Wendy Levy is a dedicated and seasoned divorce attorney. She has been an attorney in Oregon since 2010, before that practicing in California since 1977. She is experienced, compassionate and takes control when you are at your lowest emotional point during your divorce or separation. Trust Wendy Levy to fight for your rights.

Oregon is a no-fault state, which means so long as you have been a resident of the state for six continuous months before filing, you can file for divorce and end the marriage. The final judgment will include orders and agreements for custody, parenting time and child support if you have children. The court will divide your property, debts, and possibly make an award for spousal support.

Like a divorce, a legal separation will resolve issues you and your partner have regarding children, support and division of property. You remain legally married when you have a legal separation. Either party can convert a judgment of legal separation into a dissolution so long as you file within two years from the date of separation. Some people prefer a legal separation to a divorce because of moral objections to divorce, or, one of the spouses needs to stay on the other spouse’s insurance policies.

Personal items that were yours before the marriage, your father’s stamp collection, jewelry you got from your grandmother, will be awarded to you in the divorce. The courts will look at all the property you and your spouse own. They will first consider marital property, which is everything owned by the parties regardless of when it was acquired or how it is titled. The courts will then look at marital assets, the property acquired during the marriage. All property acquired after the marriage is subject to a presumption of equal contribution. This is true even if one spouse was a homemaker and the other party worked outside of the home. If you successfully rebut the presumption of equal contribution, the court will decide how to distribute the asset in a manner that is just and proper, under the circumstances. Ultimately the court seeks a fair property division and occasionally a premarital asset of one party can be awarded to the other party. If your marriage was short, the court seeks to return the parties to the financial position they were in before the marriage unless property has been commingled.