Divorce in Ohio: Can the Court Order an Unequal Property Division?

Might You Be Entitled to a Distributive Award of Property in Your Divorce Case?

divorceWhat Constitutes Normal Property Division in a Divorce?

When a divorce occurs, property and assets are to be split equitably by the Court which typically involves a 50/50 split.  This approach generally covers all property obtained during the marriage.  This is true regardless of the basis (or grounds) for the break-up of the marriage.

What Happens if One Spouse Commits Financial Misconduct?

Unfortunately, sometimes a party anticipating a divorce will commit acts of fraud, concealment or transfer property to avoid dividing any assets. When this type of conduct occurs and it can be sufficiently proven, courts may order an unequal division of property and issue a “distributive award”.  The courts are given broad discretion in deciding how to separate the assets, and this discretion is given significant deference on review by appellate courts.

Statutory Definition Regarding Property Division in a Divorce:

ORC 3105.171 states that in a divorce or dissolution:

“(3) The court shall require each spouse to disclose in a full and complete manner all marital property, separate property, and other assets, debts, income, and expenses of the spouse.”

The statute clearly states a very … Read More... “Divorce in Ohio: Can the Court Order an Unequal Property Division?”

Divorce Study: Are Your Siblings Saving Your Marriage?

Divorce Rates Lowered By Number Of Siblings In Family Says Study

divorceA new study co-authored by Ohio State’s Doug Downey seems to indicate that growing up with more siblings can reduce your chance of divorce later in life.

The study conducted involved analyzing data collected by the “General Social Survey.”  This data was compiled from 1972 to 2012 and was compiled of over 57 thousand adults.  The resulting analysis led to a conclusive theory that each sibling you have can reduce your chances of divorce later in life by up to 2% each from sibling 3 to 7.

Downey, commenting on the analysis, stated that, “When you compare children from large families to those with only one child, there is a meaningful gap in the probability of divorce.”

The other co-author of the study, Donna Bobbitt-Zeher, Ph.D., discussed the findings in a different light.  Dr. Bobbitt-Zeher stated that the results weren’t only in having different relationships between siblings, but how the families changed their mind-set when another sibling was added.   Insofar as the personal relationship aspect, Downey stated that:

  • “Growing up in a family with siblings, you develop a set of skills for negotiating both negative and positive interactions.
… Read More... “Divorce Study: Are Your Siblings Saving Your Marriage?”

Extracurricular Activities Can Benefit Kids!

Study Reveals Children Who Participate In Extracurricular Activities Are Less Likely To Dropout Than Students Who Did Not Participate

extracurricular activitiesExtracurricular activities can have a significant impact on your child starting at an early age. Not only can these activities increase their capacity to advance academically, but they can create a healthy, confident young individual.  Recent studies have looked into how children react when they’re put into extracurricular activities.  You may find yourself believing that your child has no interest in extracurricular activities, but there are numerous activities your child could get involved in, including sports, music, book clubs, religious groups, game groups (board games and such), study groups, and countless others.

Study Results On Extracurricular Activities

In 1995, Ralph McNeal conducted a dropout percentage study to attempt to find coinciding evidence of children participating in extracurricular activities and a reduction in their dropout rates.   His findings were significant.  McNeal concluded that children who participate in athletics are 40 percent less likely to drop out than children who did not participate in extracurricular activities. He also concluded that a person who participates in any type of fine art extracurricular activity is 15 percent less likely to drop out than … Read More... “Extracurricular Activities Can Benefit Kids!”

Rape Aftermath: Child Custody And Control

Can a Rapist Obtain Custody and Visitation of a Child Conceived Through Rape?

rapeVery few states have statutes limiting the ability of a man who fathered a child through rape from asserting his parental rights.  Rape and its aftermath is a serious and significant problem faced by our country.  Though many rapes go unreported, it is estimated that roughly 25,000 women become pregnant through rape each year. A significant amount of women who become pregnant through rape each year choose to raise their children.  Despite this, surprisingly little statutory protection exist for these women who chose to raise their children.

Statutory Protections Limited In Rape Parental Rights

Every state imposes criminal sanctions for rape. However, only sixteen states have promulgated statutes which aid women who became pregnant through rape and decided to raise their children. A man who fathers a child through rape has the same rights as any other father with respect to their children. Even in states offering some kind of statutory redress, the protections are typically quite limited. Several of the states with statutes offering redress require a conviction before there will be a termination of parental rights or a denial in visitation.

The State of Ohio … Read More... “Rape Aftermath: Child Custody And Control”

Online Dating: Less Likely to Divorce If You Met Your Spouse Online?

Early Study Reveals Online Dating Sites Among Best Meeting Place For Marital Bliss

online datingA few recently published studies have explored the new developments in the field of online dating and online dating sites.  These studies have shown that, more often than not, couples who meet on these sites are more likely to stay together and are generally happier than couples who meet offline.   Below we’re going to break these studies down, go into the numbers a bit, and then detail any of the critiques that may be relevant to the recent studies.

Harris Poll Study On Online Dating

One study published in the Journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved contacting 20,000 recently married individuals.  Of these individuals, 35% met through an online dating website. (That’s 7,000!)  About 20 percent of online meetings happened through a social networking site such as Facebook or Twitter, and about 15 percent of those meetings happened through instant messaging, email or a chat room. The study also goes on to detail the percentage of marriages that fall apart by couples who met online, and the percentage of marriages that fall apart for couples who met offline.  The numbers, 8 percent … Read More... “Online Dating: Less Likely to Divorce If You Met Your Spouse Online?”

College Expenses: The Impact Of Student Loan Debt On Your Child

The ABC’s of College Loans – Plan How To Pay For College!

collegeCollege tuition has risen drastically in the past 15 years.  In 1980, a public university cost around $2,000 a year for just tuition.  The average in 2010 is at $8,085 and continuing to rise at a rate of almost 4-5% a year.  With these rising costs, one would be surprised to notice the drastic increase in college applicants.  Today, nearly 1 in 3 young adults have a bachelor’s degree, and nearly 70% of young adults have some sort of college experience.  This increase in college tuition and applicants has led to a large accumulation of student loans.   Below, we’re going to take a look at some hypothetical scenarios, and some recent developments in legislation that can affect the future of new students and can have significant impacts on the choices they make.

First, we will take a look at what FAFSA is, and what it can tell you.

  • FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
  • FAFSA, like the acronym states, is FREE.  Never pay someone to complete your FAFSA for you.
  • One of the most important things you learn from your FAFSA is your EFC, which
… Read More... “College Expenses: The Impact Of Student Loan Debt On Your Child”

Divorce: How Employment Affects Men’s and Women’s Decisions to Divorce

Divorce, Employment And Marriage – An Analysis

divorceStudies have often attempted to examine the intricate details of divorce by indicating what causes it, which party causes it and how can it be prevented.  Below is an analysis of the National Institution of Health’s study by Liana C.  Sayer of The Ohio State University about how the changing spectrum of society can affect marriages.  First, we’ll review two theories, then compare these and evaluate an opinion based off of these theories.

Institutional Perspective

The study on divorce and employment is broken into two theories, the first of which is considered the “Gendered Institutional” theory.  This theory seeks to classify marriage as it has been traditionally, where the male is often the breadwinner and the female is often the caretaker of the home and children. This view is often referred to as the codified version of marriage (as most states don’t allow same-sex marriage).  This is a very traditional view on marriage as it looks to shifting of these roles since the 1980’s.

Prior to the 1990’s, female employment in the market was still considerably low.  Men dominated the market and females often stayed home and took care of the house and … Read More... “Divorce: How Employment Affects Men’s and Women’s Decisions to Divorce”

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