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Divorce laws are enacted and interpreted by each of the respective states. This means your state and local family law court determines such things as divorce case filing and pleading procedures, spousal and child support payments, custodial rights of parents and the division of community property. Since laws get amended and new ones get made with some frequency, consult with an experienced family lawyer in your county for the most current status of the law. The family lawyer you choose should also be knowledgeable with the local courts and jury sentiment.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS AND WHERE TO FILE:

To file for a divorce or annulment, the plaintiff must be a resident for at least six months prior to filing. The court of common pleas has jurisdiction of all domestic relations matters, and all actions for divorce and annulment shall be brought in the proper county.

GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE: A divorce may be granted for the following causes:

* Incompatibility, unless denied by either party;

* Living separate and apart for one year;

* Desertion for one year;

* Either party had a husband or wife living at the time of the marriage from which the divorce is sought;

* Adultery;

* Extreme cruelty;

* Fraudulent contract;

* Any gross neglect of duty;

* Habitual drunkenness;

* Imprisonment in a state or federal correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint; and

* 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.

SEPARATION: The court of common pleas may grant legal separation on the same grounds as for divorce. A husband and wife cannot, by any contract with each other, alter their legal relations, except that they may agree to an immediate separation and make provisions for the support of either of them and their children during the separation. [Based on Ohio Revised Code Section 3103.06 and 3105.17]

DIVORCE PROCEDURES: At any time after thirty days from the service of summons or first publication of notice in an action for divorce, annulment, or legal separation, or at any time after the filing of a petition for dissolution of marriage, the court of common pleas, upon its own motion or the motion of one of the parties, may order the parties to undergo conciliation for the period of time not exceeding ninety days as the court specifies, and, if children are involved in the proceeding, the court may order the parties to take part in family counseling during the course of the proceeding or for any reasonable period of time as directed by the court. No action for divorce, annulment, or legal separation, in which conciliation or family counseling has been ordered, shall be heard or decided until the conciliation or family counseling has concluded and been reported to the court. [Based on Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.091]

MEDIATION OR COUNSELING REQUIREMENTS: [Based on Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.091]

PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION: Ohio is an equitable distribution state, meaning that the marital estate shall be divided equitably. In making a division of marital property, the court shall consider all of the following factors:

* 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.

Separate property not subject to property division includes inheritances, property owned before the marriage, passive income or appreciation acquired from separate property during the marriage, property acquired after a legal separation, property excluded by an antenuptial agreement, personal injury awards, and gifts given to only one spouse. [Based on Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.171]

ALIMONY/MAINTENANCE/SPOUSAL SUPPORT: The court of common pleas may award reasonable spousal support to either party. In determining whether spousal support is appropriate and reasonable, and in determining the nature, amount, and terms of payment, and duration of spousal support, which is payable either in gross or in installments, the court shall consider all of the following factors: (a) The income of the parties, from all sources; (b) The relative earning abilities of the parties; (c) The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the parties; (d) The retirement benefits of the parties; (e) The duration of the marriage; (f) How appropriate it would be for the custodial parent of a minor child of the marriage to seek employment outside the home; (g) The standard of living established during the marriage; (h) The relative extent of education of the parties; (i) The relative assets and liabilities of the parties; (j) The contribution of each party to the education, training, or earning ability of the other party; (k) The time and expense necessary for the spouse who is seeking spousal support to acquire education, training, or job experience so that the spouse will be qualified to obtain appropriate employment; (l) The tax consequences, for each party, of an award of spousal support; (m) The lost income production capacity of either party that resulted from that party's marital responsibilities; (n) Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable. [Based on Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.18]

SPOUSE'S NAME: When a divorce is granted the court of common pleas shall, if the person so desires, restore any name that the person had before the marriage. [Based on Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.16]

CHILD CUSTODY: Either parent may be awarded custody, and the court shall not give preference to a parent because of that parent's financial status or condition. The court may allocate the parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the children primarily to one of the parents, designate that parent as the residential parent and the legal custodian of the child, and divide between the parents the other rights and responsibilities for the care of the children, including, but not limited to, the responsibility to provide support for the children and the right of the parent who is not the residential parent to have continuing contact with the children. If one parent files a pleading and submits a shared parenting plan, and if a plan for shared parenting is in the best interest of the children, the court may allocate the parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the children to both parents and issue a shared parenting order requiring the parents to share all or some of the aspects of the physical and legal care of the children in accordance with the approved plan for shared parenting. When allocating parental rights and responsibilities, the court shall 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.

When determining whether a shared parenting arrangement would be in the best interests of the child, the court shall consider the following factors: (a) The ability of the parents to cooperate and make decisions jointly, with respect to the children; (b) The ability of each parent to encourage the sharing of love, affection, and contact between the child and the other parent; (c) Any history of, or potential for, child abuse, spouse abuse, other domestic violence, or parental kidnapping by either parent; (d) The geographic proximity of the parents to each other, as the proximity relates to the practical considerations of shared parenting; (e) The recommendation of the guardian ad litem of the child, if the child has a guardian ad litem. [Based on Ohio Revised Code Section 3109.04]

CHILD SUPPORT: The court may order either or both parents to support or help support their children, without regard to marital misconduct. The court shall include in each support order the requirement that one or both of the parents provide for the health care needs of the child to the satisfaction of the court, and all support payments shall be made through the office of child support in the department of job and family services. The court or agency shall calculate the amount of the obligor's child support obligation in accordance with the basic child support schedule, the applicable worksheet, and the other provisions of sections 3119.02 to 3119.24 of the Revised Code.

How To Enforce Child Support – The 2008 Federal Option

Federal Options Enforcement (CSE) Program is a federal/state/local effort to locate parents, their employers, and/or their assets; establish paternity if necessary; and establish and enforce child support orders. The federal role is to provide funding, issue policies, ensure that federal requirements are met, and interact with other federal agencies that help support the CSE program.

How and where do I apply?

In most states, CSE offices are listed under the human services agency in the local government section of the telephone directory. If there is not a separate listing, the human services agency information operator should be able to give you the number. State CSE agencies are listed at the end of this brochure; they also can provide telephone numbers for local offices.

Call your Child Support Enforcement office to learn how to apply for enforcement services and what documents (birth certificates, financial statements, etc.) you should provide.

What are the steps to collecting support?

The first step, if a child was born out of wedlock, is to establish paternity - or make a legal determination of who fathered the child. Many men will voluntarily acknowledge paternity. Either parent can request a blood test in contested paternity cases. Your caseworker will help you to establish paternity for your child.

Establishing the obligation is the next step. The fair amount of child support that the non-custodial parent should pay is determined according to state guidelines. Your CSE office will be able to tell you how support award amounts are set in your state. Your CSE office can also request medical support for your child.

The last step is enforcement of the child support order. The CSE office can help with collecting the money due no matter where the non-custodial parent lives.

At any of these steps, the CSE office may need to know where the non-custodial parent is living or where he/she is working. When a parent has disappeared, it is usually possible for the CSE office to find him/her with the help of state agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, or the Federal Parent Locator Service. Your caseworker can tell you what information is needed to find an absent parent or his/her employer.

The most successful way to collect child support is by direct withholding from the obligated parent's paycheck. Most child support orders require the employer to withhold the money that is ordered for child support and send it to the CSE office. Your Child Support Enforcement office can tell you about this procedure.

Federal and State Income Tax refunds may be withheld to collect unpaid child support. States also have laws, which allow them to use: liens on real and personal property; orders to withhold and deliver property; or seizure and sale of property with the proceeds applied to the support debt. Many states routinely report child support debts to credit bureaus and smart parents are bringing their payments current so that their credit won't be affected.

For More Information write for the 2008 Handbook on Child Support Enforcement by contacting:

ACF OCSE National Reference Center

370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.

4th Floor Washington, DC 20447

(202) 401-9383

IS A LAWYER NECESSARY FOR MY CASE?

If the marriage was less then a year, you have no children, if there is no real estate, and if a marital settlement has been reached, the spouses may and should consider a fast and simplified divorce solution.

No person seeking a divorce is actually required by law to use an attorney. If a person does plan to represent themselves (not recommended) during the proceedings, they should not expect the court clerks, bailiff and/or judge to assist them or provide legal advice in any way. Most spouses do however, at least at some point, consult with an attorney before proceeding with doing the divorce themselves.

Under most circumstances, a lawyer is ethically prohibited from representing both parties in a case. This is called a legal conflict of interest. Lawyers should only represent one party. Notwithstanding, in practice many people choose to have just one lawyer handle most of the paperwork such as the legal documents, including a separation agreement. In this situation, you must keep in mind that the lawyer who drafted the documents should and usually is only be representing one party. In some states, they follow a collaborative divorce process in which the mediator/lawyer works with both parties to achieve one common goal: to reach agreement on settlement of the issues and to have that agreement reduced to a writing and then into a court order.

Most lawyers do not charge a flat fee for a divorce unless the divorce is very simple, and both parties have agreed to the division of property and custodial issues at the outset. Instead, a lawyer will usually request a cash retainer from the client, not unlike a security deposit and charge for the lawyer’s time as the case moves forward. The amount of lawyer fees is one very important factor to consider. However you should also take into account the attorney’s legal experience and the complexity of the case. Lawyers are prohibited from charging a contingent fee for a divorce. Once a fee arrangement has been made, the lawyer is in most cases must prepare a written contract reflecting the agreement if full.

If there is a great disparity of income with regards to payment of the attorney fees, a judge may determine that one person should pay for the other person’s attorney fees. Most often however, a judge determines that each party has the ability and should to pay his or her own fees.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT FAMILY LAWYER

If you have chosen to go with a lawyer you have a very important choice to make.

You could think of the process of choosing a lawyer like any other significant purchase. The same kind of careful consideration you put into a major purchase is not unlike the kinds of considerations you need to make when you are looking for the right divorce and family lawyer.

Before you start, you’ll need to choose what qualities you want in your family lawyer. There are a number of qualities that you should expect your lawyer to have. These basic qualities include:

Good standing with their state bar: In other words, the bar association which licenses the attorneys in your state considers this lawyer is fit to practice law.

No disciplinary sanctions: A disciplinary sanction is an action taken against a lawyer by the state agency that regulates lawyers. If a lawyer has a sanction, be sure to investigate, taking into account the severity of the sanction and how long ago it occurred. A sanction can be a minor reprimand, or it can be a very serious punishment like suspension or disbarment from practicing law.

Experience with cases like yours: Most lawyers concentrate in a few areas of the law such as adoption and mediation. Once you know what these areas are, it’s easier to find lawyers with the experience and skills that are relevant to your situation.

Good communication skills: Regardless of your family law case issues, you want someone who keeps you informed and stays in touch, every step of the way. Legal matters can be confusing and your attorney is your advocate and guide. Don’t settle for anything less.

Once you’ve covered the basics, you may think of other qualities you’d like your lawyer to have. A few questions to consider:

Is this lawyer’s office convenient to your home or office?

How much does the lawyer charge?

GET CURRENT WITH THE 2008 FAMILY LAW CODE OF OHIO

http://www.ohiobar.org/pub/lawfacts/index.asp?articleid=8