The Laws of Alimony in Oklahoma
Alimony is a tough mountain to climb, especially when dealing with the state of Oklahoma and their supposed Six Types of Divorce. The state, though, certainly makes the point that divorce is serious. But here are those six types. Once done with going through those six types, you can guess where alimony might fall under:
• The Emotional Divorce
• The Legal Divorce
• The Co-Parental Divorce
• The Community Divorce
• The Psychological Divorce
And then, of course, the sixth one (the most important one for our discussion)….
• The Economic Divorce
You Want to Know What “Alimony” Is?
It’s an order issued by the court for a divorce toward one party to make financial payments received by the other party. In essence, a husband or wife has to simply shell out money so the other spouse can maintain finances!
Crazy, right? Child support makes sense, but alimony seems unfair.
When you really get into the nitty gritty about alimony in OK, though, it becomes a little clearer.
Obviously, alimony falls under the Economic Divorce type. Because finances get split – and sometimes badly.
So there has to be some sort of relief for the party in a divorce that doesn’t have adequate income. This is what alimony in Oklahoma is all about.
The Bases for Alimony in OK
Not every divorce, though, involves alimony. Even the ones we think deserve alimony payment may not get it based on the court’s decision. All these factors get played out as written in the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act:
• The Age, Physicality, Emotional Health, and Finances of Spouses
• Time Length to Receive Training or Education for Self-Sufficiency
• Standard of Living
• Length of Marriage
• Whether or Not the Alimony Payer Can Support Both the Payee and Himself/Herself
This Should Tell Anyone Something About Alimony in Oklahoma
It’s a toss-up, really. You see, child support is a definite. Alimony is not, however. It all depends on aspects like the ability to maintain jobs, how much money a particular “bread winner” makes to maintain both incomes (without being married and sharing a household, of course).
To make it crazier, there are even more unique factors that can apply specifically to any given situation, such as:
• The Type of Job
• Disabilities
• Children in Home
• Tax Consequences
• Fault
• Prenuptial Agreements
Think about it: if a husband working as a bartender has an ex-wife battling for alimony, do you think that bartender would be able to handle the payments? Possibly. Maybe not. It depends on the tips, I guess.
But, for sure, a CEO of a Fortune 500 company would do all right with spousal support payments. Right?
Consider any of the other possibilities, and one could fairly determine whether or not a court would grant alimony to a party. Prenuptial Agreements are a big neon sign for alimony in OK, too. spouse is out of the picture.
There is one big solid definite, though, when it comes to alimony in Oklahoma:
Don’t Expect a Formula
You’ll find in all Online Court Forms and the Domestic Relations Cover Sheet for the state of Oklahoma that there’s no mathematical formula for determining alimony.
So don’t expect an amount in court to agree on a spouse’s needs for alimony. It’s anyone’s game when it comes to spousal support.
