You Can’t Hurry Love in Oklahoma
While you may be eager to close this chapter in your life and start another more promising one, unfortunately, you’re not going to be able to remarry right away if you live in Oklahoma.
Or rather, if you do, you may be committing a crime.
Read on to learn more.
Bigamy is a Crime
In the interest of keeping families together, Oklahoma has a number of cooling-off periods – periods of time you have to wait to finalize a divorce and to remarry after the divorce is finalized. Unless you intend to remarry your spouse – which you can do right away – Oklahoma law mandates a six-month waiting period before you can go on and marry someone else. Failure to obey the court-appointed time limit can open you to charges of bigamy, a felony punishable by 1-3 years in prison.
This applies not only to marriage, but also cohabitation, or living together.
This is no joke – Oklahoma law is very clear on this: “It shall be unlawful for either party to an action for divorce whose former husband or wife is living to marry in this state a person other than the divorced spouse within six (6) months from date of decree of divorce granted in this state, or to cohabit with such other person in this state during said period…” Okla. Stat. tit. 43 § 123
Given the times we live in, while it’s understandable to doubt whether this law will actually be enforced it’s best to hire an Oklahoma divorce attorney to see what your options are.
Ways Around the Cooling-off Period
Luckily, some loopholes do exist to the cooling-off period:
Appeals
You or your ex-spouse have the right to appeal the portion of your divorce order relating to the six-month waiting period. If the court grants the appeal, your waiting period will be cut to 30 days. However, like before, if you choose to remarry before that 30-day period is up, the court may deem you guilty of bigamy, a felony punishable by imprisonment. If you choose to break the law by cohabiting instead of remarrying, the court may find you guilty of adultery, which is also a felony crime.
Exceptions
In keeping with the purpose of the law, you can remarry your ex-spouse even one day after the divorce is finalized. Additionally, if you were divorced in another state before moving to Oklahoma, you have likewise have no restrictions on your freedom to remarry.
Leaving Oklahoma
Finally, you can always leave Oklahoma to avoid being subject to Oklahoma law. Even if your divorce order was made in Oklahoma, it is absolutely legal to leave the state to remarry.
However, if you remarry outside of Oklahoma but return to live in Oklahoma before the six-month term is up, the court can still convict you of bigamy, which carries a minimum sentence of one year in jail.
Low-cost Consultation with an Oklahoma City Divorce Attorney
It may be best to simply wait out the six-month period. However, if you’re looking for other options then it’s time to consult with an Oklahoma City divorce attorney. For a initial consultation with an experienced divorce attorney in Oklahoma City, call (405) 880-8222 today. If you prefer to correspond by e-mail, simply fill out the “Ask the Lawyer” form at the right side of this page. A divorce lawyer in OKC will get back to you promptly.