This page is offered to provide some basic information on divorce in Oregon. It is not intended as legal advice. To find out about your particular situation, please contact me or another qualified attorney.

The vast majority of my cases settle without going to trial. They should settle. The cost of trial can be astronomical. The emotional toll can last forever. Typically, no one benefits except perhaps the attorneys. Perhaps, worst of all is the impact it can have on the children because their parents are having to resolve their differences in court.

There are effective alternatives that I use regularly: settlement conferences, negotiated settlements, and mediation are good examples.

 

Frequently, a client's primary concern in a divorce is the children. There are two decisions to be made regarding the child (or children).

 

The first question addresses who is to have custody. If custody is to be joint, then both parents have the major decision-making responsibility. A court will not force the parents to have joint custody - it will only occur by agreement of the parties.

The second issue is parenting time or visitation. How much time should the child(ren) spend with each parent? The schedule may depend on the parents' schedules, the age(s) of the child(ren), and the quality of the parenting each is capable of providing.

 

Each county provides a minimum amount of visitation, usually every other weekend and every other Wednesday night. This may be appropriate or not, depending on the situation. The parties will participate in mediation paid for by the state to arrive at a visitation schedule. Child support can be affected by the visitation schedule.

 

Property/Assets

There is a premise that all of the property owned by the parties is owned one-half by each, although there are some exceptions. Property includes pensions, profit sharing, and 401(k)s earned during the marriage.

 

There is a premise that the debts incurred during the marriage are the responsibility of both parties. There are some exceptions.

 

This is frequently a very important component of the divorce package. There are three different types of alimony or spousal support in Oregon. An award of one, two, or all three may be appropriate, depending on a number of factors which are specified by Oregon statute. There are two different components: the amount of spousal support and the duration of the support. The longer the marriage, the more significant the spousal support is likely to be.