You may terminate your marriage either by mutual agreement through a dissolution, or through a contested divorce. In rare circumstances, usually for religious reasons, you may wish to live separate and apart without a divorce, yet formalize your legal duties to one another through a legal separation. In even rarer circumstances, you may terminate your marriage through an annulment.

Medina County Bar Association

• Depending on the type of case/motion you are filing, there are different filing fees.
• Because issues in divorce and custody disputes are often highly contested, you may end up paying several thousand dollars in attorney's fees.
• The Medina County Bar Association offers a referral service where you can consult with an attorney for one-half hour for $25. The telephone number for the Bar Association referral service is 330-725-9744.
• If you decide to represent yourself, the Court has some checklists and forms available on the Forms page.

Courtroom Etiquette and Procedure

Courtroom Etiquette:

• You must show proper respect to the Court and to all Court personnel.
• You must remain quiet and be attentive in Court.
• You should speak only when asked a question or when given an opportunity to speak.
• You should wear formal or semi-formal attire to Court.
• You should not wear hats, shorts, sandals, tank tops, miniskirts, tube tops, torn jeans, t-shirts, etc.
• You must remove all facial piercings before coming to Court.
• You must be punctual and arrive to Court on time.

Procedure:

• The Court will hear your case, but cannot tell you how to prepare and/or what to present.
• If your case is not presented according to the Rules of Evidence/Rules of Civil Procedure/Local Rules, the Court may never hear your side of the story.
• Because this is such a complicated process that requires extensive legal knowledge, you may wish to consult an attorney.
• It is usually a very expensive mistake to try to represent yourself.

When to Contact the Court

• The Court cannot and will not consider or act upon telephone calls, emails or letters.
• If you would like the Court to consider something or order a particular result, you must bring it to the Court's attention by preparing a written motion that is filed with the Clerk of Courts.
• You should not file documents that contain highly sensitive matters (e.g., birth certificates, drug test results, guardian ad litem reports, tax returns, pay stubs, etc.) with the Clerk of Courts. Instead, you must submit these documents to the Court's confidential file.
• Pursuant to Civil Rule 5(B), you must provide a copy of all motions/notices/documents that are filed to all other parties/attorneys in your case.

Full Disclosure of Assets and Debts

You must make full disclosure of all of your assets, no matter whose name they are in and/or their value. This includes, but is not limited to, all of the following assets:

• Real estate;
• Motor vehicles, boats, and trailers;
• Pensions and other retirement accounts (e.g., 401(k) and 403(b) accounts)
• Profit sharing plans;
• Bank accounts and brokerage accounts;
• Stocks, bonds, and life insurance policies;
• Any collection that has a monetary value, such as antiques, toys, sports memorabilia, coins, guns, etc.
• Pending insurance claims and/or pending lawsuits; and,
• Business interests.

You must also disclose all outstanding debts, including the amount owed and to whom they are owed. This includes, but is not limited to, all of the following debts:

• Tax debts, including IRS, state and local;
• Mortgages;
• Car loans;
• Student loans;
• Credit cards and department store charge cards;
• Unpaid medical and hospital bills;
• Utility bills, and other bills that have been turned over to debt collectors.

Children involved in the case

When you have a children together, the court must insure that you have a written plan that spells out exactly how you are going to share the parenting time, as well as the obligations and costs of raising your children.

• Sole Custody: One parent is the residential parent and legal custodian of the children, with the other parent having regular parenting time at specific times.
• Shared Parenting: If you are able to work together on issues concerning your children, then you may be able to share parenting of your children as set forth in a specific shared parenting agreement.
• Split Custody: Each parent is the residential parent and legal custodian of at least one child. For example: your eldest child lives with you, but your youngest child lives with your ex-spouse.

Whether you are thinking about sole custody, shared parenting or split custody, the Court is obligated to consider the children's best interest. Child Support and Spousal Support You must disclose to your to the other party (and she/he must disclose to you) your total gross income for the past 3 years, and provide supporting documentation (e.g., pay stubs, W2s, tax returns, etc).

• Child Support: If you have children, you may be required to pay child support. Your income is necessary for calculating child support.
• Spousal Support: Depending on the length of your marriage and various other factors set forth in R.C. 3105.18(C), you may be required to pay spousal support. Your income is necessary to determine whether you (or your spouse) are able to support yourself and/or whether you are entitled to spousal support.

What is Divorce?

• 'Incompatibility' is the most common ground for divorce. For a full list of grounds for divorce, please see R.C. 3105.01.
• In order to be granted a divorce, you must prove grounds and your grounds must be corroborated. This means that at least two people must testify that grounds exist.
• This is typically accomplished by the parties each testifying, but there are circumstances where a witness may need to be called to corroborate grounds.

Divorce checklist

• The Ohio Supreme Court has published standardized domestic relations forms, such as complaints, answers, counterclaims, separation agreements, and shared parenting plans.

How long do you have to live in Ohio or Medina County to file for Divorce?

• You can file for divorce if you have lived in Ohio for six (6) months, and in Medina County for ninety (90) days prior to filing.
• If you are the person filing for divorce, you are called the Plaintiff.

Timeline for Answer and/or Counterclaim on Complaint

• You have twenty-eight (28) days after being served with your spouse's Complaint to respond with an Answer.
• If you are the person filing an Answer (and/or Counterclaim), you are called the Defendant.

Answer and/or Counterclaim

In addition to filing an Answer to the Complaint, the Defendant may file a Counterclaim to request a divorce from the Plaintiff.

Divorce Checklist

You should review the divorce checklists, which can be found on the Court's Forms page, to make sure that you have included everything in your Complaint or Counterclaim.

How will the Divorce be set for hearing?

• You will be scheduled for initial hearing, which is called the Case Management Hearing.
• At the Case Management Hearing, the Judge or Magistrate will meet with you, your spouse, and/or your attorneys to discuss the facts and issues of your case

Timeline for Divorce

• A divorce without children will typically last 6-9 months.
• A divorce with children will typically last 9-12 months.
• Depending on the issues in dispute, a more complex divorce may last 12-18 months.

What happens if both parties have a full agreement

If you reach a full agreement prior to the date for the final trial, you or your attorney can call the Court to schedule an uncontested divorce hearing.

Divorce types and witness

• A contested divorce is where both parties disagree to at least one issue in the divorce proceeding.
• An uncontested divorce is any divorce where the parties are in full agreement or when one party chooses not to participate in the divorce proceedings.
• Corroborating witness: because grounds for divorce must be corroborated (e.g., require two witnesses), you must bring a corroborating witness to testify at the uncontested divorce hearing.

What is dissolution?

• A dissolution is a termination of your marriage where you and your spouse reach a complete agreement on all matters, including the division of of assets and debts, child/spousal support, custody/shared parenting, etc.

How long until a Dissolution is heard?

• Your Petition for Dissolution will be heard approximately 45 days after the filing.
• Your Petition for Dissolution cannot be heard until at least 31 days after the filing, and in no case more than 90 days after the filing.
• If you or your spouse fail to appear for the dissolution hearing, your case may be continued or may be dismissed.
• If your Petition for Dissolution is not heard within 90 days, you may convert your case to a divorce.
• If you fail to convert your case to a divorce, your Petition for Dissolution will be dismissed.

Dissolution with or without children

Dissolution without children

• The Court's standard dissolution packet (without children) and dissolution checklist (without children) can be found on the Court's Forms page.

Dissolution with children

• The Court's standard dissolution packet (with children) and dissolution checklist (with children) can also be found on the Court's Forms page.

Filing Fee for Dissolution

• Fees for a dissolution can be found here
• If you and your spouse are no longer in agreement, your Petition for Dissolution may be converted to a Divorce.
• The filing fee is the cost of filing a Divorce, less the cost you already paid for filing the Dissolution.

What is Spousal Support

• Spousal support is money paid by one spouse to the other.
• Depending on the length of your marriage and various other factors set forth in R.C. 3105.18(C), you may be required to pay spousal support. Your income is necessary to determine whether you (or your spouse) are able to support yourself and/or whether you are entitled to spousal support.

Duration of Spousal Support

Spousal support orders typically contain provisions on duration and termination, but can vary from case-to-case depending on the parties' assets, debts, age, health, and duration of marriage.

Questions on Spousal Support

• Spousal support may be modified, but if and only if the Court retains jurisdiction to modify it.
• If the Court has retained jurisdiction, then a motion requesting a modification of spousal support must be filed in order to be considered by the Court. R.C. 3105.18 sets forth the requirements for spousal support modification.

What is Child Support

Child support is money typically paid by one parent (the Obligor) to the other parent (the Obligee) to meet the basic needs of the child, such as food, clothing and shelter.

How Child Support is calculated

• Child support is calculated based on the combined gross incomes of the parties.
• The amount of child support that the Obligor is required to pay is set by the schedule in R.C. 3119.021.
• If the parties' combined gross incomes exceeds $150,000, then child support is calculated by R.C. 3119.04.

Termination of Child Support

Child support is paid until the order terminates, which typically occurs when the child has reached the age of 18 and has graduated from high school. Other circumstances that warrant termination include:

• When there is a change of custody;
• When the child reaches the age of 19;
• If the child enlists in the armed services; or,
• If the child fails to attend an accredited high school on a full time basis.

Modification of Child Support

A motion requesting a modification in child support must be filed to be considered by the Court. R.C. 3119.79 sets forth the requirements for modification.

• A request to modify child support may be made at any time.
• The request may be made either at the Medina County Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) or at the Court.

NOTE: The Court is prohibited by law from offering legal advice. The information and forms on this website are not intended to be a substitute for good legal advice.

Parentage Action

• A parentage action is a custody case involving never-married parents.
• Pursuant to R.C. 3109.042(A), if a child is born to never-married parents, the mother is the sole legal custodian and residential parent of the child.
• The biological father does not have any legal rights to the child, until such time as the Court issues an order that allocates parental rights and responsibilities between the parents.

NOTE: Pursuant to R.C. 2301.03(U), all parentage actions and child custody cases must be filed in the Medina County Domestic Relations Court.

Child Custody determination

Generally speaking, when the Court allocates parental rights and responsibilities, the Court is making a child custody determination. An allocation of parental rights and responsibilities includes, but is not limited to:

• Naming a residential parent for school purposes;
• Adopting a Shared Parenting Plan;
• Naming a legal custodian for the children;
• Setting forth an order for parenting time or visitation for the non-custodial parent;
• Setting an order for child support;
• Setting forth who is responsible to maintain health insurance for the children; and,
• Allocating the dependency tax exemptions for the children.

Parental rights and responsibilites

The Court allocates parental rights and responsibilities based upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:

• The best interests of the children;
• The in camera interview with the children;
• The report of and the recommendations from the Court Investigator/Case Services Assessment;
• The report of and the recommendations from the court-appointed guardian ad litem;
• Parental unsuitability, if applicable; and,
• Any other relevant evidence presented.

In Camera Interview

"In camera" is a Latin term meaning "in private" or "in chambers". If a party requests, the Court will interview your children to ascertain their wishes and concerns with respect to a custody arrangement.

Guardian Ad Litem

A guardian ad litem (GAL) is someone who is appointed to assist the Court in its determination of the children's best interests. Guardians ad litem are typically attorneys who maintain an active practice in the area of domestic relations or family law.

Dating Violence Civil Protection order

• The Ohio Supreme Court has not yet published, but has drafted several forms to assist victims of dating violence in obtaining a dating violence civil protection order.
• The person seeking the dating violence civil protection order is called the Petitioner.
• The person against whom the dating violence civil protection order is sought is called the Respondent.

Completing the Petition

• Once you have completed the petition and your signature has been notarized, you must file the petition with the Medina County Clerk of Court, Domestic Relations Division.
• Where to find us.
• The Court recommends that you file the petition as early in the day as possible.

Is there a cost to file a Dating Violence Protection Order?

There is no filing fee for this petition. However, the Court may assess the costs of the action to the respondent.

What happens after the Petition is filed?

• The Court will review the Petition, and will conduct an ex parte hearing the same day it is filed.
• The Court may grant the Petition ex parte or may decline to grant the Petition.
• If the Court grants the Petition ex parte, the Court will issue an Ex Parte Dating Violence Civil Protection Order.

Ex Parte

• "Ex parte" is a Latin term meaning "from one party".
• An ex parte order is based solely upon the information, evidence and testimony from only one party (i.e., the petitioner).
• Whether or not your petition is granted ex parte, your petition will be set for full hearing within seven to ten (7-10) court days, so that the respondent can have an opportunity to present his/her testimony and evidence.

Information for Domestic Violence Protection Order

• After the respondent is served with the petition and the ex parte order, the full hearing is conducted pursuant to R.C. 3113.31.
• Both parties are presumed to know the applicable law, the Rules of Evidence and the Rules of Civil Procedure.
• The Court does not and cannot appoint an attorney for either party to a dating violence civil protection order case.
• Either party may hire an attorney to represent him or her at the full hearing.
• After the evidence is presented, the Court will decide whether or not to grant the petition for a dating violence civil protection order.
• If the Court grants the petition, the dating violence civil protection order may be in effect for up to five (5) years.

Types of Protection Orders

• Dating Violence Civil Protection Orders are governed by R.C. 3113.31, and apply to persons who are in a dating relationship or who were in a dating relationship within the past 12 months, and who are victims of dating violence or who are in danger of dating violence.
• Domestic Violence Civil Protection Orders are governed by R.C. 3113.31, and apply to family or household members, including minor children, other adults living in the same home, and a person living as a spouse. These petitions are filed with the Medina County Clerk of Court, Domestic Relations Division.
• Stalking and Sexually Oriented Offenses Protection Orders are governed by R.C. 2903.214, and apply to any person. These petitions are filed with the Medina County Clerk of Court, Civil Division.
• Juvenile Civil Protection Orders are governed by R.C. 2151.34 and R.C. 3113.31. The respondent is less than 18 years of age. These petitions are filed with the Juvenile Clerk of Court.

Information on Domestic Violence Protection Orders

• The Ohio Supreme Court has created several forms to assist victims of domestic violence in obtaining a domestic violence civil protection order.
• These forms include: information about domestic violence civil protection orders, instructions on how to obtain a domestic violence civil protection order, and instructions for completing the Petition.
• The person seeking the domestic violence civil protection order is called the Petitioner.
• The family or household member against whom the domestic violence civil protection order is sought is called the Respondent.

Completing the Petition

• Once you have completed the petition and your signature has been notarized, you must file the petition with the Medina County Clerk of Court, Domestic Relations Division.
• Where to find us.
• The Court recommends that you file the petition as early in the day as possible.

Is there a cost to file a Domestic Violence Protection Order? There is no filing fee for this petition. However, the Court may assess the costs of the action to the respondent. What happens after the Petition for a Domestic Violence Protection Order is filled?

• The Court will review the Petition, and will conduct an ex parte hearing the same day it is filed.
• The Court may grant the Petition ex parte or may decline to grant the Petition.
• If the Court grants the petition ex parte, the Court will issue an Ex Parte Domestic Violence Civil Protection Order.
• Ex Parte

"Ex parte" is a Latin term meaning "from one party".

• An ex parte order is based solely upon the information, evidence and testimony from only one party (i.e., the petitioner).
• Whether or not your petition is granted ex parte, your petition will be set for full hearing within seven to ten (7-10) court days, so that the respondent can have an opportunity to present his/her testimony and evidence.

Information for Domestic Violence Protection Order

• After the respondent is served with the petition and the ex parte order, the full hearing is conducted pursuant to R.C. 3113.31.
• Both parties are presumed to know the applicable law, the Rules of Evidence and the Rules of Civil Procedure.
• The Court does not and cannot appoint an attorney for either party to a domestic violence civil protection order case.
• Either party may hire an attorney to represent him or her at the full hearing.
• After the evidence is presented, the Court will decide whether or not to grant the petition for domestic violence civil protection order.
• If the Court grants the petition, the domestic violence civil protection order will be in effect for up to five (5) years.

Domestic Violence Protection Order and Child Custody

• A domestic violence civil protection can affect child custody in a variety of ways.
• The specific effect will depend on the parties to the domestic violence civil protection order case, and whether there is or is not a companion case involving the allocation of parental rights/custody of minor children (e.g., a divorce, dissolution, parentage action, etc.).
• If you have or if you are subject to a domestic violence civil protection order and have questions about how the order affects your custody rights, you should consult an attorney to assess and analyze your specific situation.

Domestic Violence Protection Orders

• Domestic Violence Civil Protection Orders are governed by R.C. 3113.31, and apply to family or household members, including minor children, other adults living in the same home, and a person living as a spouse. These petitions are filed with the Medina County Clerk of Court, Domestic Relations Division.
• Stalking and Sexually Oriented Offenses Protection Orders are governed by R.C. 2903.214, and apply to any person. These petitions are filed with the Medina County Clerk of Court, Civil Division.
• Juvenile Civil Protection Orders are governed by R.C. 2151.34 and R.C. 3113.31. The respondent is less than 18 years of age. These petitions are filed with the Juvenile Clerk of Court.

NOTE: The Court is prohibited by law from offering legal advice. The information and forms on this website are not intended to be a substitute for good legal advice.

Returning to Court (Post-Decree Motions)

You may find yourself returning to Court to modify certain terms of your decree, such as:

• Child support;
• Spousal support;
• Child custody or parenting time;
• Changing the residential parent for school purposes; or,
• Modify/terminate a domestic violence civil protection order.

You may also find yourself returning to Court to seek judicial enforcement of prior orders through the Court's equity powers of contempt, such as:

• Failing to pay child support and/or unreimbursed medical expenses;
• Failing to pay spousal support;
• Failing to allow parenting time;
• Failing to divide marital property (e.g., sign title to a car, divide a retirement account, or refinance a martial debt such as a mortgage); or,
• Violating a domestic violence civil protection order.

Filing a Motion

• If there has been a substantial change in circumstances (e.g., your income increases/decreases 10% or more; involuntary job loss; change in circumstances of the children; domestic violence; etc.), you will need to review and complete the Motion by checking the applicable boxes and by providing a summary explanation. A general motion form can be found on the Court's Forms page.
• You will need to file your Motion with the Clerk of Courts.
• You will also need to provide the Clerk of Courts with Instruction for Service, which can be found on the Court's Forms page.

What is a Motion

A 'motion' is another word for request. Filing a motion is the proper way to bring something to the Court's attention. Typically, a motion includes a request for relief (e.g., reduction in child support), and an explanation as to why the relief sought is appropriate (e.g., involuntary job loss makes it difficult to afford the current child support obligation).

What to do after filing a motion

Once you have completed filling out the motion, you must file the motion and the Instructions for Service with the Medina County Clerk of Court, Domestic Relations Division. Where to find us.

Filing Fee

Depending on the type of motion you file, you must also pay the applicable filing fee at the time you file your motion.

Filing Fees can be found here