Oklahoma Divorce Laws: Residency, Waiting Period, Custody and Support

Either the petitioner or the respondent must have been a good-faith resident of Oklahoma (or of a U.S. Army post or military reservation in Oklahoma) for six months immediately before the petition is filed. The case may be filed in the county where the petitioner has lived for the past 30 days or in the county where the respondent lives.

Incompatibility is Oklahoma's no-fault ground. Fault grounds include abandonment for one year, adultery, impotency, the wife being pregnant by another man at the time of marriage, extreme cruelty, fraudulent contract, habitual drunkenness, gross neglect of duty, imprisonment for a felony, a divorce obtained outside Oklahoma that does not release the other spouse here, and insanity for five years (with special conditions). In an incompatibility divorce involving a child under 18, the parents must attend an educational program on the impact of divorce on children.

In a divorce involving minor children, the court cannot issue a final order until at least 90 days after the petition is filed. The court may waive this for good cause if neither party objects, or may finalize earlier if the parties voluntarily attend marital or family counseling and the court finds reconciliation unlikely. The 90-day rule does not apply to divorces based on certain fault grounds, such as abandonment, extreme cruelty, habitual drunkenness, felony imprisonment and certain child abuse findings. After a divorce, neither party may marry someone else until six months after the decree.

The court confirms to each spouse the property he or she owned before the marriage and property acquired during the marriage in his or her own right. Property acquired jointly during the marriage, no matter whose name is on the title, is divided in a way that is just and reasonable, subject to any valid written prenuptial agreement. Certain veterans' disability payments (Special Monthly Compensation and qualifying Combat-Related Special Compensation) are separate property.

Either spouse may be awarded alimony the court considers reasonable, with regard to the value of the property at the time of the divorce. Alimony may be paid from real or personal property or as a money judgment, in a lump sum or in installments. The statute does not set a formula for amount or duration.

Custody is decided by the best interests of the child's physical, mental and moral welfare. The court may award custody to either parent or to both jointly; parents requesting joint custody must file a parenting plan. There is no legal preference or presumption for or against joint legal custody, joint physical custody or sole custody. If the court finds child abuse, domestic violence, stalking or harassment, there is a rebuttable presumption that custody with the perpetrator is not in the child's best interest. A child may express a preference if the court finds that is in the child's best interest, and a child 12 or older is presumed (rebuttably) old enough to form an intelligent preference; the court is not bound by the child's choice.

Oklahoma uses a schedule of basic child support obligations based on the parents' combined adjusted gross monthly income and the number of children. Each parent's share is set by that parent's percentage of the combined income (an income shares approach). The amount produced by the guidelines is presumed correct. Oklahoma Human Services publishes an official Excel child support computation calculator and a fillable computation form; the computation form must be signed by the judge and attached to the order.

In divorce, separate maintenance, paternity, custody and visitation cases involving a child under 18, the court may require the adults to attend a parenting education program. In incompatibility divorces filed on or after November 1, 2014 with a child under 18, attendance is required; the program fee is $10 to $60, it must be completed before the temporary order or within 45 days after, and custody cannot be finally decided until it is completed. The court may waive attendance for good cause, including domestic violence, stalking or harassment.

Yes. Oklahoma law provides for legal separation, and a spouse may seek alimony (separate maintenance) without a divorce for any of the causes for which a divorce may be granted. A legal separation case may be filed in the county where either party lives.

The statutes allow a marriage to be declared void when a party lacked the capacity to marry because of age or understanding (living together after the incapacity ends is a defense), and make a marriage in which one party had been divorced less than six months a ground for annulment by either party. Annulment cases use the same six-month residency rule as divorce.

A grandparent may seek court-ordered visitation if it is in the child's best interest and the grandparent shows the parent is unfit, or rebuts by clear and convincing evidence the presumption that a fit parent is acting in the child's best interest by showing the child would suffer harm without visitation. The family must also have been disrupted in a listed way, such as a pending or completed divorce, separate maintenance or annulment, the death of the grandparent's child, a parent's felony incarceration, custody with someone other than a parent, or parents who never married and live apart. Visitation cannot be granted if the child is in an intact nuclear family and both parents object.

When a divorce is granted, the decree restores a spouse's former or maiden name if it was changed because of the marriage and the spouse wants it restored.

A child is entitled to support from the parents until age 18. If the child is regularly enrolled in and attending high school (or another high school education program or an alternative high school program) as a full-time student, support continues until the child graduates or turns 20, whichever comes first; no hearing or new order is needed to extend support past 18. Separately, a court may order support for an indefinite period for a child who needs substantial care and supervision because of a mental or physical disability that existed (or whose cause was known to exist) before age 18 and who will not be able to support himself or herself.

Oklahoma Human Services Child Support Services (CSS) says the easiest way to apply is online at okbenefits.org. You can also complete the paper Application for Child Support Services (Form 03EN001E) and mail it with copies of any child support orders to the CSS Case Initiation Center, P.O. Box 248843, Oklahoma City, OK 73124-8843, or call customer service to have an application mailed to you. Families receiving TANF or non-TANF Medicaid are referred automatically and do not need to apply. The application page does not state an application fee.

Remedies for nonpayment listed by Oklahoma Human Services include income assignment from wages, unemployment and workers' compensation; intercepting federal and state tax refunds, lottery winnings and some lump sums; financial institution data matches to reach bank accounts; liens, including on personal injury awards; revoking recreational licenses and (through CSS) business, occupational and professional licenses; credit bureau reporting; passport denial; seek-work orders; civil contempt; and state and federal criminal charges. By statute, court-ordered past-due child support draws interest at 2% per year, and past-due payments operate as judgments and create a lien.

A child support order may be modified on a material change in circumstances, such as an increase or decrease in the child's needs or the parents' income, a parent's incarceration for more than 180 consecutive days, changes in child care or medical or dental insurance costs, or a child reaching majority. A change to the guideline schedule alone is not a material change. Support cannot be changed retroactively; a modification normally takes effect on the first day of the month after the motion to modify is filed. In cases where CSS provides services, CSS reviews orders under its rules and, if the amount does not follow the guidelines, files a notice of review and intent to modify that is set for hearing before a district or administrative court.

In a case about custody or visitation, a parent can file a motion for an emergency custody hearing. The motion must include an independent report if available, such as a police report or a Department of Human Services report, showing the child is in surroundings that endanger the child's safety and would likely cause irreparable harm if they continue. If there is no such report, a notarized affidavit from someone with personal knowledge must be attached. The court has 72 hours after receiving the motion to hold a hearing; if it does not, the motion can be taken to the presiding judge of the judicial district, who must hold the hearing within 24 hours. If information the court relied on turns out to be false, the person who filed must pay all costs and attorney fees, and failure to pay within 30 days can be punished as contempt.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health's vital records office handles birth and death certificates only. For marriage and divorce records, it directs people to contact the court clerk in the county where the event took place; court clerk contact information is available through the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN).

Both parties sign and swear to a written application in person before the court clerk of the district court. The application lists each party's residence and full legal name and age as shown on a certified birth certificate, current driver's license or ID card, passport or visa, or similar official document, and the name each will use after the marriage. The license is valid anywhere in Oklahoma for 30 days, and the ceremony must take place within 30 days of issuance. There is no waiting period for adults; if either party is under 18, the application must be on file at least 72 hours before the license issues. The clerk's fee is $50, or $5 for couples who present a certificate of completing a qualifying premarital counseling program.

A person 18 or older may marry. A person under 18 may marry only with the consent of a parent or guardian, given in person before the issuing authority or in a written consent acknowledged before a judge or court clerk (other forms apply for out-of-state, ill or military parents); a district judge may consent if both parents are dead, incompetent or missing and no guardian has been appointed. A person under 16 may not marry unless a court authorizes it in settlement of a paternity case or when the female is pregnant or has given birth, with the parents or guardians having an opportunity to object. A parent of a child in the custody of the Department of Human Services or the Department of Juvenile Justice cannot give consent.

A married couple adopting jointly (both at least 21), an unmarried person at least 21, a married person at least 21 who is legally separated, or one spouse alone when the other spouse is the child's parent or relative may adopt. The case is filed in the district court of the county where the petitioners or child live, in Tulsa or Oklahoma County, or where parental rights were terminated. Written consent or a permanent relinquishment is generally required from both parents (or one parent if the other is dead, has had rights terminated, or need not consent). Consent is not required from a parent who, for 12 consecutive months out of the last 14 before filing, willfully failed to contribute to the child's support as ordered or according to ability, among other exceptions. A favorable preplacement home study, completed within 12 months before placement, is generally required, and it includes interviews, a home visit and fingerprint-based background checks.

A married person may adopt alone if the other spouse is the child's parent. The other parent's consent is still needed unless an exception applies, such as willful failure to support for 12 of the last 14 months. No preplacement home study is needed if the child has lived with the birth parent's spouse for at least one year when the petition is filed, but a home study is then done during the case. The court may waive the home study entirely if it finds the waiver is in the child's best interest, the parent and stepparent have been married at least one year with the child living in their home, and the stepparent has no felony conviction, no child abuse or domestic violence record, and no protective order against them. A stepparent adoption is not treated as a direct-placement adoption.

The district court may appoint a guardian of the person, the estate, or both of a minor when it appears necessary or convenient, on the verified petition of a relative or other person on the minor's behalf; relatives and people with a kinship relationship to the child get preference. Before appointing, the court may receive a background and home investigation of the proposed guardian, made under the Adoption Code's home study requirements, weighing the child's best interests against the proposed guardian's ability to pay for it.

Any person interested in the welfare of someone believed to be incapacitated or partially incapacitated may file a verified petition in district court. The court must find by clear and convincing evidence that the person is incapacitated or partially incapacitated, determine the extent of the incapacity, and consider whether less restrictive alternatives to guardianship are feasible. It must dismiss the case if less restrictive alternatives are adequate; otherwise it may appoint a general or limited guardian, with a specific finding that the person's needs require guardianship instead of less restrictive alternatives. The law's stated purpose is to encourage maximum self-reliance and independence.

The mother and a man claiming to be the genetic father may sign an acknowledgment of paternity under penalty of perjury on the Department of Human Services form; it is filed with the State Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, and is equivalent to a court judgment of paternity. A signer may rescind before the earlier of 60 days after the acknowledgment takes effect or the first court hearing involving the child; a signer who was a minor may rescind within 60 days of turning 18. After that, it can be challenged only for duress or material mistake of fact within two years, or for fraud at any time, by clear and convincing evidence. Paternity may also be decided in a civil case brought by the child, mother, alleged father or the Department of Human Services; the court must order genetic testing on a party's request, and results of at least 99% probability rebuttably identify the father.

A person who has lived in Oklahoma and in the county (or on a military reservation there) for more than 30 days may file a verified petition for a name change in district court; registered sex offenders may not. Notice must be published once in a local newspaper at least 10 days before the hearing, and anyone may file a written protest; the court may waive publication for good cause, such as domestic violence cases with sealed records. The court grants the change unless it is sought for an illegal or fraudulent purpose or a material allegation is false.

Oklahoma does not have a general emancipation statute, but the district court can give a minor the rights of majority for contracts and for transacting business, generally or for specified business. The minor files a verified petition through a next friend in the county where the minor has lived for at least one year (or, for a nonresident, where the minor owns real estate), stating the minor's age and the reason. The hearing is set 15 to 30 days after filing; parents, any guardian, or custodian get notice by certified mail, and notice is published once in a local newspaper at least 10 days before the hearing. Acts done under the order have the same effect as if done by an adult. The minor pays the costs.

Oklahoma's child support agency is Child Support Services (CSS), part of Oklahoma Human Services. CSS establishes paternity, calculates and sets up child support, runs the Central Case Registry and handles conferences and hearings; it also offers common forms and information for parents, employers and attorneys. Apply through the "Apply for services" link on the CSS site. Payments can be made online (after registering), at a payment kiosk, or by mail to the payment mailing address, and parents can log in to view payments on their case at OKBenefits.org. Phone: Oklahoma City (405) 522-2273; Tulsa (918) 295-3500; TTY 711 or (800) 722-0353.

Oklahoma Human Services (Child Support Services) provides the Child Support Computation as an Excel calculator, plus a fillable Child Support Computation form with instructions and an Insurance Premium Worksheet. The computation form is the legal document used to calculate a noncustodial parent's child support obligation under Title 43, Section 120 of the Oklahoma Statutes; it must be signed by the judge and attached to orders that establish or modify support. For help with the calculator, call Child Support Services at (405) 522-2273.