Adoption: Small Gifts Do Not Support Make

Natural Parent’s Small Monetary Gifts to Child Are Not ‘Provision of Support and Maintenance’ Under Adoption Law In, In re Adoption of M.B., Slip Opinion No. 2012-Ohio-236, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that when a biological parent of a child has failed, without justifiable cause, to make any court-ordered monthly child support payments for at least…

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Custody Disputes: What to Expect

The most important decision that you can make when facing a bitter and prolonged custody dispute is the advice of an experienced and thoughtful attorney.  Your attorney can help you by: helping you understand the legal system and the divorce process; helping you focus on your long-term and short-term goals; helping you prepare for and…

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10 Commandments of Divorce Court

1. Thou shalt not bring your child to divorce court. The ultimate interest of the divorce court is the best interest of the child.  Unless it is requested by the divorce court, bringing your child to the court with you is not in the best interest of the child.  Children do not need to be…

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Divorce: Termination & Litigation

Marriages in Ohio can be ended in either a divorce or a dissolution.  A divorce is a contested hearing wherein one spouse alleges that  the other has been “at fault” under one of the statutory grounds for divorce permitted under Ohio law.  According to Ohio law, “fault” grounds include adultery, willful absence for more than…

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Divorce and Capital Gains Tax

Internal Revenue Code sec. 1041 provides that where an asset, otherwise subject to capital gains tax, is transferred from one spouse to another pursuant to a court order, such as by decree of dissolution or divorce, no gain is recognized.  This means that if a husband transfers a house to his ex-wife as part of…

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Change Is Good!

Change is good! We have changed the look of OhioDivorceAttorney.com and we want to know what you think of it. Philosophically, people facing a divorce have to deal with the massive changes that splitting up will have on their lives .  They also have to make decisions that will impact their children and their finances…

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Child Support Directly to My Ex-Spouse?

In my practice, I receive a lot of questions involving child support daily.  One of the most common questions I receive is as follows:  “Should I pay support directly to my spouse?” A similar question: “Why should I be in arrears when I give her (meaning the ex-spouse or partner) a lot of extra money for the children?” …

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How Do I Choose a Divorce Lawyer?

  In his wonderful book “A Whole New Mind,” Daniel Pink describes his vision of the future of matrimonial lawyers. Envisioning a world of easily accessible, do-it-yourself on-line forms, and inexpensive outsourced legal research, he says that the only role for lawyers will be that of counselor and litigator. The time of the big firm…

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Valuing Marital Assets Accurately–Extremely IMPORTANT!!

  One of the most important aspects of your divorce (besides custody of your children, of course) is to have correct valuations of marital assets.  Your attorney has the very important job of investigating, valuating, and objectively inventorying all marital assets.  Some assets have a readily ascertainable value, such as a bank account, publicly traded…

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