Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
Dividing the Property
Alimony
Child Custody and Visitation
Child Support
Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
You must be a resident of Ohio for six months to file for a divorce.
Unless your spouse disagrees, you can get a divorce by simply stating in divorce papers that you and your spouse are "incompatible." Otherwise, the spouse wanting the divorce must prove one of the following grounds for divorce:
- Separation, meaning that the spouses have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for one year
- Bigamy
- Adultery
- Fraud
- Neglect
- Habitual drunkenness
- Imprisonment of your spouse in a state or federal prison at the time you file divorce papers
- An out-of-state divorce that does not release you from the obligations of marriage in Ohio
The legal divorce process begins when one of the spouses files a "Complaint" with the Court of Common Pleas. The other spouse is then served with the paperwork and given time to respond. If the parties are in agreement about property and debt division, as well as child custody and child support matters, the divorce proceeding can be converted to a "dissolution" proceeding, which can be finalized without a trial. If the parties can't come to an agreement, the court will set a time for a hearing.
After the Complaint has been filed, either party can request temporary assistance from the court in the form of temporary custody and child support orders, and orders to determine who pays community debts on a temporary basis.
Dividing the Property
In Ohio, assets and debts acquired during your marriage - called "marital property" - will be divided "equitably" when you divorce. A court generally will divide marital property equally between the spouses. However, if an equal division would be inequitable or unfair, the court will divide the marital property in a manner that it determines to be equitable.
But not all property is considered marital property:
- For example, assets you had before you married may be considered "separate property"
- Interest and appreciation you acquired from separate property may also be considered separate property
- Property you inherit will generally be considered your separate property
In deciding how to divide the property owned by divorcing couples, judges will consider a number of factors, including:
- The length of the marriage
- The assets and liabilities of each spouse
- The need of a custodial parent to occupy or own the family home and/or household items
- The liquidity of the property to be distributed
- The economic desirability of keeping an asset or the interest in an asset intact
- The tax consequences of the distribution
- The costs of the sale of assets
- Any division or dispersement of property made in a voluntary separation agreement between the spouses
It is important to collect all the information you can about all your property, including when you purchased it, approximately how much it is worth, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. Collecting this information before you see an Ohio divorce lawyer can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
A court can order alimony - called "spousal support" in Ohio. A court will generally consider such factors as:
- The income and relative earning abilities of the parties
- The ages and the physical, mental and emotional conditions of the parties
- The retirement benefits of the parties
- The length of the marriage
- The extent to which it would be inappropriate for the custodial parent to seek employment outside the home
- The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage
- The education of the parties
- The assets and liabilities of the parties
- The contribution of each party to the education, training or earning ability of the other party
- The time and expense necessary for the spouse seeking spousal support to acquire the education, training or job experience necessary to qualify the spouse to obtain appropriate employment
- The tax consequences of alimony
- The lost income production capacity of either party that resulted from the party's marital responsibilities
A court can order temporary support while the divorce is pending. Most spousal support is ordered for a specific length of time. Once ordered, it can be modified only upon a showing of a "change in circumstances."
Child Custody and Visitation
In Ohio, the court will make child custody decisions - referred to as the "allocation of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the minor children of the marriage" - based on what is in the "best interest" of the child. In allocating parental rights and responsibilities, the court will consider:
- The wishes of the child's parents regarding the child's care
- The wishes and concerns of the child, as expressed to the court
- The child's interaction and interrelationship with its parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interest
- The child's adjustment to its home, school and community
- The mental and physical health of all persons involved in the situation
- The parent more likely to honor and facilitate court-approved parenting time rights for visitation and companionship rights
- Whether either parent has failed to make all child support payments
- Whether either parent has been convicted of or a has been a perpetrator of child abuse or neglect
- Whether one parent has continuously denied the other parent visitation rights
- Whether either parent lives or plans to move out of state
If either parent requests joint custody - called "shared parenting" in Ohio - the court must take into account additional factors in determining whether shared parenting is in the best interest of the child. These factors include:
- The ability of the parents to cooperate and make decisions jointly, with respect to the child
- The ability of each parent to encourage the sharing of love, affection and contact between the child and the other parent
- Any history of, or potential for, child abuse, spouse abuse, other domestic violence or parental kidnapping by either parent
- Whether shared parenting is geographically feasible
- The recommendation of the guardian ad litem of the child, if the child has a guardian ad litem
After the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities order is signed by the judge and filed with the court clerk, both parents are bound by it. The order may be modified only if a change of circumstances has occurred and a modification is necessary to serve the best interest of the child.
Child Support
In Ohio, a court will base the amount of child support on a percentage of both parents' gross income in relation to the number of children being supported unless the parents' combined gross income is less than $6600 or more than $150,000.
After a court has issued an order of child support, it will issue a "withholding order" requiring the paying parent's employer to withhold the amount of child support from the parent's paycheck and to pay that amount directly to the bureau of support. If the paying parent is self-employed, the court may issue an order requiring him or her to post a cash bond with the court. Portions of worker's compensation benefits and retirement benefits may also be withheld to satisfy a child support obligation.
An Ohio child support order can be modified if there has been a change in the circumstances of the child or the parent, such as a big increase or decrease in the paying parent's income or the change in the needs of the child.
Related Web Links:
- Ohio Courts
- Ohio Domestic Relations
- Ohio Office of Child Support
- Ohio State Profile
- Family Law: Selecting a Good Lawyer
- Divorce - General message board for more help