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53	53	STATE OF OKLAHOMA
54	54
55	55	2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
56	56
57	57	SENATE BILL 1958 By: Deevers
58	58
59	59
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	AS INTRODUCED
64	64
65	65	An Act relating to divorce; amending 43 O.S. 2021,
66	66	Sections 101, 107.2, and 121, which relate to grounds
67	67	for divorce, educational progr am, and division of
68	68	property; modifying permissible grounds for divorce;
69	69	updating statutory language; modifying requirements
70	70	for certain educational program; requiring court to
71	71	consider degree of fault when entering certain
72	72	orders; and providing an effecti ve date.
73	73
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75	75
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77	77	BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
78	78	SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 43 O.S. 2021, Section 101, is
79	79	amended to read as follows:
80	80	Section 101. The district court may grant a divorce for any of
81	81	the following causes:
82	82	First. Abandonment including: desertion for one (1) year,
83	83	habitual drunkenness, gross neglect of duty, or insanity for a
84	84	period of five (5) years . In the case of insanity, the person must
85	85	have been admitted to a state institution for the insa ne in this
86	86	state or another state or a private sanitarium and received a poor
87	87	prognosis for recovery. No divorce shall be granted by reason of
88	88	insanity before a thorough examination of the insane person is
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140	140	conducted by three physicians, one of whom shall be a superintendent
141	141	of a state institution or sanitarium in which the insane person was
142	142	admitted, and the other two shall be appointed by the c ourt. If any
143	143	two of the three physicians agree that such insan e person, at the
144	144	time the petition in the divorce action is filed, has a poor
145	145	prognosis for recovery , a divorce shall be granted ; however, no
146	146	divorce shall be granted based on the provisions of this section to
147	147	any person whose husband or wife is an inmate of a state institution
148	148	in another state unless the person applying for such divorce shall
149	149	have been a resident of this state for at least five (5) years prior
150	150	to the commencement of a divorce action. A decree granted based on
151	151	the provisions of this sectio n shall not relieve the successful
152	152	party from contributing to the support and maintenance of the
153	153	defendant. The court shall appo int a guardian ad litem to represent
154	154	the insane defendant, wh ose appointment shall be made at least ten
155	155	(10) days before any decree is entered .
156	156	Second. Adultery.
157	157	Third. Impotency.
158	158	Fourth. Unknown pregnancy. When the wife at the time of her
159	159	marriage was pregnant by another than her husband unbeknownst to
160	160	him, or when the husband at the time of his marriage had impregnated
161	161	another woman other than his wife unbeknownst to her .
162	162	Fifth. Fourth. Extreme cruelty.
163	163	Sixth. Fifth. Fraudulent contract.
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215	215	Seventh. Incompatibility. Provided, however, where the
216	216	interest of a child under eighteen (18) years of a ge is involved,
217	217	the adult parties shall attend an educational program concerni ng the
218	218	impact of divorce on children as provide d in subsection B of Section
219	219	107.2 of this title.
220	220	Eighth. Habitual drunkenness.
221	221	Ninth. Gross neglect of duty.
222	222	Tenth. Imprisonment of the other party in a state or federal
223	223	penal institution under sentence there to for the commission of a
224	224	felony at the time the petition is filed.
225	225	Eleventh. Sixth. The procurement of a final divorce decree
226	226	without this state by a husband or wife which does not in this state
227	227	release the other party from the obligations of the marria ge.
228	228	Twelfth. Insanity for a period of five (5) years, the insane
229	229	person having been an inmate of a state institution for the insan e
230	230	in the State of Oklahoma, or inmate of a state institution for the
231	231	insane in some other state for such period, or of a priva te
232	232	sanitarium, and affected with a type of insanity with a poor
233	233	prognosis for recovery; provided, that no divorce shall be granted
234	234	because of insanity until after a thorough examination of such
235	235	insane person by three physicians, one of whom shall be a
236	236	superintendent of the hospital or sanitarium for the insane in which
237	237	the insane defendant is confined, and the other two to be appoint ed
238	238	by the court before whom the action is pending, and any two of such
239	239
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290	290	physicians shall agree that such insane person, at the time the
291	291	petition in the divorce action is filed, has a poor prognosis for
292	292	recovery; provided, further, however, that no divorce shall be
293	293	granted on this ground to any person whose husband or wife is an
294	294	inmate of a state institution in any other than the S tate of
295	295	Oklahoma, unless the person applying for such divorce shall have
296	296	been a resident of the State of Oklahoma for at least fiv e (5) years
297	297	prior to the commencement of an action; and provided further, th at a
298	298	decree granted on this ground shall not relie ve the successful party
299	299	from contributing to the support and maintenance of the defendant.
300	300	The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the insane
301	301	defendant, which appointment shall be made at least ten (10) days
302	302	before any decree is entered.
303	303	SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 43 O.S. 2021, Section 107.2, is
304	304	amended to read as follows:
305	305	Section 107.2. A. Except as provided in subsection B o f this
306	306	section, in In all actions for divo rce, separate maintenance,
307	307	guardianship, paternity , custody or visitation, includi ng
308	308	modifications or enforcements of a prior cou rt order, where the
309	309	interest of a child under eighteen (18) years of a ge is involved,
310	310	the court may require all adult parties to attend an educational
311	311	program concerning, as app ropriate, the impact of separ ate parenting
312	312	and coparenting on children, the implications for visitation and
313	313	conflict management, development of children, separate f inancial
314	314
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365	365	responsibility for children and s uch other instruction as deemed
366	366	necessary by the court. The program shall be educ ational in nature
367	367	and not designed for individu al therapy.
368	368	B. In actions for divorce based upon incompatibility file d on
369	369	or after November 1, 2014, where the interest of a child under
370	370	eighteen (18) years of age is involved, the adult parties shall
371	371	attend, either separately or together, an educational program
372	372	concerning the impact of divorce on childre n. The An educational
373	373	program shall include the following components:
374	374	1. Short-term and longitudinal effects of divorce on c hild
375	375	well-being;
376	376	2. Reconciliation as an optional outcome;
377	377	3. Effects of family violence;
378	378	4. Potential child behaviors and emotional states during and
379	379	after divorce including information on how to respond to the child ’s
380	380	needs;
381	381	5. Communication strategi es to reduce conflict and fac ilitate
382	382	cooperative coparent ing; and
383	383	6. Area resources, including but not limited to nonprofit
384	384	organizations or religious e ntities available to address issues of
385	385	substance abuse or other addictions, family violence, behavioral
386	386	health, individual and couples counseling, and financial planning.
387	387	Program attendees shall be required to pay a fee of not less
388	388	than Ten Dollars ($1 0.00) and not more than Sixty Dollars ($60.00)
389	389
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440	440	to the program provider t o offset the costs of the program. The fee
441	441	may be waived by the court if an attendee uses a qualified program
442	442	that is provided free of charge. Nothing in this para graph shall
443	443	prohibit a third party from paying the fee to the program provid er
444	444	for an attendee. A certificate of completion s hall be issued upon
445	445	satisfying the attendance and fee requirements of the progr am, and
446	446	the certificate of completion shall be filed with the court. The
447	447	program provider shall carry general liability insurance and
448	448	maintain an accurate accounting of all bus iness transactions and
449	449	funds received in relation to the program. The program shall be
450	450	completed prior to the temporary order or within forty-five (45)
451	451	days of receiving a temporary order. However, and in all events, a
452	452	final disposition of child custody shall not be granted until the
453	453	parties complete the program required by this su bsection. The court
454	454	may waive attendance of the program for good caus e shown which shall
455	455	include, but not be limited to, where domestic viole nce, stalking or
456	456	harassment as defined by paragraph 2 of subsect ion I of Section 109
457	457	of this title occurred during the marriage.
458	458	C. Each judicial district may adopt its own local rules
459	459	governing the programs.
460	460	D. The Administrative Office o f the Courts may enter into a
461	461	memorandum of unders tanding with a state entity or o ther
462	462	organization in order to compile data incl uding but not limited to
463	463	the number of actions for divorce that were d ismissed after
464	464
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515	515	participating in the program, the number of programs that were
516	516	completed and the number of p rogram participants for each fiscal
517	517	year. The report sha ll include data collected from each judicial
518	518	district. The report shall be published on the Adm inistrative
519	519	Office of the Courts website and distribu ted to the Governor,
520	520	Speaker of the House of Repre sentatives, Minority Leader of t he
521	521	House of Representatives, President Pro Temp ore of the Senate and
522	522	Minority Leader of the Senate.
523	523	SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 43 O.S. 2021, Section 121, is
524	524	amended to read as follows:
525	525	Section 121. A. When a dissolution of marriage is granted, the
526	526	decree shall restore:
527	527	1. To the wife her maiden or former name, if her name was
528	528	changed as a result of the marriage and if she so desi res; and
529	529	2. To the husband his former name, if his name was changed as a
530	530	result of the marriage and if he so desires.
531	531	B. The court shall enter its decr ee confirming in each spouse
532	532	the property owned by him or her before marriage an d the undisposed-
533	533	of property acquired after marriage by him or her in his or her own
534	534	right. Either spouse may be allowed such alimony out of real and
535	535	personal property of the other as the court shall think reasonable,
536	536	having due regard to the value of such property at the time of the
537	537	dissolution of marriage. Alimony may be allowed from real or
538	538	personal property, or both, or in the form of mone y judgment,
539	539
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590	590	payable either in gros s or in installments, as the court may deem
591	591	just and equitable. As to such prop erty, whether real or personal,
592	592	which has been acquired by the parties jointly during their
593	593	marriage, whether the title thereto be in either or both of said
594	594	parties, the court shall, subject to a valid antenuptial contract in
595	595	writing, make such division between the parties as ma y appear just
596	596	and reasonable, by a division of the property in kind, or by setting
597	597	the same apart to one of the parties , and requiring the other
598	598	thereof to be paid such sum as may be just and proper to effect a
599	599	fair and just division thereof. The court may set apart a portion
600	600	of the separate estate of a spouse to the other spou se for the
601	601	support of the children of the marriage where custody resides with
602	602	that spouse. In all orders entered pursuant to this section, the
603	603	court may consider the degree of harm caused by a party, or both
604	604	parties, held at fault for the dissolution of t he marriage.
605	605	C. A servicemember’s portion of Special Monthly Compensation
606	606	(SMC) awarded by or from the United States Department of Veterans
607	607	Affairs for service-connected loss or loss of use of specific organs
608	608	or extremities shall be separate property, not divisible as a
609	609	marital asset nor as community property. For purposes of
610	610	identifying SMC, it is the sole responsibility of the servicemember
611	611	to prove with competent evidence what am ount of his or her
612	612	disability compensation is SMC.
613	613
614	614
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664	664	D. A servicemember's p ortion of Combat-Related Special
665	665	Compensation (CRSC) shall be separate property , not divisible as a
666	666	marital asset nor as community property, if a specific doll ar amount
667	667	of CRSC can be proved by the servicemember as compensation for
668	668	combat-related loss of limb or loss of bodily function and the CRSC
669	669	award was applied for and established prior to the date of the
670	670	filing of the dissolution of marriage action.
671	671	E. Pursuant to the federal U niformed Services Former Spouses'
672	672	Protection Act, 10 U.S.C., Section 1408, a court may treat
673	673	disposable retired or retainer pay payable to a military mem ber
674	674	either as property solely of the member or as property of the member
675	675	and the spouse of the member. If a state court determines that the
676	676	disposable retired or retainer pay o f a military member is the sole
677	677	and separate property of the military member, the court shall submit
678	678	clear and concise written findings of such determina tion to be
679	679	included in the decree or final order. If a state court determines
680	680	that the disposable reti red or retainer pay of a military member is
681	681	marital property, the court shall s ubmit clear and concise written
682	682	findings of such determination to be included in the decree or final
683	683	order and shall award an amount consistent with the rank, pay grade,
684	684	and time of service of the member at the date of the filing of the
685	685	petition, unless the court finds a more equitable date due to the
686	686	economic separation of the parties.
687	687
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738	738	F. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties, any division of
739	739	an active duty military member' s retirement or retainer pay shall
740	740	use the following language:
741	741	"The former spouse is awarded a percentage of the member's
742	742	disposable military retired pay, to b e computed by multiplying fifty
743	743	percent (50%) times a fraction, the numerator of which is ____x__ __
744	744	months of marriage during the member's creditable military service,
745	745	divided by the member's total number of months of creditable
746	746	military service."
747	747	G. In the case of a member's r etiring from reserve duty, unless
748	748	otherwise agreed by the parties, any div ision of a reservist's
749	749	retirement or retainer pay shall use the following langu age:
750	750	"The former spouse is awarded a percentage of the member's
751	751	disposable military retired pay, to be computed by multiplying fifty
752	752	percent (50%) times a fraction, the numerato r of which is
753	753	__X____reserve retirement points earned during the period of the
754	754	marriage, divided by the member's total number of reserve retirement
755	755	points earned."
756	756	SECTION 4. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
757	757
758	758	59-2-3306 TEK 1/18/2024 1:15:52 PM

Oklahoma 2024 Regular Session

Oklahoma Senate Bill SB1958 Compare Versions