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Divorce Residency Essentials to Get Divorce in Oregon

If the marriage was not performed in Oregon, one of the spouses must have been a resident of Oregon for six months immediately prior to filing. If the marriage was performed in Oregon and either of the spouses is a resident at the time of filing, there is no durational residency requirement. The dissolution of marriage may be filed in a county where either spouse resides. There is a 90-day waiting period before a hearing will be scheduled which begins after the respondent has been served with papers or the publication of the summons. An affidavit signed by both parties will waive the waiting period. [Oregon Revised Statutes; Volume 2, Sections 107.065, and 107.075].

Reasons for Divorce in Oregon

There are mainly two reasons of divorce in Oregon those are fault and general.In order to file for divorce in Oregon, the proper grounds must be established. Both spouses are involved in establishing these grounds, and both must substantiate and agree upon these, unless the divorcing spouse is trying to prove otherwise to the court.

No-fault grounds are fora dissolution of the marriage, and in Oregon,include:

• Irreconcilable differences between the spouses which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage. Misconduct of the spouses will only be considered when child custody is an issue or if necessary to prove irreconcilable differences. [Oregon Revised Statutes; Volume 2, Sections 107.025 and 107.036].

General reasons fordivorce in Oregoninclude:

• Consent to marriage was obtained by fraud, duress, or force;
• Minor married without lawful consent; and
• Spouse lacked mental capacity to consent [including temporary incapacity resulting from drug or alcohol use].

Misconduct of the spouses will only be considered when child custody is an issue. [Oregon Revised Statutes; Volume 2, Section 107.015].

Custody of the Children in Oregon

Joint custody, joint responsibility for the child, and extensive contact between the child and both parents is encouraged. Parents must provide a parenting plan. Joint or sole custody is determined based on the best interests of the child and the following factors:

• The love and affection existing between the child and other family members;
• The attitude of the child;
• The desirability of maintaining continuity;
• Any spouse abuse;
• The relationship of the child with parents, siblings, and other significant family members; and
• The parent’s interests and attitudes towards the child.

The conduct, income, social envi­ronment, and lifestyle of the proposed guardian is to be considered only if it is shown to cause emotional or physical damage to the child. No preference is to be given because of parent’s sex. Final judgment must include insurance health benefits and mandatory statement. The court will not order joint custody unless both parents agree to the terms of the custody. [Oregon Revised Statutes; Volume 2, Sections 107.102, 107.105, 107.106, 107.137, and 107.169.]

Property Distribution in Oregon

Oregon is an “equitable distribution” state. All of the spouses’ property is sub­ject to division by the court, including any gifts, inheritances, and property acquired prior to the marriage. Regardless of whether the property is held jointly or individually, there is a presumption that the spouses contributed equally to the acquisition of any property, unless shown otherwise. All property will be divided, without regard to any fault of the spouses, based on the following factors:

• The cost of any sale of assets;
• The amount of taxes and liens on the property;
• The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker;
• Any retirement benefits, including social security, civil service, military and railroad retirement benefits;
• Any life insurance cover-age; and
• Whether the property award is instead of or in addition to spousal support. [Oregon Revised Statutes; Volume 2, Sections 107.036 and 107.105].

Oregon Spousal Support Guidelines

Either spouse may be ordered to pay spousal support to the other spouse, without regard to marital fault. Oregon recognizes three separate types of spousal support:

• Transitional support: as needed for a spouse to gain the education or training to reenter the job market or advance his or her job skills;
• Compensatory support: as needed to compensate a spouse who has provided significant financial or other support to the education, career, or earning capacity of the other spouse; and
• Standard support: the amount needed for one spouse to support the other for a specific or continuing period of time.

Each type of support has different factors that are to be considered.

The factors for consideration are:

• Transitional support factors:
  • The duration of the marriage;
  • A spouse’s training and employment skills;
  • A spouse’s work experience;
  • The financial needs and resources of each spouse;
  • The tax consequences to each spouse; and
  • Any other factors the court feels are just and equitable.
• The factors for compensatory support are:
  • The duration of the marriage;
  • The amount, duration, and nature of the spouse’s contribution;
  • The relative earning capacities of the spouses;
  • The extent to which the marriage assets have benefitted from the contribution;
  • The tax consequences to each spouse; and
  • Any other factors the court feels are just and equitable.
• For standard support, the factors are:
  • The duration of the marriage;
  • The age of the spouses;
  • The health of the spouses, including their physical, mental, and emotional condition;
  • The standard of living established during the marriage:
  • The relative income and earning capacity of the spouses, recognizing the wage earner’s income may be a basis for support apart from the income that the supported spouse may receive from the marital property distribution;
  • A spouse’s training and employment skills;
  • A spouse’s work experience;
  • The financial needs and resources of each spouse;
  • The tax consequences to each spouse;
  • A spouse’s child custody and support responsibilities; and
  • Any other factors the court feels are just and equitable.

The court may order the spouse to pay the support to carry life insurance with the other spouse as beneficiary. In addition, a spouse may have a right to continued health insurance coverage under the other spouse’s policy. [Oregon Revised Statutes; Volume 2, Sections 107.036, 107.105, 107.412, and 743.600].

Oregon Child Support Guidelines

Either parent may be ordered to pay child support, based on the following factors:

• The ability of each parent to borrow;
• The parent’s earnings history;
• The reasonable necessities of each parent;
• The physical, emotional, and educational needs of the child;
• The relative financial means of the parents, including their income, resources, and property;
• The potential earnings of the parents;
• The needs of any other dependents of a parent;
• Any social security or veteran’s benefits paid to the child; and
• Any other relevant factors.

There are official child support scales and formulas available. The child support payments may be required to be paid through the clerk of the court. There may be court orders issued to withhold wages to pay for the child support. Every child support award must also contain provisions for the payment of any uninsured medical care for the child and the payment of health insurance for the child. The court may also order the parent required to pay support to maintain life insurance coverage with the child as beneficiary. [Oregon Revised Statutes; Volume 2, Sections 25.275, 107.105, 107.106, and 107.820].

Divorce Mediation

Either spouse or the court may delay the dissolution of marriage proceedings for 45 days while a reconciliation or settlement is attempted. In addition, if child custody or child support issues are contested, the court will refer the parents to mediation for up to 90 days. [Oregon Revised Statutes; Volume 2, Sections 107.179, 107.540, and 107.550].