Oregon Divorce Legal Questions

I would be really surprised if the Court would allow your ex to re-open the dissolution judgment to increase spousal support just because you got a part-time job. It sounds like she got $90,000 out of the settlement plus the $900 per month from your pension which is quite a bit. While I have obviously not read your stipulated judgment for dissolution, unless there is a specific provision in that document allowing for modification under specific circumstances (like a part-time job for you), the Court should treat the agreement as a done deal that is not subject to change.... Read More

You can file a petition for dissolution of your marriage in Oregon if you have been here for more than six months. However, if your spouse is not a resident of Oregon all you can get is the judgment of dissolution as the Oregon courts would not have jurisdiction to adjudicate child custody or parenting time or to award spousal support or divide property and debt unless your spouse were to consent to jurisdiction in Oregon. If you do have kids and they are still living in California, that state would have sole jurisdiction to determine custody, parenting time and child support. On the other hand, if you have a child or children living with you in Oregon, the Oregon Division of Child Support cam make an administrative child support order which would be enforced by the California child support agency.... Read More

As between you and your separated spouse, once the the quit claim deed is recorded it does give you exclusive title to the property. However, if you are still making the payments on the mortgage or deed of trust, the holder of the promissory note retains the right to foreclose if you fail to make the payments.... Read More

I understand that you are separated but still formally married and your husband lives in another country. At this point you would need to file for a dissolution of your marriage in the Oregon county where you reside and have him served with the necessary papers. However, it sounds like personal service on him would be difficult at best so you would have to publish the papers required for service for a month in a local newspaper that accepts public notices. Once the notice period plus an additional 30 days has elapsed, you can apply for a default dissolution judgment. Once that judgment has been entered, you and your then-former husband can legally re-marry. On the issue of spousal support, your 25-year marriage would support an award but you would have to submit some relatively-reliable information concerning his income as being significantly greater than yours. While the spousal support order would require him to pay you the amount stated in the order, if he is in another country there would be no way you could enforce that order unless he comes back to live in the United States. In that case, of course, he would be arrested and deported as soon as the state or federal authorities found out he was back. In any case, you should consult with an Oregon attorney where you live to flesh out this brief response to your question. BTW, next time, marry a U. S. citizen with family ties in your state of residence,... Read More

If you file for a dissolution of marriage (divorce) in Oregon, you have to allege that "irreconcilable differences" have arisen in your relationship with your husband that have led to the irremediable breakdown of the marriage. Once that allegation has been made in a petition for dissolution filed in the county where you have lived for the last six months, your marriage will be dissolved and your husband cannot contest that result. Other issues the dissolution proceeding must address is custody of the children (you will get sole custody for sure if he has been convicted of a felony sex crime), parenting time for the non-custodial parent (none if he is still in prison or under supervision), child support (you probably will not get any if he is incarcerated) and division of your property and debts (the law requires a "fair and equitable division"). While the courts do have forms that you could fill out and file, you should at least talk with a local attorney to get a better idea of what will happen given your specific circumstances.... Read More

You do not really have to have the dissolution process complete before the baby is born. Jurisdiction for a Dissolution of Marriage in Oregon is established when the filing party has been a resident of the State of Oregon for six months, but you can file a petition for legal separation after three months and then move to amend the petition after you have been in Oregon for the full six months. On another point, you should put the baby's natural father's name on the birth certificate, if for no other reason than making sure the birth record is true and accurate. If the father never comes to the USA, there is little chance that you can get enforcement of a child support order against him, but if he moves to another state in the USA the Oregon child support agency can get inter-state enforcement. As to whether you can leave your husband without his permission, that would be an issue for the law of the country in which you now live. If you live in a country with Muslim law or a strong Catholic culture, you may have to get his permission to leave (unless you can get out of the country first).... Read More

If you are dissatisfied with your current attorney, the best approach would be to find another attorney at another firm that you do have some confidence in and have that attorney substitute in as your new attorney on the existing case. This will save you a new filing fee as well as not having to re-do the work your original attorney did for you. If you have been subject to abuse by your soon-to-be former spouse, make sure you have a domestic violence restraining order in place and that you do get some counseling.... Read More

First off, you have to realize that Oregon is a "no fault" state which means that things like abandonment and adultery are not grounds for ending a marriage in this state. The main ground for obtaining a divorce (which is called a "dissolution of marriage") is that "irreconcilable differences have arisen between the parties that have led to the irremediable breakdown of their marriage." Once the petition for dissolution has been filed and served, there is no defense to this allegation and the Court will grant the dissolution. Of course, other issues like child custody, child and spousal support and division of assets and debt also have to be dealt with. If you have religeous convictions which force you to abstain from filing for divorce unless the other party has committed adultery or abandonment, you can also file for a legal separation which means that you are still married but will be separated by order of the court. When a party gets served with a petition for legal separation, they often answer with a petition for dissolution based on the ground stated above.... Read More

In order to abswer this question we would need to see the original judgment of dissolution, any subsequent orders affecting the spousal support obligation and the OSC Re: Modification with the supporting affidavit or declaration he is now submitting to the Court. Generally, in order to show that a modificiation is justified, the party seeking the modification must show that there has been a "material change in circumstances" since the entry of the original order. Normally, transitional spousal support is awarded to give you support during the time it takes you to get your job skills back up to speed after the end of your marriage so you can support yourself. The only way that amount can be modified is if he can show that you have a significantly higher income now than was anticipated when the original judgment was entered or that he has a much lower income now than he had at the end of your marriage (like all his patients went broke or moved away). Be careful - if you are served with an Order to Show Cause Re: Modification of Spousal Support you will have only 30 days to get a response on file or he will get a modification order by default.... Read More

Let me give you a lawyer-like answer - It depends. First, if one spouse packs up and leaves, the other spouse most likely gets to stay. This, of course, is subject to other factors like a pending foreclosure or eviction of rental or lease tenants. On another issue, if one party has engaged in domestic violence or placed the other party in a reasonable fear of grave bodily harm within the last six months, the other party can go to the courthouse and get a domestic violence restraining order (FAPA order) which, upon service by the sheriff, will command the offending party to leave (but the offending party can ask for a hearing within 30 days and the order could be reversed based on evidence received at the hearing). In a "normal" divorce in which neither party has moved out and both want to stay in the home but there is no claim of domestic violence, the party who first files the dissolution petition can move for an Ex Parte order granting an order that they be allowed to stay in the house pending further order of the court. This would be granted if, say, Mom is the primary care provider for the kids and they are going living in the home and going to school while Dad can easily stay with friends or relatives and keep working at his current job to help support the kids. The courts are supposed to decide these matters based on "equity" or what is fair under the circumstances. The thing to do here is to see a local lawyer and explain your own situation so the lawyer can tell you what you can expect from the court.... Read More

This is really a race to the courthouse. From a rental contract point of view, if you are both on the rental agreement or lease you would both have a right to live in the house and both have a duty to pay the rent. From a domestic relations point of view, if either of you file a petition for dissolution (or legal separation) the first party to file could get a temporary order for the exclusive use of the house and an order that the other party pay some temporary spousal support to help with the rent. However, this would depend upon the court's finding that the party from whom the other party seeks support has enough income to do the job. Another approach that would affect who gets to stay in the house would be a domestic violence restraqining order (which is called a FAPA order in Oregon - Domestic Violence Prevention Act). If your husband has harmed you or placed you in reasonable apprehension of physical harm within the last six months, you could get a FAPA order ex parte (which means the judge issues the order solely on what you put in the application - he gets to respond within 30 days if he wants to try to cancel the order). The most important advice here is to go see a lawyer and give him or her the details of what you are up against.... Read More

You need to file a response (if you haven't already). As for your husband, if he continues to behave unreasonably you can ask the court to hold him responsible for any attorney's fees you may have to incur. The final divorce decree can be worked out by consent, but should be complete and involve terms regarding the children and division of property. If he is asking for things that he is not entitled to by law, then that could be considered unreasonable. I would suggest consulting with an attorney for more details about the process.... Read More

That should be taken into consideration as what you are doing is supremely fair and equitable.  However, I cannot say what a judge/magistrate in Oregon would do.  It also may provide you an argument to decrease spousal support pro rata but not in its entirety.  You should consult with an attorney licensed to practice in Oregon so that you get the most accurate info on how spousal support is handled there.   Simon W. Johnson   swj@swjlawoffice.com Law Office of Simon W. Johnson Martindale, Avvo, Justia, LawGuru LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Serving Cleveland and Ohio, 44124 ... Read More

First, you will need to read your divorce judgment to see if it says your former spouse is required to remove your name from the car debt. If it does not say that, then you should notify all credit reporting agencies that the divorce judgment requires your ex to pay the debt and you didn't know he was late with his payments. You may have to pay the debt off and then have your ex pay you monthly payments. You could also sue your ex for damaging your credit rating if you don't get the same interest rate on the new home.... Read More

Did you sign a joint return? If so, no. If not, then a post nuptial contract may work. A formal legal separation may also achieve your goal. A divorce would also isolate your assets to the highest degree possible. The tax authorities have immense collection authority so doing something as tax avoidance can be illegal; tax planning is legal. Any lawyer will want to research this thoroughly before beginning. I would suggest you consult with a tax lawyer first then hire someone to do the post nuptial agreement or whatever is needed. I helped a couple in similar circumstances but it did not involve taxes.... Read More