Oklahoma divorce causes encompass twelve legally recognized grounds for ending a marriage, including both fault-based grounds such as abandonment, adultery, extreme cruelty, habitual drunkenness, gross neglect of duty, fraudulent contract, and impotence, as well as the no-fault ground of incompatibility that allows couples to divorce without proving wrongdoing by either spouse.
No-Fault Divorce: Incompatibility
Oklahoma operates as a no-fault divorce state, meaning couples can end their marriages without assigning blame to either spouse.
Understanding Incompatibility
Incompatibility is the most commonly cited ground for no-fault divorce in Oklahoma. It implies that the spouses can no longer get along, the marriage is irretrievably broken with no reasonable expectation for reconciliation, and the purpose of the marriage is no longer achievable. Unlike fault-based grounds, incompatibility does not require proof of wrongdoing by either party.
This ground simplifies the divorce process by allowing couples to dissolve their marriage without the need to establish fault. Under no-fault grounds, you're telling the court "This marriage is damaged beyond repair. It cannot be fixed. Please dissolve it." The court will grant the divorce without requiring extensive proof, as long as you state under oath that incompatibility exists.
Educational Requirements for Parents
If you get a divorce because of incompatibility and you have a minor child, you and your spouse must go to a class about the impact of divorce on your child. This educational program is required for parents in most divorce cases with children in Oklahoma and helps parents understand how divorce affects children and how to minimize negative impacts.
Fault-Based Grounds for Divorce
While no-fault divorce provides a simpler path, Oklahoma law still recognizes twelve specific fault-based grounds for divorce that have been part of Oklahoma divorce law for decades.
Abandonment
Abandonment is accepted as a legitimate ground for divorce in Oklahoma if one spouse deserts the other without sufficient justification for at least one year. The opposing spouse must have abandoned the marriage for at least one full year before this ground can be established.
Abandonment can significantly influence child custody, visitation rights, and spousal support determinations during divorce proceedings. The court prioritizes the well-being of children and equitable support for the abandoned spouse. Abandonment could also impact the division of property, with misconduct potentially swaying the court's decision.
Adultery
In Oklahoma, adultery can serve as a fault-based ground for divorce. Adultery means infidelity or extramarital affairs where one spouse engaged in a sexual relationship with someone other than their spouse during the marriage.
Proving adultery requires substantial evidence, such as pictures, text messages, or other proof of a spouse's infidelity. You need to provide concrete documentation that demonstrates the adulterous relationship occurred. However, there's an important legal concept called condonation. If adultery occurred, but the couple continued to reside together, and the innocent spouse forgave the wrongdoing, this can serve as a defense preventing divorce on adultery grounds.
Impotence
Impotence as a ground for divorce refers to the inability of one spouse to engage in sexual intercourse or consummate the marriage, which Oklahoma law recognizes as a fundamental aspect of marriage. This condition must be incurable, must have existed at the time of the marriage, and must be medically diagnosed by a healthcare professional to serve as a valid ground for divorce.
The party claiming impotence must provide sufficient medical proof documenting the condition. This ground recognizes that the inability to consummate a marriage represents a fundamental breach of marital expectations.
Pregnancy by Another Man
Oklahoma law recognizes as grounds for divorce the situation where the wife at the time of her marriage was pregnant by another man. This ground refers to circumstances where the wife was pregnant by someone other than her husband when the couple got married.
This ground sometimes involves fraud or misrepresentation, but can apply even without fraudulent intent. It recognizes that concealing pregnancy by another person at the time of the marriage represents a fundamental deception affecting the marital contract.
Extreme Cruelty
Extreme cruelty encompasses acts of physical violence or emotional abuse that make the marital relationship unbearable for the victim spouse. This includes any form of abuse, physical or emotional, that poses a threat to the safety, health, or mental well-being of the partner.
In Oklahoma, victims of such cruelty have the right to file for divorce based on this ground. Evidence, including medical records, testimonies from witnesses, photographs documenting injuries, police reports, and documented instances of abuse, can substantiate these claims. Extreme cruelty makes living together unbearable and justifies ending the marriage to protect the victim's welfare.
Fraudulent Contract
Although infrequent, fraudulent marriage contracts can carry serious consequences in Oklahoma divorces. A fraudulent contract denotes that one spouse entered into the marriage under deceptive circumstances, with intentions other than being married to the other individual.
Examples of deception can include marrying solely for financial gain, obtaining citizenship or immigration benefits, avoiding something unpleasant, or other fraudulent misrepresentations about fundamental aspects of the marriage. Proving fraudulent intent requires demonstrating that the spouse never intended to fulfill the essential purposes of marriage and entered the union under false pretenses.
Habitual Drunkenness
Habitual drunkenness refers to the repeated overconsumption of alcohol by one spouse to the extent that it interferes with the couple's married life and responsibilities. To file for divorce on this ground, the affected spouse must demonstrate that the drinking is persistent, excessive, and has a detrimental impact on the marriage.
This may include financial strain caused by spending on alcohol, emotional distress to the family, inability to fulfill parental responsibilities, or other ways that chronic alcohol abuse damages the marital relationship. The drinking must be habitual, not isolated incidents, and must significantly impair the marriage.
Gross Neglect of Duty
Gross neglect of duty occurs when one spouse fails to provide for the basic needs of the other or fulfill marital responsibilities and obligations. This may include neglecting financial obligations such as refusing to provide support, failing to contribute to household expenses, abandoning child care responsibilities, or other failures to fulfill the duties inherent to the marital partnership.
In Oklahoma, this ground recognizes the importance of marital obligations and the significant impact their neglect can have on a marriage. Gross neglect represents more than ordinary disagreements about household duties; it involves substantial failure to fulfill fundamental marital responsibilities.
Felony Imprisonment
Imprisonment as a ground for divorce applies when one spouse is convicted of a felony and sentenced to imprisonment in a state or federal penal institution under sentence for the commission of a felony at the time the petition is filed. The spouse must be actually serving a felony sentence when the divorce petition is filed.
The incarceration of a spouse can create insurmountable challenges for the marital relationship, including financial hardship, inability to fulfill spousal duties, and practical impossibility of maintaining a normal marriage. Oklahoma law acknowledges this by allowing imprisonment as a valid reason for divorce.
Procurement of Invalid Out-of-State Divorce
This ground applies if either spouse gets a divorce decree in another state, but that decree is not valid in Oklahoma and does not release the other party from the obligations of the marriage under Oklahoma law. An individual can file a fault-based divorce if a spouse seeks divorce in another state without proper jurisdiction or under circumstances that Oklahoma does not recognize.
This protects spouses from situations where one party attempts to obtain a divorce in another jurisdiction that doesn't properly release both parties from marital obligations under Oklahoma law.
Insanity
Insanity for a period of five years can serve as grounds for divorce under specific conditions. Insanity can be one of the most challenging grounds for divorce and requires extensive proof and medical documentation.
For this ground to apply, either spouse must have been insane for at least five years, must have been confined in a state institution in Oklahoma or another state or in a private institution for the insane for at least five years, and three doctors must have examined the insane spouse, including the superintendent of the spouse's institution, with at least two doctors agreeing that the spouse has a poor prognosis for recovery from the insanity.
Note that a divorce granted on grounds of insanity may mean the spouse who files for divorce must still pay for the support and maintenance of the insane spouse. The court appoints a guardian ad litem to represent the insane defendant, with this appointment made at least ten days before any decree is entered.
Bigamy
Bigamy occurs when one spouse is already legally married to another person at the time of the subsequent marriage. In Oklahoma, entering into a marriage while still being married to someone else is illegal and serves as a legitimate ground for divorce.
Bigamy represents both grounds for divorce and potential criminal charges against the offending spouse. The subsequent marriage is void from its inception, but seeking a divorce decree provides formal legal documentation ending the invalid marriage.
Impact of Fault on Divorce Outcomes
Oklahoma operates as a no-fault divorce state, but proving fault can still potentially influence certain divorce outcomes.
Limited Influence on Most Issues
Oklahoma divorce law generally provides that fault grounds like abandonment, adultery, extreme cruelty, habitual drunkenness, and fraudulent behavior may not substantially influence divorce conclusions such as child custody, alimony, and property division. The court focuses primarily on equitable distribution of property and the best interests of children rather than punishing spouses for fault.
However, there are exceptions where fault can matter. If one party has dissipated marital assets due to an affair, a gambling problem, or an addiction, that misconduct can affect how the court divides property or awards alimony. Likewise, if that behavior impacts a party's ability to care for children, it could influence custody decisions.
Alimony Considerations
For instance, adultery can serve as grounds for divorce, but its direct influence on alimony is limited. Courts will only take adulterous behavior into account if it has affected the spouse's financial capacity to support themselves or their children. Similarly, a fraudulent marriage contract could potentially influence property division, spousal support, and child custody, with the deceived spouse potentially arguing for more favorable terms.
Subconscious Judicial Impact
Some family law attorneys note that while fault technically shouldn't affect property division or custody, raising fault-based grounds may subconsciously affect the judge. Thinking that a party engaged in wrongdoing may cause the judge to decide other things in the filing spouse's favor, even though Oklahoma law says fault shouldn't influence these decisions.
Strategic Considerations for Choosing Grounds
Understanding when to pursue fault-based versus no-fault divorce requires strategic thinking with guidance from an experienced family law attorney.
Advantages of No-Fault Divorce
Usually, the quickest and simplest way for everybody to get through a divorce is through no-fault incompatibility. No-fault divorce streamlines the process, reduces contention, can expedite proceedings, and avoids the need to prove wrongdoing, which can be expensive and time-consuming.
The vast majority of divorces are filed under incompatibility, and once it's alleged in the petition, you typically won't see it come up again until the final divorce decree. It's simply the legal reason the divorce is granted, not something you have to continuously prove or litigate throughout the case.
When Fault-Based Grounds Make Sense
There are sometimes strategic reasons why you might want to raise fault-based grounds. First, some fault-based allegations may not make the other party look favorable, and thinking that party doesn't look good may subconsciously affect the judge and cause the judge to decide other matters in your favor.
Second, if wrongdoing has resulted in financial consequences, such as one spouse spending marital assets on an affair or gambling, fault grounds provide a framework for addressing this misconduct. Third, if a spouse's behavior (such as substance abuse or domestic violence) affects their ability to parent, fault grounds create a record of these concerns relevant to child custody determinations.
Note that forcing the judge to hear evidence about fault because you're requiring a determination of fault-based grounds makes these issues relevant when they would otherwise not be considered. This may increase litigation costs and create additional conflict, so carefully weigh whether the strategic benefits justify these drawbacks.
Residency Requirements and Filing
Before pursuing a divorce on any grounds in Oklahoma, residency requirements must be met.
State and County Residency
Oklahoma law requires one of the spouses to have maintained residency in the state for a minimum of six months immediately preceding filing. Additionally, the divorce petition must be filed in the county where one of the spouses has resided for at least 30 days.
These residency requirements ensure Oklahoma courts have proper jurisdiction over the divorce case and that the filing occurs in the appropriate county courthouse.
Before You File a Divorce in Oklahoma
Oklahoma divorce causes include both the no-fault ground of incompatibility and twelve fault-based grounds, including abandonment, adultery, impotence, wife's pregnancy by another atthe time of marriage, extreme cruelty, fraudulent contract, habitual drunkenness, gross neglect of duty, felony imprisonment, invalid out-of-state divorce decree, insanity, and bigamy. Understanding these legal grounds for divorce in Oklahoma helps individuals determine the most appropriate basis for filing for divorce based on their specific circumstances.
While Oklahoma operates as a no-fault divorce state where incompatibility provides the simplest path to dissolution, fault-based grounds remain available and may be strategically valuable in certain situations, particularly when wrongdoing has caused financial harm, affects parenting ability, or involves serious misconduct like domestic violence. However, in most cases, pursuing no-fault divorce based on incompatibility provides the most efficient, cost-effective, and less contentious approach to ending a marriage.
Working with an experienced Oklahoma family law attorney helps you evaluate which grounds best suit your situation, understand how your choice of grounds may impact divorce outcomes including property division and child custody, and develop a legal strategy that protects your rights while efficiently resolving your marriage dissolution. Whether you pursue fault-based or no-fault divorce, meeting residency requirements and properly establishing legal grounds remains essential to obtaining a valid divorce decree under Oklahoma law.