Oregon Divorce Requirements
The state of Oregon requires that those filing for an Oregon divorce be
state residents for a minimum of six months. This six-month time period
must be continuous and must be prior to divorce filing.
An Oregon divorce is also possible if the individuals were married in
the state of Oregon and one spouse still resides in the state for the
minimum time requirement. If both individuals reside in the state but
live in different counties, either individual may petition for divorce
in his or her county or the county of his or her spouse.
A hearing will not be held until ninety days has passed since the
divorce's petition and the divorce summons.
Grounds for Divorce
When a divorce is petitioned, the United States requires that a reason
for the divorce be provided. This provided reasoning is the grounds for
divorce.
Two individuals may agree on the grounds for divorce or one individual
may petition on particular grounds that he or she will then have to
prove before the court. However not all grounds for divorce are legal
in Oregon. The grounds for other states do not apply to Oregon divorces.
Oregon separates its divorcing grounds into two categories: No-Fault
grounds and Fault grounds. No-Fault grounds include irreconcilable
differences between the individuals that have led to the disintegration
of the couple's marriage. No-Fault grounds usually do not mark one
individual responsible for the divorce and can possibly be preceded by
marriage counseling.
Fault Grounds include marriage by way of fraudulent force and either
individual not being of legal age when entering into marriage or
misleading his or her spouse illegally. Fault grounds cite one
individual as responsible for the divorce petitioning.
Oregon Documentation
Oregon has different forms of documents than other states. However, like
other states, the number of documents can be as many as twenty for a
single divorce. The number of documents in a divorce depends on the
marital circumstances.
If a child is present in a marriage more documents will be required to
determine custody matters. If the marriage was lengthy more documents
may be necessary. Some of the documents include a Petition for
Dissolution of Marriage and Decree of Dissolution of Marriage form, a
Motion for Waiver of 90 Day Waiting Period form, a Marital Settlement
Agreement form, an Affidavit Supporting Stipulated Judgment of
Dissolution form, and a Notice of Statutory Restraining Order
Preventing Dissipation of Assets form.
All documents, once completed, will be filed with the county court
clerk's office. These documents will then be presented at the divorce
hearing.
Distributing Property
Oregon is considered to be an equitable distribution state. Under
equitable distribution all property obtained during the course of the
marriage is to be divided fairly, this may not mean the property will
be divided evenly.
The court first allows the individuals to divide the property
themselves, but if this is not possible the court will award the
property. Any property that either spouse obtained prior to the
marriage is to be maintained by its owner. Any gifts exchanged between
the individuals may be divided or maintained, upon discretion.