Child Support
Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
You or your spouse must be an Oregon resident for six months before filing for divorce. Your divorce case begins when either you or your spouse file a "Petition for Dissolution" in the circuit court for your county. Your spouse is then served with the divorce papers, which lets him or her know the case has started and what you're asking for.
Oregon has "no-fault" divorce, which is a divorce on the ground of irreconcilable differences. This means you and your spouse can't get along and there's no reasonable chance to save the marriage.
You may be able to get a summary dissolution of your marriage, which is a simplified process for your case. There are limits on who can use this method. Some conditions include you meet the residency requirements, you've been married less than ten years, and you don't have minor children or older children in school. Your finances are simple, too; your assets and debts are limited and spousal support isn't an issue.
If you and your spouse agree on divorce terms, your divorce is uncontested and it can be finalized in about three months. If you disagree on issues, your divorce is contested, and it will take longer to finalize. The court will likely set up hearings and a trial to resolve your disputes.
Dividing the Property
In Oregon, assets and debts acquired during your marriage - called "marital property" - are divided "equitably" in a divorce. All of the property owned by you and your spouse is subject to division by the court, including any inheritance or gifts received prior or during the marriage may be divided. It doesn't matter how you hold title to the property. The law presumes you and your spouse made equal contributions in acquiring property, unless you prove otherwise.
The court doesn't consider fault when making a property division. The court does look at factors such as the cost of an asset, taxes and liens, contributions by each spouse and how the property award impacts the issue of alimony.
Be prepared with information on your property, including when you purchased it, an estimate of value, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. You'll be ready to meet with a Oregon divorce lawyer and it can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
The court can order alimony or spousal support, which is an amount of money paid by one spouse to the other. Fault isn't a factor in awarding support, and it may be paid as a lump sum or in installments. There are different support types, including transitional spousal support, compensatory spousal support or spousal maintenance.
Transitional spousal support allows the recipient spouse to gain education or training needed to enter the work force.
Compensatory spousal support may be awarded when one spouse made a significant financial or other contribution to the other spouse that allowed him or her to gain education, training, vocational skills, or develop a career or earning capacity. Some of the factors the court considers are the amount and nature of the contribution, marriage length, and how the marital estate benefited.
Spousal maintenance may be awarded as a contribution by one spouse to the support of the other for either set or indefinite period. The court considers factors such as marital length, age of the spouses, standard of living, earning capacity and the needs and resources of each spouse.
Child Custody and Visitation
Child custody decisions are based primarily upon the best interests and welfare of the child. In deciding on the child's best interests, the court will consider the following relevant factors:
- Emotional relationships between the child and family
- Parents' attitudes and interests towards their child
- Whether to maintain the child's current arrangements
- Domestic abuse
- Fitness of the primary caregiver
- Whether the parents can cooperate and support each other's parent-child relationships
Custody may be sole or joint. Generally, factors about the parent's lifestyle or conduct aren't considered, unless they could be harmful to the child. There's no custody preference based on a parent's sex. If a parent has abused a family or household member, it's presumed that it's not in the best interest of the child to award custody to that parent. However, a parent can offer evidence the abuse should not be a factor in deciding custody.
Parenting time or visitation is awarded to the non-custodial parent in cases where sole custody is granted. If the parents are unable to develop a parenting plan, the court will do so, based on the best interest standard. The goal is to provide proper access for quality parenting time. A parent may be denied parenting time only if the court finds it would endanger the health or safety of the child.
Child Support
A court orders child support based on the Oregon Child Support Guidelines. There's an online calculator to help figure child support, too. Both parents are expected to share in the costs of supporting the child in the same proportion as each parent's income bears to their combined income. The court looks at the earnings, income and resources of each parent. The guidelines amount is presumed to be the correct child support amount unless it's show to be unjust or inappropriate in your case.
The support order must include provisions for the payment of uninsured medical expenses of the child and health insurance. Custodial parents may have to account for how child support funds are used. Child support ends when a child becomes self-supporting, emancipated, married or stops attending high school after turning 18 years old.