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Jurisdiction & Venue
If you have resided in Ohio for six months and your
county for 90 days, congratulations! You have
satisfied the most basic requirements for the filing of
a divorce or dissolution action in Ohio.
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Filing & Service
A divorce case is commenced with the filing of a
Complaint with accompanying affidavits. Due process
requires that the other party receive notice of the
action and an opportunity to be heard. This is
accomplished by service of process and may be done
by certified mail to a residence address, process
server/Sheriff’s service, and by notice in a
newspaper if the person’s address is unknown. The
other party receives a summons and copies of all the
documents and orders filed and the server or clerk of
courts prepares a return of service.
In a Dissolution, both parties waive service of
process.
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Temporary Orders
Temporary orders control who pays what, and who does what,
during the time the divorce case is pending. Because divorce
can take many months or even years in some jurisdictions,
temporary orders may be modified more than once. Temporary
orders are available in legal separation actions but not
dissolutions.
Most counties have a procedure to establish temporary child
and spousal support orders approximately fourteen days after
service is completed on the other party. Some counties allow an
attorney to calculate temporary support and prepare affidavits
relating to child custody and actually have an order established
without advance notice to the other party.
An “oral hearing” is available if either party wishes to contest a
temporary order.
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Custody Issues
If there are minor children born as issue of the
marriage, both parents will be required to attend a
Parenting class in the county where the case is filed.
The time requirements and content vary from county
to county, but the class is usually two to three hours
long and covers issues such as conflict reduction and
cooperation for the sake of the children.
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Custody Issues
If there is to be a disputed custody issue, then the Court will
most likely appoint an expert to evaluate the family and help
the Court determine what is in the “best interests” of the
minor children. A Guardian Ad Litem is usually an attorney
who completes interviews of the parents, children, school
teachers, and so forth, and makes a written report to the
Court. A “GAL” is a critical player in a custody or parenting
time dispute and they are usually very dedicated to doing
what’s best for the children. Where there are more complex
psychological issues, then the Court may appoint a
psychologist or psychiatrist to perform mental health
evaluations on the parents, children, and even other people
living in the household. Psychological evaluations are very
expensive and the trend is to use them sparingly.
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Domestic Violence
A domestic violence matter may be criminal, civil or both.
A criminal domestic violence may involve threats of force
or actual force against a family or household member.
A civil domestic violence case typically results in a Civil
Protection Order which may be obtained initially without
notice to the other side. It is possible to require the
offending party to vacate a marital residence if there is an
initial finding of domestic violence. The offending party
has the opportunity to present evidence at a full hearing
and contest the validity of the order. A Civil Protection
Order may last as long as five years.
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Shared Parenting
Shared parenting is still sometimes referred to informally
as joint custody. In Shared Parenting, the parents are
making philosophical statements to the Court that his/her
partner is a good parent and there is no need for much
Court supervision in parenting issues. In Shared
Parenting, there must be a “Plan,” which is essentially a
schedule of when the minor children will be with each
parent. Shared Parenting may involve a deviation from the
Ohio Guidelines for Child Support where both parents have
the children much of the time.
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Differences Between
Divorce & Dissolution
The initial decisions in a family law matter are the most
important. Many clients ask me about the difference
between divorce and dissolution. Here are the main
differences as I see them:
Dissolution is 100 percent no-fault—no one will ask you
why your marriage is terminating. In a Divorce, most
counties treat the case as essentially no fault, and most
divorces go forward on the grounds of “incompatibility.”
Other fault grounds are available but most Courts tend to
avoid them.
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Differences Between
Divorce & Dissolution
In a Dissolution, you and your spouse must be in full
agreement on every property issue, child issue, support
issues, retirement issue and debt issues. The reality is that
most couples are unable to agree on everything up front,
but may be able to agree later, with the passage of some
time.
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Differences Between
Divorce & Dissolution
A Dissolution has a 30 day waiting period for a hearing,
which doesn’t start to run until the case is filed. In a
Divorce, a hearing may not be scheduled until 42 days
after service. A Dissolution can theoretically be faster, but
many couples spend months negotiating a dissolution and
lose any time advantage.
Dissolution is for couples who trust each other and are
reliable. Drug or alcohol abuse, or physical abuse, “game
playing” or other monkey shines are not a good predictor
for a successful dissolution.
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Differences Between
Divorce & Dissolution
If you are undecided about whether you should try a
dissolution or simply file for divorce, then give yourself a
deadline. By this I mean some period of time after which
you will file for divorce if a dissolution is not filed, or ready
to be filed. Most couples who do successful dissolutions
are able to get the case filed in less than a month of
negotiations.
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General advice
Run your credit report before you file and sometime while
your case is pending.
Don’t spend too many $275 attorney hours fighting over
who gets the furniture.
Never hide assets, run up debts, or post scandalous
material on the internet out of anger or spite.
Be discreet about new love interests during your case.
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General advice
Remember that your children will eventually be your judge
and jury — so treat your ex accordingly.
Understand that your standard of living will not go up
right after you end a marriage.
Don’t expect a court proceeding to be an episode of the
Oprah show. Feelings are important, but the Court has
heard it all before.
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General advice
Let your attorney do her job and ignore her advice at your peril.
Assemble your tax returns, including attachments, and all
financial statements before you first meet with an attorney.
Don’t change attorneys more than once.
