Ohio Divorce Laws- Dissolution of Marriage

Ohio Child Support

Ohio child support laws allow for the family court to order one or both parents to pay a reasonable amount of child support.

For those looking for quick answers on what child support amounts might apply to their situation, fill out the child support calculator. Guidelines have been established allowing for a relatively simple calculation. The court has the latitude to deviate from the guidelines if it finds applying the guidelines would result in an unjust or inappropriate award.

Ohio Child Support is based on the premise of the best interests of the child. Ohio uses the The Income Shares Model, where the court will estimate the amount of support that would have been available to the child had the parents stayed together. Parents are offered the opportunity to agree on a Parenting Plan and Child Visitation Schedule. Should they be unsuccessful constructing such plans, the court will impose its own plan, which usually makes one parent wish they had drawn up an agreement with their spouse. The court will take into consideration the following factors:

	The wishes of the child
	The wishes of the child's parents regarding the child's care;
	The child's interaction and interrelationship with the child's parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interest;
	The child's adjustment to the child's home, school, and community;
	The mental and physical health of all persons involved in the situation;
	The parent more likely to facilitate court-approved parenting time rights or visitation and companionship rights;
	Whether either parent previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any criminal offense involving any act that resulted in a child being an abused child or a neglected child;
	Whether either parent has established a residence, or is planning to establish a residence, outside this state.

The court will consider a shared parenting plan, and will apply the following consideration when making that determination:

	The ability of the parents to cooperate and make decisions jointly, with respect to the children.
	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.
	The geographic proximity of the parents to each other, as the proximity relates to the practical considerations of shared parenting.
	The recommendation of the guardian ad litem of the child, if the child has a guardian ad litem.

Should the court find that a parent has become intentionally unemployed, or underemployed, it may impute and income (estimate what that parent should be earning) and use that estimation as a basis for child support payment. The criteria the court may use to determine imputed income can include:

	The parent’s prior employment experience;
	The parent’s education;
	The parent’s physical and mental disabilities, if any;
	The availability of employment in the geographic area in which the parent resides;
	The prevailing wage and salary levels in the geographic area in which the parent resides;
	The parent’s special skills and training;
	Whether there is evidence that the parent has the ability to earn the imputed income;
	The age and special needs of the child for whom child support is being calculated;
	The parent’s increased earning capacity because of experience;
	Any other relevant factor.

Ohio child support laws allow for the "Income Shares" method of calculation, which makes each parent responsible for a proportionate amount of the over all combined income. The court will order that one or both of the parents provide for the health care needs of the child to the satisfaction, and such a support payment be made through the OH Child Support Department of Job and Family Services.

Ohio child support orders can be reviewed every 36 months if requested by one of the parties. Circumstances that would allow you to ask for a review can include:  unemployment or a layoff from work for 30 days or longer, a permanent disability, a significant (30 percent) decrease or increase in income, jailed without chance of parole, active military duty, and an increase or decrease in the cost of child care or health insurance. Child support in Ohio ends when the child reaches age 18, or graduates from High School, whichever happens later.

ODJFS child support- Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ohio makes available its web site which offers a comprehensive destination where custodial as well as non-custodial parents can get assistance on all things about child care. ODJFS Office of Child Support areas of help include 1. Establishment of a Support Order 2. Change to a Child Support Order 3. Enforcement of a Child Support Order 4. Medical Support and how ohio divorce laws impact these topics, and more. Also included in this site is the Ohio child support payment status database which provides child support payors and payees with payment and balance information on their case, including the last payment and date received, current balances, arrearage balances and a total balance. You'll need to set up a PIN (pin number) to use the site.

For those looking for a child support calculator to get a general idea about child support guidelines and what monthly child support payment might be court ordered, you can view such a child support calculator at AllLaw.com.

Ohio Child Custody

The Ohio family court will presume that joint custody be in the children's best interest unless it finds otherwise. Ohio divorce law allows for the parents to attempt a series of agreements of care for the children. A Parenting Plan, Custody Agreement and Visitation Schedule crafted by the parents will yield the maximum preference for each, rather than disagreement and the family court imposing its own

plan. Whenever possible, the order or decree permitting the parenting time will ensure the opportunity for both parents to have frequent and continuing co-parenting contact with the child, unless such contact by either parent with the child would not be in the best interest of the child. "Best interests of the children" is the primary mission of Ohio divorce law. This option will cause the least amount of money being exchanged between the parties.

If shared custody or split custody is the desired outcome, you can expect the court to adjust child support obligations of the parents so that they offset one another.

You might consider drafting and then filing a parenting plan with the court. If you can get your divorcing spouse to sign on, it'll make things flow much more smoothly. The judge can accept however, a plan from one of you, and if the court determines that that plan is reasonable and in the children's best interest, it can be so ordered. The courts may consider the following when determining child custody and best interests of the child:

	The wishes of the child;
	The wishes of the child's parents regarding the child's care;
	The child's interaction and interrelationship with the child's parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interest;
	The child's adjustment to the child's home, school, and community;
	The mental and physical health of all persons involved in the situation;
	The parent more likely to facilitate court-approved parenting time rights or visitation and companionship rights;
	Whether either parent previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any criminal offense involving any act that resulted in a child being an abused child or a neglected child;
	Whether either parent has established a residence, or is planning to establish a residence, outside this state.

Laws governing Ohio child custody mandate that courts include in each support order the requirement that one or both of the parents provide for the health care needs of the child.

Preferences of the child

If either party requests that a child's preference as to with whom he or she wishes to live, the court may interview the child in chambers. Any written or recorded expression by the child will not be accepted, so don't go there.

Wondering who will get awarded child custody? Each case is different, but the courts award primary custody to the mother of the child in more than three-quarters of the cases, although the trend of late has been more to the fathers being award custody. In general terms, the mother will get physical custody unless it can be proven that she has demonstrated poor parenting skills that threaten the children's safety. Ohio child support ends when the child reaches age 18, or graduates from high school, whichever happens later.

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Visitation
Co Parenting

Ohio divorce laws have specified visitation rules be set in each county in this state. Parents are afforded the opportunity to design and agree on a Parenting Plan, Visitation Schedule and Custody Agreement, Should that effort fail (you fail to come to an agreement), the family court will impose its own parenting time schedule on you. A link to a list of counties follows, but in general, the following terms act as a family court template and are provided for across the state:

	All parents in divorce, legal separation, dissolution or post-decree custody/visitation motions in which there are minor children, SHALL attend an educational seminar for separating parents.
	In the event parties have a conflict primarily involving visitation issues, the Court may elect to refer the matter to the Court's in-house mediation program.
	The non-residential parent should give 24 hour notice to the other party, if he/she will not be available for scheduled Parenting Time. Any cancellation by the non-residential parent is considered forfeited. If an emergency arises which causes the cancellation, the non-residential parent shall notify the residential parent as soon as possible.
	If a child(ren) is ill, the residential parent should give 24 hour notice, if possible, in order that appropriate plans can be made. However, if more than one day of any Parenting Time period is missed due to a non-emergency and/or non-critical illness, then any missed Parenting Time shall be made up as soon as practicable.
	Each parent must keep the other informed of his/her current address and telephone number at all times. Any change of address or phone number is to be reported to the other party within 48 hours.
	Regardless of where the child(ren) are living, their continued participation in extracurricular activities, school related, or otherwise, shall continue uninterrupted. A written schedule of all extra-curricular activities, and the name of the activity leader (including address and phone number, if reasonably available), shall be provided to the nonresidential parent, by the other party as soon as the schedule is established, and the date and time of the activity is learned.
	Both parents shall have access to all medical, dental, optometric, psychiatric and psychological records of the minor child(ren), and may consult with any treating physician dentist or other health care provider of the child(ren).
	The non-residential parent has the responsibility for picking up and returning the child(ren). The non-residential parent, if not available for pickup or delivery of the child(ren), must use an adult well known to the child(ren) for this purpose. All child restraint laws must be complied with by any person driving the child(ren).
	The residential Parent shall not remove the child(ren) from the county, or in the event the child(ren) are not presently in your county, to a situs more distance from your county than their present situs without first obtaining permission of the Court by Judgment Entry, or by written agreement of the other party, and then approved by the Court.
	The residential parent shall encourage free communication between the child(ren) and the non-residential parent, and shall not do anything to impede or restrict communication by phone or mail between the child(ren) and the non-residential parent whether initiated by the child(ren) or by the non-residential parent. The mail between the child(ren) and parent shall be strictly confidential between the child and the parent.

Refer to this list of visitation schedules by county.   

Spousal Support
Ohio Alimony
Maintenance

One party to the divorce may request alimony, and after the court divides the marital property, the court can award reasonable spousal support. The awards can be temporary, permanent or have a finite period of payment. Alimony awards can be in lump sum or periodic. Some of what may be considered include:

	The income of the parties, from all sources, including, but not limited to, income derived from property divided, disbursed, or distributed,
	The 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 duration of the marriage,
	The extent to which it would be inappropriate for a party, because that party will be custodian of a minor child of the marriage, to seek employment outside the home,
	The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage,
	The relative extent of education of the parties,
	The relative assets and liabilities of the parties, including but not limited to any court-ordered payments by the parties,
	The contribution of each party to the education, training, or earning ability of the other party, including, but not limited to, any party's contribution to the acquisition of a professional degree of the other party,
	The time and expense necessary for the spouse who is seeking spousal support to acquire education, training, or job experience,
	The tax consequences, for each party,
	The lost income production capacity of either party that resulted from that party's marital responsibilities, and
	Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable.

Ohio divorce laws guide the courts rather than case law. A handful of states still use case law as guidance. 

Grounds For Divorce

The divorce laws in Ohio allow for the following grounds for divorce:

	Either party had a husband or wife living at the time of the marriage from which the divorce is sought;
	Willful absence of the adverse party for one year;
	Adultery;
	Extreme cruelty;
	Fraud;
	Any gross neglect of duty;
	Habitual drunkenness;
	Imprisonment of the adverse party in a state or federal correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint;
	Procurement of a divorce outside this state, by a husband or wife, by virtue of which the party who procured it is released from the obligations of the marriage, while those obligations remain binding upon the other party;
	On the application of either party, when husband and wife have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation;
	Incompatibility, unless denied by either party.

Marriage Annulment
Marital Annulment

A successful petition to a court for a marriage annulment will cause the court to decree that a marriage is null and legally treat it as if it never occurred. One must petition as in a divorce or separation proceeding, including having the other party served. It is more difficult to get an annulment versus a dissolution because Ohio annulment laws require a greater degree of proof. Grounds for annulment in Ohio include:

	Bigamy- having more than one spouse at a time,
	Impotency- an inability to consummate the marriage is a valid annulment ground,
	Mental Illness or incapacitation- your spouse is mentally ill either permanently or partially is grounds for an annulment
	Underage Marriage is grounds for annulment and
	Incest- where one marries someone too close to them relationally (siblings, first cousins etc.)

Mediation
Marriage Counseling

Mediation can be ordered at any time following the service of a summons or at any time the court sees fit if it believes it would benefit the parties involved. Should one of the parties make a motion for mediation, the court will consider that motion.  

Mediation can be ordered to attempt reconciliation or to resolve differences so the divorce may proceed. The court may order the parties to take part in family counseling during the course of the proceeding as well.     

Legal Separation
Marital Separation

To begin an action for Legal Separation, one party must file suit alleging one of ten "grounds" for the suit. A Legal Separation petition will be accepted by the court if the petition is properly filed and the grounds are clearly identified. Legal Separation in Ohio is a civil lawsuit that does not legally terminate the parties' marriage as a Divorce or Dissolution does. A legal separation does allow the Court to issue orders concerning property division, spousal support, child support, and allocation of parental rights and  responsibilities (custody and visitation) in much the same way as in a Divorce action. Legal separation is often pursued when one of the parties wants to stay married for religious reasons, wants the advantage of deductibility of spousal support payments for income tax reasons, wants to maintain various insurance coverage's, or do not want to wait the state statutory waiting period for termination of marital status.     

You may wish to file for a Dissolution of marriage, which differs from a filing for divorce in that you may may be able to avoid much of the divorce process and expense. Fault grounds aren't required for a dissolution filing. Some refer to this filing as the no-fault approach.

Your dissolution petition is not filed with the court until you and your spouse have resolved all material issues connected to the marriage. Those issues can include who becomes the residential parent, visitation, child support, spousal support, division of marital property, who pays what debt, and how legal fees get paid.

For an in-depth explanation of the differences between dissolution, annulment and divorce, review this page.

Waiting Period

There are no waiting periods other than the residency requirement(s).   

Grandparents Rights

Ohio family laws allow for orders granting parenting time or companionship or visitation rights. In a divorce action the court may grant reasonable visitation rights to any grandparent, or any other person other than a parent, if all of the following apply:

	The grandparent, relative, or other person files a motion with the court seeking visitation rights;
	The court determines that the grandparent an interest in the welfare of the child; and,
	The court determines that the granting of the visitation rights is in the best interest of the child.

Divorce Settlement
Distribution of Assets

	The duration of the marriage;
	The assets and liabilities of the spouses;
	The desirability of awarding the family home, or the right to reside in the family home for reasonable periods of time, to the spouse with custody of the children of the marriage;
	The liquidity of the property to be distributed;
	The economic desirability of retaining intact an asset or an interest in an asset;
	The tax consequences of the property division upon the respective awards to be made to each spouse;
	The costs of sale, if it is necessary that an asset be sold to effectuate an equitable distribution of property;
	Any division or disbursement of property made in a separation agreement that was voluntarily entered into by the spouses;
	Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable.

Divorce and 401k - Many couples divorce with one or both partners having contributed to one or more retirement accounts such as a 401k, 403b, Individual Retirement Accounts and the like. Ohio divorce law contains statutes that cover the equitable distribution of these assets, primarily through a court's discovery of facts and using a QDRO (qualified domestic relations orders). Disputes are frequent in this area, necessitating an examination of contributions, the timing of those contributions and the growth of the accounts. Divorce attorneys will often get this examination done by using a third-party, who typically uses simple software that receives personal information into it.

You can avoid the cost of a third-party assessment and the legal fees that go with it by using the same software some attorneys and these third-party examiners use. For less than the cost of an average billable hour of legal advice, you can use The QDRO Desk software and get the answers you need. If you both stipulate that it is accurate, there will be no reason to cause you to do it a second time. Use The QDRO Desk today.  

Residency Requirements

The person filing the action for divorce must have been a resident of Ohio for at least six months immediately before filing the complaint. Ohio divorce laws suggest that you file your action either in the county where the marriage took place, or in the county where the cause of the breakdown of the marriage occurred.