Divorce in Oklahoma: Step-by-Step Guide for Bartlesville Families

Every county handles divorce cases differently. Since most of my practice is in Washington County, I will focus this post on how the Washington County courts manage divorce cases.

Before you file: Make sure Washington County has jurisdiction

Under Oklahoma law, you may only file a divorce case in Washington County if:

·         You or your spouse has lived in Washington County for thirty days immediately preceding the filing of the petition, and

·         You or your spouse has lived in Oklahoma for six months immediately preceding the filing of the petition.

If there are children of the marriage, then the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) applies. Under UCCJEA, an Oklahoma court may only hear your case if:

·         Oklahoma is the child’s home state the day you file the petition

·         Oklahoma was the child’s home state within six months before you filed the petition

·         No other state has jurisdiction (or another state has declined jurisdiction) but the child and a parent or person acting as a parent have a substantial connection to Oklahoma, and substantial evidence about the case is in Oklahoma

·         All other states have declined jurisdiction, or

·         No other state has jurisdiction.

For more information on jurisdictional issues, read my post here.

The first step: File your petition at the Washington County Courthouse

You may retain a lawyer to draft your petition, or you may draft one yourself. If you want to draft a petition yourself, I’ve created a template for a petition on my “Oklahoma Divorce Forms” page.

You must first file your petition at the Washington County Courthouse, 420 S. Johnstone, Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The building looks like this:

You may file in person, or by mail. Washington County does not allow you to file online yet. You will have to pay a filing fee. As of February 23, 2026, the filing fee in Washington County is $268.39.

When you file your case, the clerk will randomly assign your case to a judge. As of February 23, 2026, the clerk assigns almost all new divorce cases to either Judge Kyra Franks or Judge Jared Sigler.

After you file, you will need to serve notice of the divorce case on your spouse. Your spouse may be willing to sign a waiver, saying that he/she has received notice. If your spouse signs a waiver, then you don’t need to serve him/her.

If your spouse will not sign a waiver, you will need to write up a summons, take the summons to the court clerk, and ask the clerk to issue the summons. On my Oklahoma Divorce Forms page, I’ve posted a template for the summons. You need to pay the clerk $10.00 to issue the summons.

You will then need to serve the petition and the summons on your spouse. You must serve this petition and summons by:

·         Having the sheriff deliver the documents to your spouse (You will have to pay the sheriff a fee – as of February 23, 2026, the fee in Washington County is $50.00)

·         Having a licensed process server deliver the documents to your spouse. At the Washington County Courthouse, they have a list of licensed process servers in Washington County. Contact the process servers on that list.

·         Sending the petition and summons via certified mail to your spouse’s residence

·         If none of the above methods will work, you may ask the judge to authorize an alternative method for service on your spouse.

·         If you don’t know where your spouse is, you may serve him/her by publishing notice in the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise. Publish the notice once a week for three consecutive weeks.

After you serve your spouse, your spouse has twenty days to file an answer in court. (If you’ve served your spouse by publication, your spouse has forty-one days, after the first publication, to file an answer in court.) If your spouse doesn’t file an answer within the requisite time period, you may go to court and ask for a default judgment. If the judge grants a default judgment, you may have any relief that you requested in the petition. If you get a default judgment, your divorce is final.

If your spouse files a response in court

If your spouse files a response, then you will be able to resolve your divorce in two ways:

1.    By settling out of court.

2.    By taking the case to trial.

I’ll discuss each of these issues in turn.

Settling the case out of court

I usually encourage my clients to settle divorce cases out of court. This is because in 99% of the cases where my client has gone to trial, the judge makes a ruling that neither side wants.

One way to settle a case out of court is by going to mediation. Mediation is a process where both spouses go before a third-party neutral called a mediator. A mediator is not like a judge, in that he cannot order you to do anything. But a mediator can try to guide you toward a settlement, and talk you and your spouse into agreeing. For more about mediation, read my post here.

In Washington County, there is a court rule that all parties must mediate before taking the case to trial. Judges, though, sometimes dispense with this rule when necessary.

Some divorcing spouses don’t even need mediation – they can settle the case by talking it over themselves.

If you settle your case out of court (either by mediation or another way) then all you need to do is write up a decree, and both you and your spouse sign the decree. Then, give the decree to the judge and ask the judge to sign it. Once the judge signs your decree, then your divorce is final. The decree is a legally binding court order, and a judge may enforce this decree just as any other court order.

Even if you and your spouse have agreed to all terms of the divorce, there still ia a waiting period for when your divorce can be finalized. If there are children of the marriage, your divorce must be on file for ninety days before the judge may sign the decree. If there are no children of the mariage, your divorce must be on file for ten days before the judge may sign the decree. Under certain circumstances, you may be able to ask the judge to shorten the deadline.

If you take your case to trial

At trial, each spouse has the right to an attorney. Each spouse (either representing himself or through an attorney) may call witnesses, present evidence, and make argument to the court.

Many times in divorce cases, spouses will call expert witnesses. If child custody is at issue, a child psychologist or similar professional will often act as an expert witness. If property division is at issue, and accounting or financial professional will often act as an expert witness.

If there are allegations of abuse, often, law enforcement or child welfare personnel will testify.

After both sides have presented all evidence, called witnesses, and made argument, the judge should then issue a ruling. Either spouse may appeal the judge’s ruling; for information on how the appeals process works in Oklahoma, click here.

Special Considerations: Emergency Custody

In some divorce cases, there may be allegations that the child is in danger, and that you don’t have the time to wait for the court to go through the long process of hearing a divorce case. If there is such danger in your case, you may ask the judge for emergency custody. If you ask the judge for emergency custody, the judge must hold a hearing within seventy-two hours after you file your motion.

To get emergency custody, you must show “that the child is in surroundings which endanger the safety of the child and that if such conditions continue, the child would likely be subject to irreparable harm.” You can’t rely on your own testimony; you must also provide the court with an independent report. This report may be from law enforcement, or the Department of Human Services. If you can’t get this report, you may include a notarized affidavit from a person with knowledge of the child’s surroundings.

If the judge gives you emergency custody, you may take the child immediately, without notice to the other spouse. The judge must then set the case for a review hearing. You must notify your spouse of the review hearing, and your spouse has the right to appear at the review and present evidence.

Do you have questions about a Washington County divorce? We can help.

If you are going through, or are about to go through, a divorce, you are going through a very painful, stressful situation. You don’t have to go through it alone. The Persaud Law Office has handled many divorces in Washington County, and we know many of the local customs and peculiarities. If you need help, please feel free to reach out to us.