Ohio

Divorce Residency Requirements To Get Divorce In Ohio

Before you file for divorce without a lawyer in Ohio, at least one of the spouses needs to have been a resident of the state for six months or longer.

Reasons For Divorce In Ohio

The State of Ohio offers a divorce and a dissolution of marriage. In the dissolution of marriage, both parties agreed to all aspects of the dissolution including property, debts, alimony, spousal support, child support, custody and parenting time. With the dissolution of marriage, there are no grounds that need to be proven or stated. With divorce, it is a civil lawsuit breaking the marriage contract. This occurs when the husband and wife cannot resolve the problems on their own, and they ask the court to make the final decision. Essentially, in the state, a divorce would occur when there are issues to be contested, whereas a dissolution is considered an uncontested divorce in other states.

As the dissolution doesn’t require grounds, only a divorce requires grounds be proved. Some of the reasons why a couple may divorce include separation without cohabitation, incompatibility, a willful absence of one year or longer, extreme cruelty, adultery, misconduct, gross neglect of duty, drunkenness, or imprisonment.

Custody Of The Children In Ohio

The State of Ohio doesn’t officially award custody. Instead, the state designates a residential and nonresidential parent. The idea is to keep both parents involved in the children’s lives. The Ohio court system feels that a child requires a continuing relationship with both parents, and giving custody of one parent versus the other will undermine that need.

The parties can submit a parenting plan to the court for approval. In many cases, the court will approve this plan, as long as it keeps the best interest of the children in mind.

Ohio Child Support Guidelines

Standard state child support guidelines apply in nearly every case, barring extreme circumstances. Both parents’ gross incomes and child-related expenses are taken into consideration when the support is calculated. The obligation is usually collected through wage assignment and continues through a child’s 18th birthday and potentially beyond.

Venue

Divorce must be initiated in the county where the petitioning spouse has lived for at least 90 days before filing.

Divorce Mediation

The court may require parents to mediate differences on contested matters regarding parental rights and responsibilities on care of children. In addition, the parties themselves may decide to submit any disputed matters for arbitration, either before or after the divorce or dissolution is filed in the state of Ohio. Mediation may allow for an uncontested divorce and/or dissolution.

Filing Fees

All court filing fees in Ohio are in addition to the costs for using Divorce.com. Filing fees may vary from county to county. For more information on the costs, we provide an easy way to look up the filing fees for your area. This ensures that you have a clear picture of all expenses specific to your situation before moving forward.