Once upon a time in Ohio the answer was “yes”. But not any longer. There is much misinformation on the internet about this subject. So, I thought that a review of the child custody laws over the years might be both helpful and interesting. There has been movement away over the years from allowing a child to choose in a divorce which parent to live with. These past “age of election” laws were seen as placing too much pressure on children.
Title VI, Chapter 3, Section 8033 from the Ohio Annotated General Code of 1910 allowed children as young as 10 years old to choose their custodial parent:
“…the court shall decide which one of them (parents) shall have the care, custody….except that, if such children be ten years of age or more, they must be allowed to choose which parent they prefer to live with, unless the parent so selected…be unfitted to take charge of such children…”
Chapter 3109 of the Ohio Revised Code was enacted on January 1, 1974, which states in part:
“(A) Upon hearing the testimony of either or both parents and … Read More... “Can My Child Choose Which Parent to Live With?”
Tucked deep into the recently passed state budget is a new provision that will reduce driver’s license suspensions of alleged “deadbeat” parents. Currently, a parent owing more than a month in child support faces the possibility of the loss of his or her driver’s license and professional licenses. Under current law, neither the courts nor the Child Support Enforcement Agency can grant limited driving privileges for occupational purposes on a child support license suspension.
It is wise to keep an “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) information card in our wallets, purses, and car glove box at all times. An emergency can happen at any time. The leading cause of death for people under the age of 44 in America is emergency trauma. Emergency contact cards can prevent a bad situation from getting worse. An unexpected emergency can shatter the lives of any family at any time. But, by having emergency contact cards, you and your loved ones will be more prepared if a sudden crisis strikes. Give yourself a greatly improved chance to receive appropriate medical care by preparing information in advance that explains your medical needs immediately for first responders.
No one wants to get divorced. We don’t walk down the aisle thinking, “Aw, what the hell, if this doesn’t work, I can always get a divorce.” You probably thought more along the lines of, “I don’t care how many people get divorced. This is not going to happen to us!” Yet here you are. It is awful and it hurts more than you could have ever imagined.
There’s a good chance that you yourself are part of a stepfamily. If you’re not, you almost certainly have close friends or family members who are. Statistics show that one in three Americans live in a stepfamily and that more than 50% of Americans will live in a stepfamily at some point in their lives. A term that is now commonly used to describe a family that forms after divorce or re-marriage is a “blended” family.
On July 1, 2011, the Domestic Relations Court of Montgomery County, Ohio adopted a “new” and “revised” Standard Order of Parenting Time, previously known as the Standard Order of Visitation. Over the years, our elected officials in Columbus, Ohio have chosen to “rename” terms frequently used in the Domestic Relations Court. The phrase “parenting time” replaces the older word of “visitation”, and, the term “parental rights and responsibilities” replaces the older word of “custody”. It should be noted that with each change in legislation, the older or former terms have been replaced with longer names or phrases!
When parents neglect or fail to provide even basic food, shelter, or medical care for their children, we would all agree that Children’s Services needs to step in and remove a child from their parent’s control. If a child’s immediate safety and well being are at risk, we would argue that such a situation must not be allowed to continue.