If you want to get divorced, you have to prove that you are incompatible. One of you has to testify that you do not currently get along. You could also cite other reasons, like abandonment (this has to be for a year) or they're cheating on you with someone else.
Where Do You Live?
You can't have just moved to Oklahoma and get a divorce. Instead, you have to live there for six months or more before filing. Also, you have to do this in the county that your spouse is in - or the one that you have resided in for 30 days or more.
What About Children?
First, you will have the chance to decide on custody and come to an agreement that makes both sides happy. This will also apply to the children who were born before you were married. What if you can't do that? Then the court will step in and make a ruling based on what they deem is in the best interest of the children. There may even be mediation, where a neutral party hears both of your sides. You could aim for sole or joint custody.
Who Gets Visitation?
The person who gets sole custody will have to allow the other person to see their child every other weekend, every other major holiday, and a good amount of time in the summer. This can change if the other person could be deemed a threat to the children. In that case, supervised visits or very restricted visits could be assigned.
There are other considerations, like child support, alimony, property and debt, and any name changes.
The divorce procedure is that you file it with the court. Then you send copies of those papers to your spouse. If they go missing, you can put it in a local newspaper. That is just the start of your divorce journey.
Meason & Ramsey Law provides a professional experience for all our clients, helping them navigate their legal rights. Our focus is criminal law (felony and misdemeanors). We specialize in Criminal Law, Divorce and Family Law, Probate Law. We are currently accepting cases in Washington, Nowata and Osage counties. Meason & Ramsey Law has family lawyers, divorce lawyers, probate lawyers, criminal defense lawyers, DUI & DWI lawyers, co-counsel lawyers, family attorneys, divorce attorneys, probate attorneys, criminal defense attorneys, DUI & DWI attorneys and co-counsel attorneys. Marty Meason and Rodney D. Ramsey, Attorneys
Meason & Ramsey Law
515 Delaware Ave
Bartlesville, OK 74003
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