Ohio Family Law Blog

Divorcing? What do You do With Your House?

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Home’s Equity To Be Divided Equally Between Two Parties In Divorce

You have agreed to a divorce. Now for the difficult and often unpleasant task of dividing the assets. Sure, you can agree who gets the tv and who gets the dishes, but the most difficult division is often how do you “divide” the house. Generally speaking, the home is considered a marital asset and the equity needs to be divided equally between the two parties.

Perhaps the home was bought by one of you before you were married. In that case it may be considered non-marital property. However, if both parties have been put on the deed or if the home was refinanced in both of your names, then the house will likely be considered marital property regardless of who paid for the house initially. Of course, if you purchased a home together during the marriage then it is definitely a marital property and the equity needs to be divided. The sticky part about splitting the value of a home is that it is not a liquid asset.

Often one of you will want to … Read More... “Divorcing? What do You do With Your House?”

Seeing a Divorce Lawyer for the First Time – Thoughts from a Divorce Lawyers Summer Extern

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A Good Divorce/Dissolution Attorney Cares, Even About The Little Things

As an extern with the Dayton, Ohio, law firm of Holzfaster, Cecil, McKnight, & Mues, I’ve had the opportunity to sit in on a number of divorce/dissolution consultations. As my time here is drawing to a close, here are a few truths I’ve gleaned from my time here at the office.

No two clients are ever the same. Some cry, some just want to get it over with, some crack jokes for most of the consultation. The occasional client will do all of the above during the course of a single meeting.
Nothing you can say will be shocking or weird or too much. This one may seem counterintuitive based on the first statement, but it is true. Every divorce is entirely unique, but after a while, the different components start to look similar.
Yes, we do listen to everything you say. Sometimes, I’ve watched clients start to look a little concerned, especially with the amount of notes that Chip or another attorney is taking. Believe me, he’s listening. Those notes also help him, or

I’ve Been Served with a Divorce, Do I Really Need to Talk With A Lawyer?

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Schedule An Appointment With An Experienced Divorce Lawyer

Avoid “Getting The Shaft”, Talk To An Experienced Divorce Lawyer!

Like most veteran divorce lawyers, I have seen lots of situations where a party ignores a summons and complaint for divorce, to his/her peril. The excuses I frequently hear are:

I’m too busy;
We have only been married for just a short time;
My spouse will treat me fairly;
I don’t need to spend money for a lawyer
I am too depressed to deal with it, and if I ignore it, I can fight it later if necessary; or
My spouse will get everything anyway since I have been a lousy spouse.

Truthfully, all of these “excuses” are poor ones. Scheduling an appointment with an experienced divorce lawyer is not an expensive pro-active investment. Some lawyers even offer a free initial conference.

What will happen if you simply ignore the divorce filing?

The case will be set for a non-contested default hearing;
Your spouse (and his/her divorce lawyer) will submit a Final Decree of Divorce for the Court’s approval;
There will be little inquiry by the Judge

My Ex Is Named As Beneficiary On My Life Insurance Policy? What Happens If I Die?

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Divorce Effectively Acts As a Termination of the Beneficiary Designation..Right?

An issue that comes up more often than many may think is the following scenario: One spouse names the other spouse as beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Couple gets divorced. Beneficiary designation is never changed. Policy owner dies. Does the ex-spouse get the life insurance proceeds? For many years, this question was covered by case law arising from different jurisdictions, with some jurisdictions coming to the conclusion that if the beneficiary designation wasn’t changed, the ex-spouse still received the proceeds and others concluding that the divorce effectively acted as a termination of the beneficiary designation.

Clarity has been brought to this issue as it is now covered by statutory law here in Ohio, namely Ohio Revised Code Section 5315.33, which states that the termination of marriage revokes the designation of a spouse as a beneficiary. Two exceptions exist. One is if the designation of beneficiary or the judgment of decree granting the divorce specifically provides otherwise. Second is if the parties later remarry each other. Other than under those two exceptions, the termination of the … Read More... “My Ex Is Named As Beneficiary On My Life Insurance Policy? What Happens If I Die?”

Blast From The Past: Custody Wars: My Lawyer Suggested that I Fabricate a Child Abuse Allegation!

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PUBLISHER’S UPDATE: Here is one of my favorites posts written by custody expert Judianne Cochran from back on September 18th, 2010! We have a ton of interesting articles in our archives of the Ohio Family Law Blog. Use our Search tool and enjoy a few oldie but goodies!

Using False Allegations In Family Law Custody Cases. Will I get A Better Position?

In recent years there has been a steady and alarming increase in the use of false allegations of vague, unsupported claims of domestic violence and even vaguer claims of child abuse, used solely in an attempt to find a shortcut to a presumed better position in custody cases.

What is more alarming is the observation that more often than not the attorneys of record for the litigants making these claims have been those unschooled in and relatively new to the family law arena, who have chosen to step outside their actual specialty and add a minor “division” of family law to their practices. Often, a new, young, unskilled associate is added to the practice to handle these family law issues.

Some of these practitioners use … Read More... “Blast From The Past: Custody Wars: My Lawyer Suggested that I Fabricate a Child Abuse Allegation!”

Can I Change my Mind After Signing Divorce Papers in Ohio?

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Second Thoughts? Dismissal May Be Permitted Based On How Far The Divorce Case Is Along

The answer to this question likely depends on how far along your divorce case has progressed, as well as the reason to dismiss it. The earlier in the preceding you decide, the more likely the answer will be “yes”.

Withdrawal of Complaint: If you have just filed the complaint for divorce and no answer has been filed by your spouse, you may dismiss your complaint without permission of the Court. No problem!
Dismissal After Your Spouse Has Filed an Answer/Counterclaim: At this point both parties have requested a divorce. Even though you had initiated the case, you do not have the option of dropping the whole case. If you dismissed your complaint, your spouse could proceed with his/her request for a divorce. The simple solution is for both sides to file a joint agreed upon dismissal entry signed by all parties and the lawyers. The Court would allow that as long as all Court costs have been paid.
Dismissal After Trial (But before a Decision). So, this point would arise very

Are Married or Single Women Happier?

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A New Book From Happiness Expert Raises Questions About The Longevity Of Married Women

Do Married Women Feel Happy In Their Marriage? Maybe Not Says Happiness Expert

As little girls, many of us dream about that wedding, the white picket fence, babies, and living the perfect life. Who knew that same studies have shown that the happiest in the subgroup of women in the population is actually women who are unmarried and childless?

According to happiness expert, Paul Dolan, a professor at the London School of Economics, studies support that women who are unmarried and childless are the happiest. He says that marriage and raising babies which are the traditional markers associated with success do not correlate with happiness. ln his book Happy Ever After he reported on a study from the American Time Use Survey.

They studied levels of misery and levels of pleasure in separated, divorced, windowed married and unmarried individuals. Dolan says that “the study found that the level of happiness reported by those who were married was higher than the unmarried, but only when their spouse was in the room”. Unmarried … Read More... “Are Married or Single Women Happier?”

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