When you have children, what you can expect to happen during your Tulsa divorce will depend on the county where you file your petition and on your particular circumstances.
Although each county court has its own requirements, the following is a general outline of what you can expect when obtaining an Oklahoma divorce with children involved.
Filing For Oklahoma Divorce With Children
Your divorce is started by filing a petition for dissolution of marriage in the district court in your county.
The petition includes the reason, or grounds, that you are seeking a divorce, specific information about you and your family, and other information that the court requires in order to consider your petition.
The most common grounds for divorce in Oklahoma are irreconcilable differences, which is often called no-fault divorce.
Your Tulsa divorce attorney will discuss the available grounds with you to help you determine which would best apply to your particular situation.
Your petition must include a summons for your spouse unless your spouse has agreed to waive service by completing a Waiver of Service of Process form.
In that case, the Waiver form should be attached to the petition in place of a summons.
Service of Process on Your Spouse
The summons that is included with your divorce petition is the form used to obtain service of process on your spouse.
He or she must receive a copy of the summons and the divorce petition so that he is aware of the pending divorce and of the specific requests that you made in your petition.
If you know where your spouse is residing, he or she may be served by sending a copy of the summons and the divorce petition by certified mail, or through personal delivery by the sheriff’s department or a private process server.
The method used by your Tulsa divorce lawyer will depend on your particular circumstances.
If you do not know where your spouse is residing and you have exhausted all reasonable methods of locating him or her, your Tulsa attorney may request that the court allow service by publication.
Before a court will approve this type of service, an affidavit of diligent search must be submitted to the court.
In that document, you will need to include all efforts that you have made to locate your spouse.
Automatic Temporary Injunction
After your petition for dissolution of marriage has been filed with the court, an automatic temporary injunction goes into effect.
The injunction is a court order that prohibits disposal or concealment of marital assets by you or your spouse while the divorce is pending.
This means that marital assets, including money, may be used only for the purchase of necessities, or to pay a divorce attorney.
Once your petition has been filed with the court, an automatic temporary injunction goes into effect.
That injunction prohibits you and your spouse from disposing of or concealing marital assets unless you both agree unless it is done to pay a divorce attorney, necessities, or in the usual course of business.
Marital assets include property that has value that were obtained during the course of your marriage and include the marital home, vehicles, financial accounts, and investment properties and other accounts.
Once the injunction goes into effect, a spouse must notify his or her spouse and account to the court if any extraordinary expenses are paid.
Those types of expenses include, for example, your child’s medical expenses that are not covered by insurance.
Temporary Order Financial Declaration
With 30 days of the date that you filed your divorce petition, you must submit a list of marital assets and separate personal property to the court.
Your spouse must submit that list within 30 days of the date that he or she was served with the summons and petition.
Note that if you and your spouse have agreed to a settlement, you may submit that agreement to the court rather than the financial declaration.
Parenting Class/Seminar
The state requires that all people seeking an Oklahoma divorce with children that is based on irreconcilable differences attend parenting classes.
You and your spouse may attend together or separately.
The cost for each parent ranges from $15 and $60, depending on the provider.
The classes are designed to teach parents about the impact of an Oklahoma divorce with children and to teach them strategies to help with cooperative parenting and reducing conflicts.
Final Divorce Decree
Because you have minor children, the court will not grant a final divorce decree until at least 90 days after the petition is filed.
If you and your spouse have come to an agreement on all issues including the division of marital assets and debts, child custody and visitation, and any other matters involved in your particular situation, you may request that the court grant an Agreed Dissolution of Marriage on or after the 91st day from the date that your petition was filed.
Free Consultation: Tulsa Divorce Attorney
Obtaining a divorce in Oklahoma can be complex and confusing.
If you are considering seeking a divorce, a reputable Tulsa divorce attorney has the knowledge and experience to assist you throughout the process.
The Divorce of Tulsa Law Office offers free consultations. Call 918-924-5526 today to make an appointment.
