USA – OKLAHOMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Danya Bundy, Aaron Bundy and Catherine Hensley, Bundy
period of time that the parties lived as husband and wife, as well as to determine child custody matters. 1.2 Choice of Jurisdiction in Divorce Proceedings To commence a divorce or annulment proceeding in Oklahoma, at least one spouse must have been “an actual resident, in good faith, of the State of Oklaho ‑ ma” for the six months immediately preceding the fil ‑ ing of the petition. If neither spouse meets this require ‑ ment, an Oklahoma court will not have jurisdiction to grant a divorce. In cases where there is a dispute about jurisdiction, the analysis becomes extremely fact-sensitive. Appellate law addressing the residency requirement tends to use the terms “residence” and “domicile” interchangeably, even though the words may have legally significant, independent definitions for other purposes. By itself, nationality is not a factor for deter ‑ mining residency; however, in the event of a robust inquiry following a jurisdictional challenge, nationality could be relevant, depending on the circumstances. Domicile has been described by an appellate court as “the inherent element upon which the jurisdiction must rest”. As the question of jurisdiction is fundamental in every matter, jurisdiction may be challenged by either party or by the court. When a jurisdictional challenge is made while a divorce proceeding is pending in a foreign jurisdiction, a stay of Oklahoma proceedings may be requested. When a stay has been requested, the court must consider: • whether there is an alternate forum (such as a court in a foreign jurisdiction) where the case may be tried; • whether the alternate forum provides an adequate remedy; • whether maintaining the case would cause a sub ‑ stantial injustice to the party requesting a stay; • whether the alternate forum can exercise jurisdic ‑ tion over the parties; • whether the balance between the private interests of the parties and the public interest of the State predominates in favour of the action being brought in the alternate forum; and
• whether the stay would prevent unreasonable duplication or proliferation of litigation.
2. Financial Proceedings 2.1 Choice of Jurisdiction in Financial Proceedings
Oklahoma case law says: “The question of jurisdiction is primary and fundamental in every case and cannot be conferred by the consent of the parties, waived by the parties, or overlooked by the Court.” Domicile in the state where a divorce is sought is an inherent element in and prerequisite for jurisdiction for divorce. Oklahoma has adopted the Uniform Interstate Fam ‑ ily Support Act, which was created with the principle that there should only be one court order for child support at a time. The definition of “support” in the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act includes orders for spousal support. In a proceeding to establish or enforce a support order, a court may exercise jurisdic ‑ tion over a non-resident person if: • the individual is personally served with summons within the state; • the individual submits to the jurisdiction of this state by consent in a record, by entering a general appearance, or by filing a responsive document having the effect of waiving any contest to per ‑ sonal jurisdiction; • the individual resided with the child in this state; • the individual resided in this state and provided prenatal expenses or support for the child; • the child resides in this state as a result of the acts or directives of the individual; • the individual engaged in sexual intercourse in this state and the child may have been conceived by that act of intercourse; • the individual asserted parentage of a child in the putative father registry maintained in this state by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services; or • there is any other basis consistent with the consti ‑ tutions of this state and the USA for the exercise of personal jurisdiction. In the event of simultaneous proceedings in multiple jurisdictions, a contesting party may request a stay if
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