Ohio Divorce Law

Complete Overview of of the Ohio Divorce Laws

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Important Ohio Divorce Guidelines to File for a Divorce

Ohio Residency Requirements For Divorce

To qualify for a divorce in Ohio at least one spouse must have been a legal resident in Ohio for a minimum of six months.

Grounds For Divorce In Ohio

Some of the specific grounds for a no fault divorce in Ohio can be defined as:

  • incompatibility;
  • living separate and apart without cohabitation and without interruption for one year.

Some of the specific grounds for a fault based Ohio divorce can be viewed as:

  • adultery;
  • imprisonment;
  • neglect;
  • alcoholism;
  • willful desertion for one year;
  • cruel and inhuman treatment.
Ohio Child Custody

Ohio no longer awards "custody" of children to parents. Instead, in an effort to keep both parents involved in the children’s lives, Ohio may designate one parent as the "residential parent" and the other the "non-residential parent". This modification of the traditional "custodial" "non-custodial" labels is intended to emphasize that children need a continuing relationship with both parents. Shared parenting is a viable option in Ohio. The parties may submit a Shared Parenting Plan to the court for approval. Such a plan should delineate each parent’s rights and responsibilities regarding their children, and it should specify the child’s physical residential schedule.

Ohio Child Support Guidelines

Ohio typically has child support guidelines in place which can be applied in almost every single divorce case involving children. This guidelines are put into place to help calculate the amount of support is determined by taking into account both the revenue income of the parents and the expenses need to properly care for the child. Usually support will be paid until the child reaches the age of 18, but can be extended through their secondary education period.

Venue

When filing Ohio divorce forms, usually they are submitted within the county where the person filing the documents is a resident. The person filing within that county must have been a resident for at least 90 days prior to filing.

Mediation

At any point before or during the divorce proceedings there arises a disagreement between the divorcing couples on any of the facets within the divorce the court may recommend that the parents mediate their differences before the proceeding can continue. Some courts may have different mediation procedures and parents must abide by the local rules.

In addition the divorcing couple may choose to take their disagreements to mediation even before the official Ohio divorce forms are filed. This can help ease the divorce process and allow both parties to continue through the divorce much quicker.