Divorce
A divorce must be filed in either the county in which the petitioner has resided for the 30 days immediately preceding the filing of the divorce, or in the county in which the respondent resides at the time of the filing of the divorce. When spouses file separate actions in counties that each have proper venue, the county in which the first petition for divorce was filed is the proper county to adjudicate the divorce.
Upon the filing of a divorce, there is an order put in place to prevent either party transferring marital property unless it is in the usual course of the marriage, being used to retain a lawyer or being used to purchase necessities. This is often referred to as 'keeping the status quo' until the divorce is finalized.
Property Division
Oklahoma is an equitable division state. Upon divorce, the court must determine which assets are marital and which assets are separate. The court will then equitably divide the parties' marital property and award separate property to its owner. The court has discretion to determine what portion of the marital property should be awarded to each spouse.
Marital property is the property acquired by the parties during the marriage by the industry of the husband and wife. Separate property includes: property acquired by one of the spouses prior to marriage; property acquired by one of the spouses by gift during the marriage; property acquired by one of the spouses during the marriage through inheritance; and property acquired in exchange for separate property, unless it changes character due from separate to marital property through 'transmutation'. If property that would otherwise be separate is titled in both spouses' names, a rebuttable presumption arises that half of the property was meant as a gift from one spouse to another. Oklahoma courts recognize a rebuttable presumption that property acquired during the marriage is obtained by the joint efforts of the husband and wife and is therefore marital.
Property that is separate may increase in value during the course of marriage. If the increase is due to the efforts of skill of either spouse or marital funds, the amount of the increase is marital property. If the increase in value is due to the inherent nature of the property or market or economic factors, such as inflation, the increased value of the separate property belongs to the separate property owner. The burden is on the non-owning spouse to show that the enhancement is due to spousal efforts or marital funds.
Other factors courts consider when dividing marital property are: the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital estate, including the efforts of a homemaking spouse; the anticipated expenses of the custodial parent caring for the children; and economic fault, including the dissipation, wasting or hiding of assets.
A divorce must be filed in either the county in which the petitioner has resided for the 30 days immediately preceding the filing of the divorce, or in the county in which the respondent resides at the time of the filing of the divorce. When spouses file separate actions in counties that each have proper venue, the county in which the first petition for divorce was filed is the proper county to adjudicate the divorce.
Upon the filing of a divorce, there is an order put in place to prevent either party transferring marital property unless it is in the usual course of the marriage, being used to retain a lawyer or being used to purchase necessities. This is often referred to as 'keeping the status quo' until the divorce is finalized.
Property Division
Oklahoma is an equitable division state. Upon divorce, the court must determine which assets are marital and which assets are separate. The court will then equitably divide the parties' marital property and award separate property to its owner. The court has discretion to determine what portion of the marital property should be awarded to each spouse.
Marital property is the property acquired by the parties during the marriage by the industry of the husband and wife. Separate property includes: property acquired by one of the spouses prior to marriage; property acquired by one of the spouses by gift during the marriage; property acquired by one of the spouses during the marriage through inheritance; and property acquired in exchange for separate property, unless it changes character due from separate to marital property through 'transmutation'. If property that would otherwise be separate is titled in both spouses' names, a rebuttable presumption arises that half of the property was meant as a gift from one spouse to another. Oklahoma courts recognize a rebuttable presumption that property acquired during the marriage is obtained by the joint efforts of the husband and wife and is therefore marital.
Property that is separate may increase in value during the course of marriage. If the increase is due to the efforts of skill of either spouse or marital funds, the amount of the increase is marital property. If the increase in value is due to the inherent nature of the property or market or economic factors, such as inflation, the increased value of the separate property belongs to the separate property owner. The burden is on the non-owning spouse to show that the enhancement is due to spousal efforts or marital funds.
Other factors courts consider when dividing marital property are: the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital estate, including the efforts of a homemaking spouse; the anticipated expenses of the custodial parent caring for the children; and economic fault, including the dissipation, wasting or hiding of assets.