Divorce and Dissolution in the State of Ohio

Ohio statutes define marital and separate property. Marital property is property acquired during the marriage, including real estate, personal property, intangible property (such as stocks and bonds, bank accounts) and retirement plans, regardless of legal title. Marital property also may include increases in the value of separate property due to either spouse's labor or contribution of marital money to the increase in the property's value.

Separate property includes all real, personal and intangible property from an inheritance; property owned before the marriage; income or appreciation on separate property that did not come from a marital contribution of either party during the marriage; a gift after the marriage date if proved to be made to only one spouse; and an award for personal injury (except any part of the award that compensates for lost wages occurring during the marriage, or medical bills from the injury paid with marital funds).

By applying statutory laws and appropriate case law, the court determines how long the marriage has lasted and what it considers to be marital property. Marital property is to be divided equally, unless the court explains in writing why an equal division would not be fair. In making the award, the court must apply the eight specific factors listed in the statute and any other factor it finds relevant and equitable.

The court also has the authority to make a distributive award from separate property of either party to the other to achieve a fair result. When a party has engaged in financial misconduct such as hiding property, dissipating money, or funds, or disposing of funds fraudulently, the court may make an award out of the separate property of the offending spouse, or make a greater award of marital property to compensate the other party.

Changes in Ohio law have substituted the term spousal support for what once was called alimony. Courts award spousal support, if reasonable and appropriate, but only after a property division. The court may consider 13 specific factors in making an award. Some of these factors are the ages, earning ability and health of the parties, the length of the marriage and the standard of living during the marriage. The court also may consider any other relevant factors.

Changes in Ohio law have substituted the term spousal support for what once was called alimony. Courts award spousal support, if reasonable and appropriate, but only after a property division. The court may consider 13 specific factors in making an award. Some of these factors are the ages, earning ability and health of the parties, the length of the marriage and the standard of living during the marriage. The court also may consider any other relevant factors.

Formerly, Ohio courts granted custody of the children to one party or the other. Now, the court allocates the parental rights and responsibilities between the parents based on the best interests of the minor children who are not yet age 18 or have not graduated from high school. Shared parenting allocates these rights and responsibilities by requiring shared decision-making, although not necessarily equal time-sharing. If a plan for the children's care is submitted by one or both parents, the court may adopt the plan and grant shared parenting. If the court finds the proposed plan is not in the children's best interest, it can request amendment of the plan or deny shared parenting.

If no plan is submitted, the court cannot award shared parenting and will allocate the parental responsibilities between the parents, naming one parent as the sole residential parent and legal custodian and granting the other parent appropriate parenting time rights.

If a parent asks, the court must talk with a child privately about his or her wishes concerning parenting arrangements. The court also may (or, if a parent asks, must) appoint some guardian ad litem for the child, who will investigate the child's circumstances and report to the court. The court takes into consideration, but is not bound by, the child's wishes and concerns and the guardian ad litem's recommendation.

Other factors considered include the child's mental, emotional, and psychological development; the child's interaction with parents, siblings, and other significant persons; and the child's adjustment to school, community, and home. The court also may consider factors such as a parent's ability to serve as a custodial parent, if support has been paid, if parenting time has been denied or if any abuse has occurred. If one of the parents intends to leave the state permanently, the court also may consider this factor. Some courts provide mediation services to help the parties resolve parenting issues themselves.

In every case involving children, the court orders a specific schedule for parenting time. The primary consideration is the best interests of the children. Ohio statutes provide many factors to be considered in making the determination. Each Ohio county must also have a standard parenting time order, which can be changed on a case-by-case basis when in the best interests of the children. In appropriate cases and only if the court finds it is in the children's best interest, the court also may award companionship/visitation rights to persons other than the parents.

A more thorough discussion of parenting time rights can be found in an Ohio State Bar Association brochure titled, “What you should know about . . . Sharing Parental Responsibilities after Separation.”

The court may issue temporary orders while the case is pending and before the final decision. The person seeking temporary orders files a motion with the court, which can provide for: use of the marital residence or a vehicle, allocation of parental rights, child support, spousal support, and the responsibility to pay debts (such as house or rental payments and charge accounts). These temporary orders may be very different from the court's final decree of divorce.

Courts may grant restraining orders to restrict or prohibit one or both spouses or others from certain behaviors and activities, such as harassing or abusing a spouse, transferring, or disposing of marital funds or assets and moving the children to another state.

All temporary orders and restraining orders may be modified by the court on formal request, by written motion. Temporary orders, unless modified, usually remain in effect and are enforceable from the time the court approves the order until the final decree becomes effective.

Ohio law requires child support to be calculated under child support guidelines. The law sets basic support schedules that must be used to determine the amount of child support, based on the number of children and the combined gross income of the parents, as well as other factors and/or credits. The support schedules are based on the average cost of raising children in households across a wide income range.

o determine the appropriate amount of child support, the court calculates both parents' gross incomes and then combines them. Any spousal support paid is added to the recipient's income and deducted from the payor's income to arrive at gross income. The total is then used to locate the child support amount on a basic chart provided in the support statutes. Costs of medical insurance and necessary child care are factored in, and the resulting child support obligation is divided per the percentages of each party's income to their total combined annual income.

Ohio law requires child support to be calculated under child support guidelines. The law sets basic support schedules that must be used to determine the amount of child support, based on the number of children and the combined gross income of the parents, as well as other factors and/or credits. The support schedules are based on the average cost of raising children in households across a wide income range.

o determine the appropriate amount of child support, the court calculates both parents' gross incomes and then combines them. Any spousal support paid is added to the recipient's income and deducted from the payor's income to arrive at gross income. The total is then used to locate the child support amount on a basic chart provided in the support statutes. Costs of medical insurance and necessary child care are factored in, and the resulting child support obligation is divided per the percentages of each party's income to their total combined annual income.