Divorce and Family Law

You need not be alone when you face divorce

Whether your spouse wants a divorce, or you do, or you both do, there will be emotional times ahead.  The prospect may scare you and/or make you sad.  At the same time, you may view divorce as a necessary step in your pursuit of happiness for you and your children.  But, your emotions may cloud the practical, objective, and dispassionate reasoning that is necessary when dissolving a marriage.  You need to make rational, financial decisions about what to do with marital home, how to divide assets and debts between the parties, and spousal support (commonly known as alimony).  If you have children, you need to make child custody and support decisions.  To complicate matters, divorce is a legal process involving statutes, case law, rules, and procedures that are unfamiliar to most people.

The attorneys at Babbitt & Weis LLP have over 40 years of combined experience helping people throughout the Columbus metropolitan area—people just like you—confront the challenges, obstacles, and disputes of divorce and resolve each and every issue.

Overview of the legal process

You must be a resident of Ohio for at least six months to be eligible to file for divorce.  If your spouse agrees, you can get a divorce by simply stating in divorce papers that you and your spouse are incompatible.  Otherwise, you have to prove one of the following grounds for divorce:

  • Separation (residing separate and apart without cohabitation for at least one year)
  • Bigamy
  • Adultery
  • Fraud
  • Neglect
  • Habitual drunkenness
  • Imprisonment of your spouse in a state or federal prison at the time you file divorce papers

The legal divorce process begins when one of the spouses files a complaint with the Court of Common Pleas.  The other spouse is then served with the complaint and given time to respond.  If the parties are in agreement about property and debt division (and child custody and child support matters, if you have children), the divorce can be finalized without a trial.  Otherwise, the court sets a date and time for trial.

After the complaint is filed, either party can request temporary assistance from the court in the form of temporary custody and child support orders, and orders for payment of joint debts on a temporary basis.

In Ohio, marital property is divided equitably

Unlike some states in which marital property is divided equally, in Ohio, assets and debts acquired during your marriage are divided equitably when you divorce.  While a judge most often divides marital property equally between the spouses, if an equal division would be unjust or unfair, the court divides the marital property in a manner that it determines to be equitable.

But not all property is considered marital property.  These assets are considered separate property:

  • Assets you owned before you married
  • Interest and appreciation you acquired from separate property
  • Property you inherit
  • Gifts you receive

In deciding how to divide marital property, a judge considers several factors, including:

  • The length of the marriage
  • The assets and liabilities of each spouse
  • The need of a custodial parent to occupy or own the family home and/or household items
  • The liquidity of the property to be distributed
  • The economic desirability of keeping an asset or the interest in an asset intact
  • The tax consequences of the distribution
  • The costs of the sale of assets
  • Any division or disbursement of property made in a voluntary separation agreement between the spouses

Divorce does not necessarily end financial reliance

Alimony, or spousal support as it is formally called in Ohio, is ongoing payments from one spouse to the other after the parties divorce.  A judge generally consider these factors when awarding alimony:

  • The income and relative earning abilities of the parties
  • The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the parties
  • The retirement benefits of the parties
  • The length of the marriage
  • The extent to which it would be inappropriate for the custodial parent to seek employment outside the home
  • The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage
  • The education of the parties
  • The assets and liabilities of the parties
  • The contribution of each party to the education, training, or earning ability of the other party
  • The time and expense necessary for the spouse seeking spousal support to acquire the education, training, or job experience necessary to qualify the spouse to obtain appropriate employment
  • The tax consequences of alimony
  • The lost income production capacity of either party that resulted from the party's marital responsibilities

A judge can order temporary spousal support while the divorce is pending.  Most spousal support is ordered for a specific length of time.  Once ordered, an alimony award can be modified only upon a showing of a change in circumstances or by agreement by the parties.

Let our lawyers help you with divorce or other family law matters

Speak to a Babbitt & Weis LLP family law attorney by calling 614-228-4200 or contact us online.  We represent clients throughout the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area, including Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Franklin counties and statewide.