Is it possible to divorce my husband on the ground of insanity?
Full Question:
I am married and I live in Oklahoma. This is the second year of our marriage. My husband is insane. Is it possible to file a divorce under the ground of insanity?
01/12/2017 |
Category: Divorce |
State: Oklahoma |
#29994
Answer:
In Oklahoma, spouse’s insanity is a ground for getting a divorce. A spouse is considered insane, if the person suffers from a debilitating mental illness, has spent a five-year period in a mental health facility and has been declared incurably insane by three physicians. Thus, you may get divorce based on the ground of insanity only if it is proved that the spouse has spent a five-year period in a mental health facility and has been declared incurable by three physicians. The provisions related to the grounds for filing the divorce is provided in 43 Okl. St. § 101. It read as follows:
“The district court may grant a divorce for any of the following causes:
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Fifth. Extreme cruelty.
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Seventh. Incompatibility.
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Ninth. Gross neglect of duty.
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Twelfth. Insanity for a period of five (5) years, the insane person having been an inmate of a state institution for the insane in the State of Oklahoma, or inmate of a state institution for the insane in some other state for such period, or of a private sanitarium, and affected with a type of insanity with a poor prognosis for recovery; provided, that no divorce shall be granted because of insanity until after a thorough examination of such insane person by three physicians, one of whom shall be a superintendent of the hospital or sanitarium for the insane in which the insane defendant is confined, and the other two to be appointed by the court before whom the action is pending, and any two of such physicians shall agree that such insane person, at the time the petition in the divorce action is filed, has a poor prognosis for recovery; provided, further, however, that no divorce shall be granted on this ground to any person whose husband or wife is an inmate of a state institution in any other than the State of Oklahoma, unless the person applying for such divorce shall have been a resident of the State of Oklahoma for at least five (5) years prior to the commencement of an action; and provided further, that a decree granted on this ground shall not relieve the successful party from contributing to the support and maintenance of the defendant. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the insane defendant, which appointment shall be made at least ten (10) days before any decree is entered.”