Navigating Common Law Marriage in Probate Court   Video Transcribed: Good afternoon everybody. This is Dustin Peterson and I am a lawyer in Oklahoma City. Several times a month, I’ve decided to bring to you the answers to the most commonly heard questions and concerns in my consultations, and I hope that you can use this information to make better decisions in your situation. Today’s question comes from a nice gentleman who says, “My wife of 50 years has passed away and I’m afraid someone will challenge my ability to inherit her estate because we were both 15 when we were married.” This i ..read more

When Life Moves You Away, the Law Still Has Your Back   Sad couple with problems talking in a marriage counseling Video Transcribed: Good day everybody. This is Dustin Peterson and I am The Oklahoma City Attorney. Several times a month I’ll be bringing to you the answers to the most commonly heard questions and concerns I hear in my consultations, and hopefully, you can use that information to make better decisions in your own situation. Bear with me, today’s question is kind of a long one, but an important one. “My spouse and I were divorced in Bryan County, Oklahoma. My former spouse ..read more

Equitable Distribution or Inequitable Loss?   Video Transcribed: Good day everybody. This is Dustin Peterson and I am an OKC attorney. Several times a month I’ll bring to you the answers to the most commonly heard questions from my consultations, and I hope you can use that information to make better decisions in your own situation. Today’s question comes from a spouse who is getting divorced and they would like to know whether the house that they live in will be subject to equitable property division even though the spouse owned that house prior to the marriage. So in this case, he owne ..read more

Proving Need vs. Ability to Pay   Video Transcribed: Good day, everybody. This is Dustin Peterson, and I am the Oklahoma City Attorney. Today’s topic concern is alimony, and how you get it. What if you can demonstrate that your spouse has the ability to pay it? That’s not going to be sufficient, I’m afraid. What you’re going to have to show is that you have a demonstrated need to receive it in what’s called the post-marital economic readjustment period, and there’s going to have to be a reasonable amount of time for you to receive that alimony before you can get back on your own feet. Ce ..read more

When Life Moves You Away, the Law Still Has Your Back   Sad couple with problems talking in a marriage counseling Video Transcribed: Good day everybody. This is Dustin Peterson and I am The Oklahoma City Attorney. Several times a month I’ll be bringing to you the answers to the most commonly heard questions and concerns I hear in my consultations, and hopefully, you can use that information to make better decisions in your own situation. Bear with me, today’s question is kind of a long one, but an important one. “My spouse and I were divorced in Bryan County, Oklahoma. My former spouse ..read more

How to Avoid Unnecessary Expenses   Sad couple with problems talking in a marriage counseling Video Transcribed: Good day, everybody. This is Dustin Peterson, and I am a lawyer in Oklahoma. Several times a month, I will be bringing to you the answers to the most commonly heard questions and concerns from my clients, and hopefully, you can use that information to make better decisions in your own situation. Today’s question, I would like to divorce my husband because he had an affair. Will I get more in property because of his infidelity? These are never easy. Always very painful. Unfort ..read more

When Love Cheats, Don’t Stay Silent   Video Transcribed: Good day everybody. This is Dustin Peterson, and I am a lawyer in Oklahoma. Today’s situation deals with something a little bit messy. So, what if one spouse cheats on the other and the cheated-on spouse wants to bring an action against the third person that broke up the marriage? There used to be in Oklahoma a thing called alienation of affection, where that action would be valid. However, that is no longer the case. So, if your spouse was lured away into another relationship that broke up your marriage, alienation of affection is ..read more

No More Draining Bank Accounts or Selling Property   Video Transcribed: Good day, everybody. This is Dustin Peterson, and I am The Oklahoma City Attorney. Several times a month, I’ll bring to you the answers to the most commonly heard questions and concerns from my consultations, and I hope you could use that information to make better decisions in your own situation. Today’s question is, “If I file for divorce, will I be able to live since my spouse earns almost all our income?” Well, that’s definitely a concern I hear quite frequently, actually. And I want to say that, when we file a pe ..read more

Seeking a Fresh Start   Video Transcribed: Good day everybody. This is Dustin Peterson and I am an attorney in Oklahoma City. Several times a month, I will bring to you the most commonly heard questions and concerns from my consultations, and hopefully, the answers I can give will help you make better decisions in your own situation. Today’s question is, “My spouse has drug problems and domestic abuse issues. Although we live in Texas, I have taken our child and come to Oklahoma where I have more family, and I would like to file for divorce here in Oklahoma.: Well, I have bad news, unfor ..read more

Secure Your Family’s Future with Legal Expertise   Video Transcribed: Good afternoon, everybody. This is Dustin Peterson, and I am the Oklahoma City Attorney. I’ve decided that several times a month, I will compile a list of the most common questions that I hear from my clients and elsewhere, and bring those to you here so that you can use that information to make better decisions in your situation. Today’s question, I’ve just been served divorce papers. Do I need an attorney? Well, you’re not required to hire an attorney. Everyone is deemed capable to handle their own legal business, sho ..read more