USA – OKLAHOMA Law and Practice Contributed by: Danya Bundy and Aaron Bundy, Bundy Law
Oklahoma has adopted the Uniform Interstate Family 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 Sup - port Act includes orders for spousal support. In a proceeding to establish or enforce a support order, a court may exercise jurisdiction over a non-resident person if: • the individual is personally served with sum - mons 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 respon - sive document having the effect of waiving any contest to personal jurisdiction; • the individual resided with the child in this state; • the individual resided in this state and provid - ed 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 constitutions 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 there is a pending challenge to the exercise of jurisdiction. Factors considered for a stay request include the timeliness of the jurisdictional challenge together with the facts pertaining to jurisdiction, including which state
is the home state of the child in a child support case. Oklahoma courts may hear financial claims after a foreign divorce; however, Oklahoma does not have the ability to modify a spousal support order issued by a foreign court so long as the foreign court has continuing, exclusive jurisdic - tion over the order under that jurisdiction’s laws. Oklahoma may modify foreign child support orders in certain circumstances in accordance with the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. 2.2 Service and Process Service in financial proceedings must be made in the same manner as other civil lawsuits: a petition and summons must be served by certi - fied mail (with return receipt requested and deliv - ery restricted to the addressee), by commercial courier, by a sheriff, or by personal service using a licensed process server. There is no statutory timeframe or waiting period for a financial pro - ceeding, so each case must be prosecuted and defended like any civil lawsuit. 2.3 Division of Assets In a divorce or annulment proceeding, the court has a statutory duty to determine what is each party’s separate, non-marital property and to make a just and reasonable division of all prop - erty acquired by the parties jointly during the marriage. The “just and reasonable” standard is also characterised as fair and equitable, and it does not necessarily mean an equal, 50/50 divi - sion. The sole exception to the just and reason - able standard is where there is a valid prenup - tial agreement that provides for an alternative method of division of jointly acquired property. Appellate case law says that trial courts should also divide any enhancement in value of oth - erwise separate property if the value increase
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