When a married couple decides to divorce in Oklahoma, any property the spouses share will need to be divided. This is likely to lead to a heated confrontation, especially when real estate property is on the line. No one wants to give up a valuable and cherished piece of real estate, such as the family home. How does an Oklahoma divorce court settle property disputes as they arise?
Oklahoma’s Equitable Distribution Rules & Real Estate
Oklahoma is one of many equitable distribution states. According to its legislation, shared or marital property gets split equitably. The language of the law says clearly that equitably is to be interpreted as what is fair, not what is equal.
Knowing that the court is going to be looking for what is fair and justified, you have to approach your property distribution case in your divorce with usable evidence. Financial records will be extremely useful if they show you have put more of your own income into the property than your spouse. Titles and deeds should also be collected if your real estate was owned by you or a family member before your marriage began.
For cases where there is no exact evidence of ownership or large disparity between who paid for the property, you will need to build an argument as to why it is “fair and just” for you to keep control of your home or commercial building. In the case of a family home, for example, the court may prefer to reward it to you if you spent more time keeping the home livable and comfortable. For commercial property, the property dispute might be settled by rewarding it to you if you ran the business that benefitted or relied on that structure.
Reliable Representation for Uncertain Cases
Oklahoma’s equitable distribution law for property disputes in divorce does leave some room for argument. This can be to your benefit, or to your detriment, depending on how you prepare your case. To make certain you are not blindsided by an unexpectedly unfair ruling, work with Bundren Law Firm, P.C. and our Tulsa family law attorneys. We have more than 100 years of total legal experience to use for your case.
Interested in learning more about our services? Call (918) 992-3300 or email us at any time.