Oklahoma Statutes Title 43 - Marriage

Oklahoma recognizes 12 grounds for divorce: abandonment for one year, adultery, impotency, pregnancy by another at time of marriage, extreme cruelty, fraudulent contract, incompatibility (no-fault), habitual drunkenness, gross neglect of duty, felony imprisonment, out-of-state divorce that doesn't release the other spouse, and insanity for five years with poor prognosis. Incompatibility is the most commonly used no-fault ground.

Effective: 2024

Either the petitioner or the respondent must have been an actual resident of Oklahoma, in good faith, for at least six months immediately before filing the petition. Military members stationed at any U.S. army post or military reservation in Oklahoma for six months may also file.

Effective: 2024

A divorce or annulment may be filed in the county where the petitioner has resided for at least 30 days immediately before filing, or in the county where the respondent resides. Legal separation may be filed in the county where either party resides. The court may transfer venue if the other party is out of state or the current county is an inconvenient forum.

Effective: 2024

Oklahoma is an equitable distribution state. The court confirms each spouse's pre-marital property and property acquired during marriage in their own right. Alimony may be awarded from the real and personal property of the other spouse as the court deems reasonable, payable in a lump sum or installments. Either spouse may have their maiden or former name restored upon request.

Effective: 2024

Under the federal Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act, the court may treat military retired pay as marital or separate property and must include written findings in the decree. Active duty retirement is divided using a statutory formula: 50% multiplied by months of marriage during creditable service divided by total months of service. Reserve retirement uses a parallel formula based on retirement points. The valuation date is typically the date the petition was filed.

Effective: 2024

Upon filing and service of a divorce petition, an automatic temporary injunction takes effect against both parties. It prohibits transferring, concealing, or recklessly spending marital property; changing insurance policies or retirement accounts; disrupting children's school or day care; and removing children from the state without consent. Each spouse must disclose two years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, six months of bank statements, and all debt account statements. The injunction may be waived if both parties agree in writing.

Effective: 2024

The court awards custody based on the best interests of the child's physical, mental, and moral welfare. Joint custody is available, and parents requesting it must file parenting plans. A finding of child abuse, domestic violence, stalking, or harassment creates a rebuttable presumption that custody with the perpetrator is detrimental. The court must consider safety as a primary factor, and relocation due to domestic violence cannot weigh against the victim parent. No gender preference is permitted.

Effective: 2024

The court shall assure children of frequent and continuing contact with both parents after separation and encourage shared parenting responsibilities. When awarding custody, the court must consider which parent is more likely to allow the child continuing contact with the other parent. A pattern of failure to allow court-ordered visitation may be grounds for custody modification. Child support continues until age 18, or until high school graduation or age 20 for full-time students, whichever is first.

Effective: 2024

A parent relocating 75 miles or more must give the other parent written notice at least 60 days before the intended move, including the new address, reasons for moving, and a proposed revised visitation schedule. The non-relocating parent has 30 days to object. Failure to provide notice may result in contempt of court and may be a factor in custody modification. The custodial parent has a presumptive right to relocate.

Effective: 2024

A court must award custody to a parent unless the parent is found affirmatively unfit. A parent is presumed unfit if they are a registered sex offender, convicted of certain crimes, alcohol or drug dependent by clear and convincing evidence, convicted of domestic abuse within five years, or residing with a person convicted of such offenses. Custody modification requires proof of a permanent, material, and substantial change of conditions affecting the child's best interests.

Effective: 2024

The court must first determine whether allowing the child to express a preference regarding custody or visitation serves the child's best interest. If so, the court may interview the child in chambers. The interview must be recorded and made part of the record. The child's preference is one factor considered alongside other best interest factors.

Effective: 2024

Oklahoma uses the income shares model for calculating child support. There is a rebuttable presumption that the guideline amount is the correct amount to award. The Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations (in §43-119) covers housing, food, transportation, education, clothing, and entertainment expenses based on combined parental income and number of children. The schedule applies to combined gross incomes up to $15,000 per month; above that, courts add an additional amount at their discretion.

Effective: 2024

Gross income includes all earned and passive income from any source. Excluded items include child support received for other children, adoption assistance subsidies, means-tested public assistance, and the child's own income. When a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court may impute income based on average wages in their industry and area, education, training, work experience, and ability to work at minimum wage for at least 25 hours per week.

Effective: 2024

When the noncustodial parent is granted 121 or more overnights per year, a reduction to their child support obligation may be made. The presumption may be rebutted if the adjustment is not in the child's best interest or the increased parenting time does not result in greater expenditures. Failure to exercise or exceeding the ordered overnights constitutes a material change of circumstances for modification.

Effective: 2024

Child support may be modified upon a showing of material change in circumstances. After November 1, 2021, an obligor incarcerated for 180 or more consecutive days is rebuttably presumed unable to pay child support. The obligation is automatically abated effective the first day of the month following incarceration and does not accrue during the period of confinement unless the presumption is rebutted.

Effective: 2024

The court must designate alimony payments as either support alimony or property division payments. Property division payments are irrevocable and not modifiable. Support alimony terminates upon death of the recipient (claims for arrears must be filed within 90 days) or upon remarriage of the recipient (unless the recipient shows continued need within 90 days). Cohabitation — defined as continuously and habitually dwelling together in a conjugal relationship — is grounds to reduce or terminate support upon proof of substantial change in circumstances.

Effective: 2024

When minor children are involved, the court cannot issue a final divorce decree for at least 90 days from the filing date. This waiting period may be waived by the court for good cause without objection from either party. The court may issue a final order before 90 days if the parties voluntarily participate in marital or family counseling and reconciliation appears unlikely. Cases without minor children have no statutory waiting period and can be finalized in as few as 10 days.

Effective: 2024

In any family law action involving a child under 18, the court may order all adults to attend a parenting education program covering separate parenting, coparenting, conflict management, and child development. For divorces filed on grounds of incompatibility with minor children, the educational program is mandatory. The program is educational in nature and not designed for individual therapy.

Effective: 2024

When custody or visitation is contested, the court may appoint an attorney as guardian ad litem to investigate and advocate for the child's best interests. The court may also refer parties to mediation, unless domestic violence or child abuse is alleged — in that case, mediation requires the mediator to have substantial DV training, the victim to be capable of negotiating without a power imbalance, and the victim to request mediation. Intentionally false accusations of child abuse may result in sanctions and adverse custody findings.

Effective: 2024

Any order pertaining to the division of property in a divorce or separate maintenance action, if willfully disobeyed, may be enforced as indirect contempt of court. This gives the court the power to compel compliance with property division orders, temporary orders, and other divorce-related directives through contempt proceedings.

Effective: 2024

A court finding of child abuse, domestic violence, stalking, or harassment creates a rebuttable presumption that any form of custody or shared parenting with the perpetrator is detrimental to the child. 'Domestic violence' includes coercive control involving physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, economic, or financial abuse. The 2024 amendment expanded this to include child abuse and coercive control. The court must consider the safety of both the child victim and the parent victim as a primary factor.

Effective: 2024

If the court finds that irreparable harm will result before the other party can be heard, it may issue a temporary restraining order effective immediately without notice. A hearing on the motion must be set within 10 days, with five days' notice to the other party. No child temporarily residing in a licensed domestic violence shelter may be removed by an ex parte order. Temporary orders and the automatic injunction terminate when the final judgment is entered or the action is dismissed.

Effective: 2024

The court must include provisions for health care coverage in child support orders. Medical support may be ordered in the form of health insurance coverage or cash contributions toward the child's health care expenses. The cost of health insurance is factored into the child support calculation as an addition to the basic obligation.

Effective: 2024

The court may appoint a parenting coordinator to assist parents in implementing their parenting plan, resolving day-to-day disputes, and reducing conflict. The coordinator's authority, meeting procedures, and parental rights are defined by statute. Either party may request removal of the coordinator for cause.

Effective: 2024

If both former spouses petition the court jointly, the court may set aside a divorce decree and restore the parties to the marital relationship. This must be done before either party remarries. Oklahoma is one of few states that allows divorce decrees to be vacated by mutual consent.

Effective: 2024

Oklahoma imposes restrictions on remarriage following divorce. A person who violates the remarriage provisions by remarrying before the decree is final commits the felony of bigamy. A person who cohabits in violation of the provisions commits the felony of adultery. Appeals from divorce judgments do not stay the judgment unless the court orders otherwise.

Effective: 2024