What Options Do I Have When Looking To Divorce My Spouse In Oklahoma?
There is a mechanism that people are not aware of called the mechanism of legal separation. A legal separation is a legal process through the court that is similar to divorce. The only thing is the court does not grant a divorce decree at the end, but a legal separation.
It has all the components of the divorce that the judge can order, including:
- Child support
- Child custody
- Alimony
- Division of property
- Debt
- And more…
The good thing about legal separation is there are no residency requirements or waiting periods. Whereas in a divorce, you must show residency in a particular county that you’re filing in for a certain amount of time. Also depending on if there are children involved, the waiting period for divorce can be no less than 90 days.
With the legal separation, that residency requirement or the waiting period is not there. That is why legal separation is a mechanism that some people choose to use, although it doesn’t lead to a divorce.
Outside of the legal separation mechanism, some people utilize the mediation system. The mediation system is another way of settling your case with very little court intervention.
Avoiding court intervention is the main goal for many people – which is why it is so helpful to have an attorney who can help you achieve that end.
Your attorney’s goal will always be to attempt to settle your case out of court with very little court interaction. Going to court causes anxiety for clients. Your attorney’s job is to attempt to solve these things outside of court and many tools can provide a great way to do that.
How Long Does It Take To Finalize A Divorce?
It depends on if there are children involved in the case. A party could get divorced in no less than 10 days if there aren’t any children. However, if there are children, courts are not allowed to divorce before 90 days, unless good cause is shown for it. Therefore, it can be as little as the 11th day or it can be as long as the 91st day.
How Do You Avoid Court In Divorce Cases?
There are a few mechanisms that are used to settle court cases outside of court:
- Mediation;
- Settlement conferences;
- Attorney’s exchanging settlement offers;
- And more…
Mediation is conducted with an independent third-party mediator. This may be the first and only opportunity that the parties have to be able to sit down and discuss the issues of the case and discuss how they would like it resolved. Through the mediation process, if people can settle these issues themselves, the outcome is better for everyone involved.
Settlement conferences are when the attorneys and the clients come together to settle their differences. They go through the issues and try to settle them.
Settlement offers are what attorneys exchange to settle the case outside of court. This could be an attorney meeting with their client, discussing and obtaining an understanding of what the client would like out of the divorce.
These items would get drafted up and exchanged to the other attorney as a settlement offer for that attorney to review with that attorney’s client. If the other party agrees with the settlement offer, then there would be no room for negotiation where the lawyer may counteroffer that settlement proposal or settlement offer.
How Long Is The Time Between When A Divorce Is Filed And When It Is Finalized?
The waiting period for couples with children is 90 days; for couples without children, the wait is 10 days.
Is Mediation Required In Oklahoma Divorce Cases?
Mediation is not required to divorce in Oklahoma, but it is heavily favored. Most of the time, the judge wants to see that mediation was attempted before a final trial will be set, so some judges require mediation.
Mediation is a tool used to not only settle things outside of the court, but it allows the court to be more efficient as they deal with cases. The more that parties are able to get together, mediate, and solve these issues outside of the court, it allows the court system to run more efficiently. For more information on Divorce Law in Oklahoma, an initial consultation is your next best step.
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