What You Need To Know About Oklahoma Divorce Proceedings

In this article, you can learn about:

• The timeline of divorce proceedings in Oklahoma family courts.
• Oklahoma’s mandate that requires divorcing parents participate in child harm-reduction education programs.
• Why Oklahoma family courts require mediation to settle disputes – and the benefits of working with a family law attorney to resolve contested issues outside of the courtroom.

What Is The Process To Initiate A Divorce In Oklahoma?

To initiate a divorce in Oklahoma, a petition is filed with the court in the county that you have resided in for the last 30 days.

If you have children, you will complete a Uniform Child Custody and Jurisdiction Enforcement filing along with your petition for divorce. This filing allows the court to determine whether or not it will have jurisdiction over the children involved in the divorce case.

Additionally, you will file an application for Temporary Orders. Temporary orders allow you to set a temporary visitation schedule, temporary custody arrangement, and set an order for temporary child support or spousal maintenance (alimony).

This is especially helpful when you have children or any ongoing financial obligations that need to be met on a monthly basis, These orders will remain until the divorce has been settled and will put boundaries in place for each party to abide by. In this way, anything that needs immediate attention will be dealt with at the temporary level.

After all the filings have been completed, the first court hearing will be scheduled. In Tulsa County, this first hearing is called a “planned parent conference” and it is an opportunity for the judge to remind both parties to participate in a positive manner and not include their children in the matters of the divorce.

Before the planned parent conference, you will be required to complete some steps to educate yourself on the effects of divorce on the children involved.

In Tulsa County, this includes watching two videos: Judge Julie Doss’ Parenting Through Divorce and “Listen to the Voices of the Children of Divorce” – both provided on the Tulsa County Courthouse website. After watching these videos, you will complete this attestation form and file it along with your case.

Additionally, there is a class called Helping Children Cope With Divorce that you’ll take from a provider such as Family Children Services. Once you complete the 4-hour course (usually taken online), you’ll receive a certificate of completion that will also be filed with the court.

Every court in each jurisdiction of the state of Oklahoma mandates the completion of the course: Helping Children Cope With Divorce. This means that in each court in Oklahoma, including tribal courts, parents must complete those courses to help make them understand the consequences that children suffer when parents don’t conduct themselves properly throughout this process.

If you have children in a divorce case, the earliest your divorce can be finalized will be 91 days after the filing of the petition – so long as the other side has been served.

Service can be accomplished in many ways: Personal Service, Certified Return Receipt, and Publication.

It only takes one person to want a divorce to actually get a divorce. So, if both parties agree to the terms of the separation, their divorce attorney can draft an agreed order and have the matter settled as soon as three months after service and filing.

Today, every family court across the state of Oklahoma mandates mediation if there is a dispute on any issue. This means that if the parties cannot agree to even a single term of the final divorce decree, everybody will be required to participate in mediation.

Once mediation is completed – whether you have settled the case or continue to have outstanding issues – the case will be set for trial.

So the next step is the pre-trial conference. At the pre-trial conference, each family law attorney will show what they will present to the court and what issues are going to be argued. Then, at the end of the pre-trial conference hearing, you’ll get a trial date.

The last step in any divorce proceeding is this final trial. After the trial has been completed, each party can walk away from the process having completed their obligations to the family court and the divorce can be finalized.

What Happens If My Spouse And I Cannot Agree On Important Matters In A Divorce?

All jurisdictions in the state of Oklahoma require disputing parties to submit to mediation. If there are any issues not settled at mediation, each party will then put forth their evidence at trial and the judge will make the final decision.

Is It Better To Agree On Important Matters In A Divorce Rather Than Litigating It?

People are often able to find much better outcomes by working toward a settlement of their issues, as opposed to leaving the matter in the hands of a judge. Why?

Family court judges see countless people each year. It is very hard for them to make a decision that will work to the greatest benefit of both parties – only because they simply don’t know you, and they don’t know how you live your life.

So, it’s always best to work at settling matters through mediation, because otherwise, a judge’s decision will only be based on the black letter of the law. And in these situations, many people find that it is difficult to “go back” and re-work court-ordered boundaries that were created without their input.

It’s important to remember that leaving these important decisions about the future of your life in the hands of a judge will give you the least amount of control available. Judges are impartial, yes – but they are also strangers to you, affected by countless factors in their own lives that don’t pertain to you at all.

In many cases, when a decision is just based on statute not based on human life, everyday occurrences will make these determinations often much worse than the process of coming to an agreement together.

For more information on Initiating A Divorce In The State Of Oklahoma, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (918) 890-0881 today.