Oregon State filing fees by county:
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Benton $256 |
Clackamas $381 |
Clatsop $299 |
Columbia $25 |
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Gilliam $271 |
Hood River $271 |
Jefferson $281 |
Lane $331 |
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Lincoln $256 |
Linn $288 |
Marion $296 |
Multnomah $38 |
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Polk $256 |
Sherman $271 |
Tillamook $266 |
Wasco $271 |
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Washington $261 |
Wheeler $271 |
Yamhill $261 |
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Court costs and fees are in the range of $300.
The Circuit Court Clerk's office at your local courthouse
can tell you the costs and fees in your county.
If you can't afford to pay the costs and fees, you
can ask the judge to excuse you from paying them
by filling out court papers that show your income
is very low and your expenses are more than your
income.
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Parenting Classes. January 16, 2008- Many counties in Oregon
require parents to complete a parent education class before a judgment can be
entered in cases involving custody and parenting time of children. Locate and
get information on how to contact a Parent or Child Divorce Education Program in
your county by using this list. See:
Parent And Child Divorce Education Programs in Oregon.
Divorce. A divorce is a way of legally
ending (dissolving) a marriage. After you have gone through all the steps in a
divorce, you will get a divorce decree (also called a "Judgment of Dissolution
of Marriage"), which is an order signed by a judge. The divorce judgment will
usually state:
- The date your marriage ends;
- Who gets custody of the children and when the other parent sees them;
- Who pays child support and how much;
- If health insurance for the children will be paid and who will pay it;
- Who should pay past bills;
- How property (including retirement benefits) will be divided;
- If one spouse must pay support to the other (spousal support or alimony).
Divorce vs. Legal Separation.
The main difference is that you are still married after a legal separation, so
you cannot marry someone else. Also, you still have the right to inherit
property "automatically" from your spouse if you are legally separated. If you
are divorced you lose that right.
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Annulment. Annulment is a way of
legally ending, or canceling, a marriage. You can get an annulment only in very
special cases. For example, you can annul your marriage if one of the spouses is
already married or not old enough to legally marry. You cannot get an annulment
just because your marriage is only a few days old or because you have not had
sex with this spouse. Court costs for an annulment are about the same as for a
divorce.
In Oregon annulment of the marriage is sought on the grounds that:
The marriage is void because:
- Husband or Wife was currently married to a living spouse when
the parties married.
- The parties are first cousins or more closely related by blood
or by adoption.
The marriage is voidable and not afterwards ratified because:
- Consent was obtained by fraud.
- Consent was obtained by force.
- One or both of the parties was incapable of entering into a
contract of marriage or giving consent due to insufficient age or understanding.
Residency Requirements. In almost all
cases, either you or your spouse must have lived in Oregon for six months before
filing for divorce.
Locating Your Spouse. You will have to
prove to a judge that you have tried in many ways to find your spouse before a
judge will let you go ahead with the divorce. If your spouse can't be found for
personal delivery of the divorce papers, you will be able to end your marriage
and (usually) get custody decided, but you will probably not get child support
or any divorce terms which require your spouse to pay money or do something
(such as transferring title to property).
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County. You must file with the Circuit
Court Clerk's office at the local county courthouse.
Length of time. An uncontested divorce
(where you and your spouse do not disagree about the terms of the divorce) can
be final approximately three months after the divorce petition is filed and
delivered to your spouse. You may be able to reduce this time if the judge
thinks you have a very good reason. If you and your spouse have agreed on the
divorce terms and both signed the proposed final judgment, the judge can
consider this a reason to waive the waiting period. A contested divorce (where
you and your spouse are arguing about the terms of the divorce), could take much
longer than three months because court hearings may be needed.
Property and Debts divided by you and your
spouse. You and your spouse can agree on the division of property and
debts. The judge will probably make your agreement part of the divorce judgment.
If you do not agree, the judge will divide property.
The divorce judgment will probably state which spouse should pay the debt. But
you both are responsible for making sure that the
creditor gets paid. When you made the purchase you both agreed to pay, and a
divorce judgment does not change the creditor's right to expect payment from
both of you. If the bill is not paid, a creditor can ask for payment from both
spouses. The creditor can also file a lawsuit against either one or both of you
for the unpaid bill.
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Property and Debts divided by the court. If you do not agree,
the judge will consider many factors such as:
- Where the property came from (gift, inheritance, purchase);
- If one spouse owned it before the marriage;
- If the spouses kept their money in joint bank accounts;
- How much money each spouse is making now and is expected to make in the future;
- Whether it would make sense for a specific item to go to the parent with
custody. The law assumes that a spouse who cared for the couple's home and
children has an equal right to have the property that the couple bought or was
given during the marriage. This "equal right" rule also applies to the increased
value of assets that were owned before the marriage. But one spouse can try to
convince the judge that there are good reasons not to follow this rule in your
case.
I bought our car and most other property with my
income. Unless the spouses agree on what property is to be divided, the
judge will divide all of the property that the couple owns -- any land or
houses, motor vehicles, home furnishings, money in bank accounts, stocks and
bonds, pensions and retirement benefits, lawsuit settlements, etc. The judge can
even divide property owned by a spouse before the marriage, but usually it is
given to that spouse. The judge also decides which spouse should pay which
debts. If the spouses were living together when one spouse made the purchase,
the other spouse is usually also responsible to the creditor and could be sued,
too. The exceptions are for business expenses and loans of money. If the spouses
were separated when one spouse signed for the debt, the other spouse is not
responsible to the creditor unless the debt is for the children's education,
health, or support needs.
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Affair. Oregon has "no fault" divorce. The
only reason you need is that you and your spouse cannot get along, and you see
no way of settling your problems. The law calls this "irreconcilable
differences."
Spousal Support. Under new laws passed in
1999, there are three different types of spousal support, and each has a
different purpose. A dissolution judgment must label the award (more than one
type can be ordered in the same case) and include facts that show why the award
is appropriate.
- For transitional support, the judge looks at what support is
necessary to help the spouse get an education or training to re-enter or advance
in the job market.
- For compensatory support, the judge decides what will repay a
spouse for a major financial or other contribution to the education, career, or
earning ability of the other spouse.
- For spousal maintenance, the judge considers what support is
appropriate to keep a standard of living similar to what was enjoyed in the
marriage. This support could be ordered for a specific time, or permanently.
Many factors affect this decision.
Your divorce judgment or spousal support judgment will say when spousal support
ends. Depending on its purpose, support is sometimes ordered for a few years,
sometimes until the spouse dies, and sometimes just until the spouse who gets
support finds a job. Spousal support does not always end when the spouse who is
getting support remarries.
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Tax Information.
- Child Support: You do not have to pay taxes on child support
payments you get and you cannot deduct child support payments you make.
- Exemptions: For recent divorce and custody cases, the parent
who has legal custody has the right to claim the child as a dependent for tax
purposes, but can sign a form to give the other parent this right. For older
cases, the rules are different. For more information about exempts you should
talk to a lawyer or call the IRS.
- Spousal Support: You have to pay taxes on spousal support
payments you get and you can deduct spousal support payments you make. The
Internal Revenue Service has special rules about what payments qualify as
spousal support for tax purposes.
- Property Transfers: There are special tax rules about property
transfers. For information about taxes, you can talk to a lawyer, accountant,
tax preparer, or the IRS Taxpayer Information Service listed in your phone book.
Changing Names.
- Can spouse change their name? Yes. The
judge must give you back a former name if you ask for it in a divorce.
- Can I change my child's name in a divorce?
Even if the mother gets custody and changes back her name in the divorce, the
child most often keeps the name that is on the birth certificate. Many divorce
judges will not change a child's name in a divorce case, especially when the
other parent disagrees.
If you want to change your child's name, you can file a separate legal case. The
other parent of the child must be told about this lawsuit by receiving legal
notice. The judge will allow the name change only if it is in the child's best
interest.
It may also be possible to change your child's name without going to court.
- What if I want a completely new name for myself or
child? You can't do it in a divorce. However, it is legal to just start
calling yourself or your child by a new name as long as you are not doing it for
an improper purpose (like to hide from creditors or to avoid the police). It is
often better to file a separate name change case so you will have a court
judgment you can use to change your identification. A name change done without
going to court very often creates serious problems with Social Security or other
government agencies, and might make it hard for you or your child to get
benefits that you're entitled to.
- Does my child have to have the father's last name?
Parents often agree that their child will have the father's last name, but they
can give their child any last name they want. If the parents can't agree, a
judge can decide, but this usually happens only when the parents are unmarried.
A father establishing paternity of the child does not have an automatic right to
have the child bear his name. The judge can decide, based on what is best for
the child.
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Grounds for divorce. Oregon has "no
fault" divorce. The only reason you need is that you and your spouse cannot get
along, and you see no way of settling your problems. The law calls this
"irreconcilable differences."
Can my spouse keep me from getting a divorce?
No. Your spouse cannot stop you from getting a divorce. But your spouse can
contest (disagree with you about) issues in the divorce, such as child custody
and support, spousal support, and property division. This can delay the divorce.
In some counties, your spouse can ask the judge to postpone your divorce and
order both of you to see a counselor.
Important terms
Summary Dissolution. "Summary"
means
without a hearing. This is for a dissolution case with limited issues. This may
be used if all of the following statements are true for you:
- Residency. You or your spouse are residents of Oregon and have
been continuously for the past six months before filing the petition for
dissolution.
- Length of Marriage. You have been married to your present
spouse no more than ten (10) years.
- Children. You and your spouse have no minor children (under 18)
born to or adopted by you and your spouse during or before the marriage. You and
your spouse do not have any children age 18 years or older attending school.
- The wife is not pregnant.
- Real Property. Neither you nor your spouse owns any interest in
real property (land or buildings) in Oregon or elsewhere. (Mobile homes on
rented land are not real property.)
- Personal Property. The personal property that you and your
spouse own, individually or together, is worth less than $30,000 after deducting
any money you owe on that property (like a car loan).
- Debts. There are no unpaid debts greater than $15,000 incurred
by you or your spouse from the date of the marriage.
- Spousal Support. You, as the petitioner, give up all rights to
spousal support (alimony).
- Temporary Orders. You, as the petitioner, give up all rights to
any temporary orders (such as support payments or exclusive use of marital
property) except restraining orders and orders that allow exclusive use of the
residence under the Family Abuse Prevention Act (ORS 107.700 to 107.730) or
under the Elder and Disabled Person Abuse Prevention Act (ORS 124.005 to
124.040).
- Other Divorce Actions. You are not aware of any other pending
(not yet decided) divorce, annulment, or separation proceedings involving your
marriage and filed in Oregon or in any other state.
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Petitioner. Is the person who starts
the court case by filing documents with the court.
Respondent. Is the person who answers
the other party's court papers. If you were served with a petition and if you do
not agree with ALL requests in the petition, you need to decide whether to file
a "Response."Furthermore, if there are dependent children the Respondent is the
person who answers the other parent's Petition to establish custody and
parenting time under the statute for unmarried parents (ORS 109.103) and to
establish child support. If you were served with such a Petition and if you do
not agree with ALL requests in the Petition, you need to decide whether to file
a "Response."
Response. Is a document that allows you
to list your objections and to make requests. If you agree with everything in
the Petition, you may not have to file a response.
Co-Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. If
both spouses want to file for dissolution (divorce) together and reach complete
agreement regarding terms they request in the decree, this packet may be
appropriate. Filing together as co-petitioners eliminates certain formalities
such as needing to arrange to have documents served on the other spouse.
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Legal Separation. A judgment of
separation keeps intact a valid marriage but allows the parties to live apart,
and may divide the parties' property, determine who owes debts, establish a
parenting plan if there are children, and determine spousal and child support.
Paternity. Paternity ("fatherhood") may
be established if the father signs and files a Voluntary Acknowledgment of
Paternity (a statement that says he is the father) with the State Registrar of
Vital Statistics. Paternity ("fatherhood") may also be established through the
Oregon Child Support Program or through the courts. You may request that the
Oregon Child Support Program establish paternity by filling out an Application
for Services (Form #CSF-0574), and sending it to the address stated on the form.
Petition. Lists the items you are asking
the court to rule on.
Judgment. Is the document that finalizes
your case, and contains your rights and responsibilities.
Divorce. A divorce is a way of
legally ending (dissolving) a marriage. After you have gone through all the
steps in a divorce, you will get a divorce decree (also called a "Judgment of
Dissolution of Marriage"), which is an order signed by a judge. The divorce
judgment will usually state:
- The date your marriage ends;
- Who gets custody of the children and when the other parent sees them;
- Who pays child support and how much;
- If health insurance for the children will be paid and who will pay it;
- Who should pay past bills;
- How property (including retirement benefits) will be divided;
- If one spouse must pay support to the other (spousal support or alimony).
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