Positive Outlook Key For Post Divorce Happiness? I get this question a lot when I meet with my divorce clients. While there is no guaranteed correct answer, there are steps you can take to keep you from becoming paralyzed by the divorce process. From reports I hear from my former clients, the answer to this question is usually “yes”! I am a bit of a geek when it comes to looking at statistics. I recently saw an article on MovingPastDivorce.comabout a survey that Terry Gaspard commissioned. Terry is a licensed social worker and counselor in Rhode Island. Reading her bio and a recent interview w ..read more

Why a reverse mortgage should be considered only as a last resort. You may have read articles or seen television commercials touting the advantages of reverse mortgages. You may have even seen Tom Selleck, for those who watch Blue Bloods or remember Magnum PI, on your television asking whether a reverse a reverse mortgage is right for you. Although a reverse mortgage may be appropriate in certain situations, unless you are in dire need of cash or a monthly cash stream, I am generally not a proponent of a reverse mortgage. The reasons why will follow. With a reverse mortgage, if you are at leas ..read more

PUBLISHER’S UPDATE: Here is one of my favorites posts about college students returning home for the holidays from back on November 21st, 2015! The advice rings as true now as it did then! …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! Parents and College Students Can Find Ways to Peacefully Coexist During Thanksgiving and the Holidays! Call it a clash of cultures. Thousands of college students will soon travel home for Thanksgiving, in their minds, returning as independent adults, but still children in ..read more

ANSWER: The answer is FALSE. History of the Ohio Child Election Law Prior to 1946, Ohio General Code §8033 made it mandatory that a child ten years of age or older “must” be allowed to choose which parent they preferred to live with, and the court would have to follow that choice unless the court deemed that parent “unfit.” Venable v. Venable, 445 N.E.2d 1125, 1130 (Ohio Ct. App. July 9, 1981). Even as recently as 1989, the Ohio Revised Code §3109 stated that children twelve years of age or older could choose which parent to live with. Bawidamann v. Bawdiamann, 580 N.E.2d 15, 17 (Ohio Ct. App ..read more

The Main Reason For Marrying Says Divorce Study? It’s Not Love! According to a study by McKinley Irvin, approximately 42-45% of marriages in the United States end in divorce. The same study also found that 60% of second marriages and 73% of third marriages end in divorce. In 2021, there were 689,308 divorces across the 45 U.S. states that report this statistic. During that same year, 1,985,072 marriages occurred, making the U.S. marriage rate 6 per 1,000 people. It can be beneficial for a couple to understand the causes for failed marriages. If you are already married it can help you to make y ..read more

Fathers Involvement With Their Children Has A Positive Effect on Educational Outcomes Says Recent UK Study It goes without saying that parental involvement is crucial for a child’s development as well as their educational growth. A recent study conducted by the University of Leeds in the UK, finds that fathers have “a unique and important effect” on their children’s educational outcomes. The study collected data in a survey of about 5,000 families in the United Kingdom that included both a mother and father. The study was linked to the participants in the study from their early year profile at ..read more

PUBLISHER’S UPDATE: Here is one of my favorites posts about Adoptions, Guardianship and Custody Actions from back on June 5th, 2021! 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! Legal Advice is Essential, if contemplating Adoption, Custody or Guardianship Action The Legal Caregiver Roles in Ohio: Adoption, Custody and Guardianship. Which Role is Right For Me? It is fundamental to those contemplating a new role of a caregiver of a child to know the rights and restrictions of each of these proceedings in ..read more

Artemis Center in Dayton Provides Assistance to Victims of Domestic Violence Recently Jane Keiffer, the executive Director of the Artemis Center in Dayton, shared an informative data sheet created by a past staff member about a “danger and lethality assessment” of cases from 2019-2022. Needless to say, Jane Keiffer and the Artemis Center do a phenomenal job assisting individuals who have been victimized by domestic violence. We are certainly lucky to have the Artemis Center in our community! Here is a link to the Artemis Center website. What is a Danger and Lethality Assessment? A “danger and ..read more

Will My Health Insurance Coverage End During A Pending Divorce Proceeding? COBRA Law And Other Options To Consider I recently realized that I had not posted a blog about health insurance and divorce in 10 years. Click here to read that one titled Health Insurance: Divorce Often Ends Coverage for Women. It is still worth reading after all those years! YOUR SPOUSE CAN NOT CANCEL YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE DURING THE PENDENCY OF YOUR DIVORCE OR DISSOLUTION CASE. In Ohio, Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.71 prohibits cancellation of health insurance coverage prior to the divorce court deciding responsibi ..read more

Who Owes Student Loan Debt in a Divorce…is it Joint? In the US Americans owe approximately $1.77 trillion dollars in student loan debts. That is a staggering figure! So, understandably, figuring out how these loans are dealt with can be very important for couples contemplating a divorce. In Ohio, there are many factors that need to be considered. Ohio is an equitable property division state. That means that the Court does not have to divide marital debts equally but only in a “fair or equitable” manner. WAS THE DEBT INCURRED BEFORE THE MARRIAGE? If so, the general rule in Ohio is that such a l ..read more