My partner and I are getting divorced. What are my options?
Divorce is never planned. It is often the combination of years of factors that become overwhelming at some point in the relationship.
When it is necessary for you are your spouse to separate you have options and some things to consider before you make the first steps in this process. Speaking with an attorney will be very valuable.
In this post, I am going to explain what an uncontested divorce proceeding in Oklahoma is and how this may benefit your specific situation.
Uncontested Divorce
An Uncontested or “Agreed” divorce is the most cost-effective and fastest way to get divorced.
In an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse do not have to be happy and excited about getting divorced. In fact, it is safe to say that no one would be getting divorced if they were happy with their situation.
What an uncontested divorce is, however, is an understanding between the parties that the divorce is going to happen and a division of assets makes sense as to who owns what and how much.
If children are involved that also includes what custody and visitation will be and how child support will be affected by these decisions.
In an uncontested divorce, an attorney will draft the paperwork according to the decision that both parties can agree to. Sometimes this takes conversations with both parties to make sure that each party can agree in principle and what is needed by each party to accomplish this divorce.
In Oklahoma, this type of divorce proceeding involves filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and several other necessary documents. Then, at least 24 hours later, the other party can be presented an
“Entry of Appearance and Waiver”, a copy of the Petition, and a Decree of Dissolution that mirrors the Petition.
The Entry of Appearance and Waiver states that the other party has read the Petition and the Decree of Dissolution and that they agree with the documents as written and that they will allow the proceeding to occur without them needing to appear.
This means that we have either discussed the divorce and the division of assets with the other party or it is an obvious situation such as everything already being split and there is nothing to discuss other than the actual divorce on paper.
If the other party signs and notarizes the Entry of Appearance and Waiver and Decree of Dissolution then we can get in front of a Judge in as little as 10 days from the filing of the Petition based on Oklahoma law if there are no kids involved.
The Petitioner will then attend Court on a pre-designated date and time on what is called the “Waiver Docket” or uncontested docket. You will go in front of the Judge with your signed and notarized documents and answer any questions the Judge has about your divorce.
The Judge will divorce you from the bench at that moment and remind you that you cannot marry anyone else but your ex for 6 months from that date.
If you are your partner have children of the marriage then the process is the same but the statutory waiting period is now 90 days instead of 10 days.
Each parent will also be required to complete a parenting class. The requirements of which classes depend on which county you will be filing your case in. This is something you can discuss with your attorney or the Court.
At this point, there is also an option to waive the 90-day waiting period with court approval and the completion of the parenting class requirement by both parties.
In this scenario, the Court can take action to speed up your divorce as long as the Judge feels like the custody and visitation decision is in the best interests of the children. I won’t go into this issue in this post but the “best interests” standard is an important factor in family law cases.
Do I need an attorney for this?
Not to sound cliche, but It depends.
It depends on your understanding of court documents and the process of filing a case.
The reason why I started offering this service is that I was getting calls every month to fix cases that were started without guidance from an attorney and now the caller is in a bind.
I don’t want you to have to be one of those callers!
At Oklahoma Divorce Made Simple I have plans with multiple levels of attorney involvement to help you with this part of the proceeding…
- Our DIY plan
Our DIY plan includes all of the documents you need for your uncontested divorce as well as instructions on how to file the case in your county. This plan also includes a 30-minute consultation with your attorney to ensure the accuracy of the documents and understanding of the instructions for filing.
You can find out more about the DIY plan here:
2. Our Value Plus Plan
Let’s face it, filing your own case, scheduling with the Judge, serving the other party paperwork, and appearing in court by yourself can be overwhelming, especially in an already emotionally charged time of your life.
Our Value Plus Plan eliminates all of these issues by letting my staff and I handle everything for you. We draft all of the paperwork, ensure paperwork is delivered, do all of the courthouse specifics for you, and attend the final hearing with you to ensure you are where you need to be and everything happens according to plan.
You can find out more about the Value Plus Plan here:
If you are not sure which plan is right for you or if you have questions about your specific case I urge you to schedule a free consultation so we can assist you in deciding what the best path forward is at this time.
It is my goal to help you achieve your desired result with as little uncertainty and stress as possible while attempting to accomplish as much as possible in the case outside of cost and for a much lower cost to you!
CONTACT US TODAY!
