The Ohio Supreme Court instituted new rules on March 1, 2009, regarding the role and responsibilities of a Guardian ad Litem (GAL). Ohio Rule of Superintendence 48 codifies these rules. As background, a GAL is a person appointed by the court in both domestic relations and juvenile cases to protect the best interest of the child. The GAL typically issues a Report to the court detailing the investigation and setting forth a recommendation. It is not uncommon for a GAL to be involved in most juvenile cases and in many domestic relations cases involving minor children. Prior to Rule 48 there were no uniform GAL rules in Ohio, but many courts have had their own rules; and in addition, lawyers serving as GAL’s were bound by the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.
The new Rule does several things. But the most important may be establishing certain training requirements and defining the responsibilities of the GAL in his or her investigation. Finally, the Rule sets forth what must be included in the GAL’s Report.
The first major element in the rules is that it sets forth specific training … Read More... “A Dramatic New Guardian Ad Litem Rule in Ohio”
A recurring battle that I see in my family law practice is how to juggle a child’s extracurricular activities after a divorce. There is no black and white answer, of course, to this question. In many cases where there is shared parenting or both mother and father continue to communicate with each other and place the child’s best interest in perspective, both parents will attend the child’s after-school activities and will seamlessly foster the child’s continued participation in the activities no matter which home the child may be residing in. However, in a large number of post-divorce situations, especially in high conflict cases or where the parties do not live in close proximity with one another, continuation of extracurricular activities can present a major problem.
In April, one of our Family Blog Articles focused upon the division of military pensions. The focus of this article is upon other benefits available to former spouses of military members. Those potential benefits include the following:
This is a follow-up to my recent article about Ohio Domestic Violence and the impact it can have on individuals. I decided to write this article to help educate the public about Domestic Violence proceedings in Ohio and what people should know when filing a petition or responding to a petition. After conducting an informal survey, I discovered that there are many important issues that people need to consider when dealing with a Petition for Domestic Violence. I have included some of the items that court personnel wished people knew, including information on the Petition, what is relevant in the proceedings, and the impact that a finding of Domestic Violence can have on an individual.
Because our law practice is in close proximity to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (“WPAFB”) and because I am a “former” military spouse (who receives a fifty percent (50%) share of my former spouse’s military pension), a decision was made to add several articles to our Family Law Blog Site related to special considerations which must be made in assisting a military member and/or his/her spouse in the termination of their marriage. This is the first article having special emphasis on the division of military pensions.