Ohio Divorce Steps

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When the couples want to end their marriage due to continuous problems in marital union and loss of commitment and love, dissolution of marriage is the solution that is preferred by them. Though, divorce is a personal matter between couples, its a legal termination of marriage. Therefore, it should be handled according to the legal directions provided in the state law. There are many provisions in the divorce laws regarding alimony and child support laws. They will differ from a state to a state. Thus, here we are focusing on the divorce steps in the state of Ohio.

The residency requirement in the Ohio is of six months. It is required that at least one party should be a resident of the state for this mentioned period. The divorce petition is allowed to be registered in any of the county courts where an applicant or the other spouse resides. Some other tips regarding termination of marriage in Ohio are stated below.

Ohio Divorce Steps regarding filing of documents

• Either the husband or the wife can file the Complaint for divorce. The following forms must be attached to the Complaint
  • Affidavit of Income
  • Property Statement
  • Other court demanded forms
• If the divorcing couple has minor children, there is a need of affidavits pertaining to the following
  • Temporary allocation of parental rights and responsibilities
  • Child support
  • Parenting
• Every county in this state specifies its own divorce steps. Also, every county specifies its own data forms. These forms can be obtained in the office of court clerk. Otherwise, they can be downloaded from the official website

Ohio Divorce Steps regarding Hearings

• When the divorcing partner files the Complaint or briefly after the Complaint has been served, the court plans the first hearing
• This initial hearing is known as Scheduling Conference in some counties while Pretrial in others
• Several counties state that the divorcing partners may not remain present at the first hearing
• As the court feels essential, it arranges additional hearings. These are as follows
  • Property trials
  • Custody trials
  • Pretrials
  • Hearings on spousal support
  • Hearings on child support
  • Hearings on motions
  • Scheduling Conferences
  • Reports
• The final divorce hearing is called as the Merits Hearing. This lasts for only 3 to 5 minutes
• The Merits hearing is its own or a part of the Property trial. The divorcing partner, who has filed the Complaint, must attend the Merits Hearing. A witness must accompany this partner at the hearing as the court may cross-examine the witness for proving the faults mentioned in the complaint by Plaintiff

Divorce Steps regarding partners with children

• The court usually appoints a GAL (Guardian Ad Litem) and allocates him or her the responsibility to represent the children and their interests in the divorce process
• The court orders mediation to resolve issues like child custody and child support
• The court might order a parenting investigation. It is an inspection carried out by an authorized officer to check the relations of parents with children and find out if there is any history of violence by any of the parents
• The parents of minor children are expected to attend a parenting class and this is a one time process

What should be finalized in a parenting plan?

A parenting plan is not limited to the time allocation of a child with each parent. The parents must take steps to complete the following information.

• How each parent would have access to health and school records of the child?
• How the allocation of annual tax exemption must be planned?
• How much should be the amount of child support?
• Details regarding the extended parenting time or vacation time must be provided. This comprises of duration of time and the provisions for notice to the other parent and to the children
• A comprehensive schedule of holiday for odd and even years complete with dates and times of pick up and drop off
• A comprehensive week to week parenting schedule. It must include particular times of drop off and pick up and the locations of these actions

What are the details of the separation agreement?

• Credit card accounts
• Automobile accounts
• Real estate accounts
• Stocks
• Retirement accounts
• Bank accounts
• The responsibility of each spouse towards assets and debts

This is the proper way to take a divorce in Ohio. It is to be noted that the lawyers and attorneys can offer you legal assistance regarding the issues related to divorce. But, it is important to know the basic know-how of the divorce process before applying for it. Ohio divorce steps may help you to get a general idea about dissolution of marriage in Ohio.

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