When Do Informal Parenting Arrangements For Child Need Approval from the State?
Professor Dan Pollack contacted me several months ago requesting some input about this topic from the perspective of an Ohio family law attorney. Dan is an excellent writer and has posted articles as a guest Contributor to the Ohio Family Law Blog since 2009. I was pleased to see that my comments made it to his recent article published in Policy & Practice, 74 (2), 25, 28-29. Thanks Dan! Keep up your quality scholarship and writing!
It is axiomatic that ideally it is best for children to be cared for by their parents. Yet, on an informal basis, thousands of children reside for extended periods of time with a caregiver who is not their parent. Often they are the child’s relatives, sometimes they are friends or acquaintances of the child’s family. This may be done to accommodate unique family dynamics, after-school or social activities, or for a variety of other reasons. Such time-efficient and cost-effective parenting arrangements are accomplished without involving any lawyers or signing any legally binding documents. All things being equal, is there … Read More... “Parenting Arrangements: Experts Weigh in on Temporary Guardianship for Child”
A couple weeks ago, my brother and I went back to our homeland of California to visit our parents and help them get ready for their move back to Ohio. Nothing too crazy, just packing and re-sodding the yard. And an occasional beer or two in the morning hours while we worked. Don’t judge. We were on “vacation” and that whole time change thing was happening. In any event, one morning we finished up our chores and were watching some television. While flipping through the channels we came across Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. Not wanting to pass up a great slasher movie, we started to watch it. About fifteen minutes in it became more of a comedy than a slasher movie. But back in the 1980s that movie was crazy scary! Like most slasher movies it had all the elements of the main characters getting messed with by Freddy until the big finale where they have to take Freddy on. By now you have … 
A recent study claims that the key to a happy marriage may be simpler than we think. According to Raluca Petrican, R. Shayna Rosenbaum and Cheryl Grady of the Rotman Research Institute, a happy marriage is comprised of partners who are especially sensitive to their spouse’s positive news and experiences.
Generally speaking, the IRS does not allow a write-off for court costs and legal fees stemming from a divorce. It does, however, offer deductions for any portions of those fees related to tax advice and alimony.
On Saturday, February 22, 2016, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar entitled “Helping Children Succeed After Divorce.” The seminar was held at the Greene County Domestic Relations Court located at 595 Ledbetter Road, Xenia, Ohio. The cost for attending the program is included in the Court’s filing fee for either a divorce, dissolution of marriage, or legal separation proceeding. The Court has three (3) two-hour seminars per month to accommodate the working schedules of all parties. Two seminars are held in the evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and one seminar is held on one Saturday per month from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
Throughout the years and probably over dozens of cases, the United States Supreme Court has it made clear that Native American tribes are self-governing and sovereign entities whose powers are only limited by the federal government. As a result, reservations are considered independent of state and local power. With that in mind, what happens when a state court is presented with a divorce where one spouse is Native American? Does a state court even have jurisdiction (the right to hear a case and make a decision), or power over an enrolled tribal member? Does a state court have the ability to divide Native American assets upon divorce?
On November 14, 2015, an article entitled, “Ohio Domestic Relations and Juvenile Forms Translated in Five Languages” was posted to this blog. In it, I discussed how recently the Ohio Supreme Court made key juvenile and domestic relations forms available in the most used languages in Ohio including: Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese and Arabic. To read the full text of that article click