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A divorce is a civil lawsuit filed by one party to end a marriage (with or without children) under the appropriate statutory grounds required in Ohio and can include numerous issues including (marital) property division, allocation of parental rights and responsibilities, spousal support (temporary and/or permanent), parenting time and/or child support for which the court makes the final decisions.
A divorce can be contested or uncontested in Ohio – meaning only one party needs to seek divorce. The court may still proceed whether or not both parties want to terminate the marriage.
QDRO: The term "qualified domestic relations order" refers to a judgment, decree, or order that creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee's right to receive all or a portion of a plan participant's benefits payable under an ERISA-qualified employee benefit plan.
QDROs are common in divorce and are used to allocate and disburse all or a portion of a participant’s benefit plan to a spouse through a court order because qualifying benefit plans are prohibited from distributing a participant's benefits to anyone other than the participant himself without a court order to do so. With a properly drafted QDRO, a former spouse of a plan participant can be eligible to receive all or a portion of such participant's accrued pension or profit sharing plan benefits.
DOPOs are court orders to divide state of Ohio pension plans and directs that payment be made directly to a former spouse (referred to as “Alternate Payee”) from a monthly benefit and/or lump sum payment that a member (referred to as “Plan Participant” or “Participant”) elects to receive or is being paid.
The DOPO must be on the form required by law and cannot be altered. No additions, modifications or deletions can be made. A DOPO must be issued by a Court in the State of Ohio. A separate DOPO must be submitted to each public retirement program with accounts to be divided.
Dissolution: where all parties resolve any issues of the marriage and jointly file for a single final hearing to terminate the marriage within 90 days. This a joint legal proceeding and both parties must be in agreement. This is the most amicable, quickest, and typically least expensive way to terminate a marriage in Ohio.
Legal Separation: A legal separation does not legally end a marriage but allows the court to issue orders concerning property division, spousal support, allocation of parental rights and responsibilities (including parenting time and child support). The parties remain married, but live separately. When a court grants a legal separation, each party must follow the court’s specific orders. The legal steps are nearly the same as for a divorce.
“Spousal support” means any payment or payments to be made to a spouse or former spouse, or to a third party for the benefit of a spouse or a former spouse, both for sustenance and support of the spouse or former spouse. “Spousal support” does not include any payment that is made as part of a division or distribution of property or a distributive award.
Legal Separation: A legal separation does not legally end a marriage but allows the court to issue orders concerning property division, spousal support, allocation of parental rights and responsibilities (including parenting time and child support). The parties remain married, but live separately. When a court grants a legal separation, each party must follow the court’s specific orders. The legal steps are nearly the same as for a divorce.
It is important to know that although Ohio courts have a statutory formula to calculate child support, no formula or “guideline” exists for spousal support. Ohio courts have wide discretion to determine the amount and duration of support awards for a spouse on a case by case basis, after taking into consideration the statutory factors currently in place.
Spousal support may be temporary, short-term, long-term, or permanent, depending on a number of statutory factors which the Court must consider. It may be granted to help a spouse “get back on their feet” or get the education to be self-supporting. If the court grants spousal support on a permanent basis, it will last until the recipient dies or remarries.
The court does consider several factors as required by statute when calculating spousal support and some of the most common are:
Spousal support may be temporary, short-term, long-term, or permanent, depending on a number of statutory factors which the Court must consider. It may be granted to help a spouse “get back on their feet” or get the education to be self-supporting. If the court grants spousal support on a permanent basis, it will last until the recipient dies or remarries.
A Civil Protection Order, commonly referred to as a “Stay Away Order” or CPO, is a court order that is requested by an individual who claims to have been a victim of domestic violence. A CPO is generally handed in one of three places depending on the relationship between the victim and the alleged abuser: the common pleas court, domestic relations division, or general division.
The first step in obtaining a CPO is to file a Petition. If there is an “immediate and present danger,” then the first step would include filing for an ex parte CPO. An ex parte order is an emergency order issued by the court after hearing from only the petitioner, or the individual asking for the court’s protection. The court will grant an “ex parte” order if it finds that there is “immediate and present danger” to a family or household member. In addition, the victim must communicated to the judge that she presently fears and believes that harm is imminent if the court does not order the abuser to stay away.
The “immediate and present danger” prong includes situations where:
If the court issues an ex parte Civil Protection Order, it will generally schedule a “full hearing” or trial within 7 to 10 days to determine if a more permanent order of protection should be granted. At this hearing, all evidence must be presented to the court to determine if the order is appropriate. Further, the respondent (the alleged abuser) has an opportunity to testify and contest the petitioner’s claims. The Ohio Rules of Evidence apply to this hearing, so it is critical to be fully ready to properly present your case, including all admissible evidence and witness testimony.
The Civil Protection Order will generally order the abuser to have no contact with the victim and remain at least 500 feet away from the victim at all times and stop abusing, annoying or harassing the victim.
A Civil Protection Order may also:
If someone has committed domestic violence against you, or if a petition for a Civil Protection Order has been filed against you, it is important to have an experienced and aggressive attorney by your side. Accusations of domestic violence are very serious, and a Civil Protection Order’s purpose to protect individuals from further acts of abuse.
However, this option is sometimes used inappropriately to gain an unfair advantage in a Divorce or Child Custody case. As you can see from the above referenced list of options a Judge can choose from in addressing a Civil Protection Order, obtaining a Civil Protection Order prior to the filing of, or during a Divorce or Custody case, can seriously impact what happens during that case.