Montgomery, Greene, Clark, and Warren County Ohio: Divorce Fact 9/10

YOU WILL NEED A WITNESS IF YOU ARE THE PLAINTIFF IN AN OHIO DIVORCE ACTION:  If you are the Plaintiff in Montgomery, Greene, Clark, or Warren County Ohio (filing for divorce first), you will need to have at least one Witness with you at the final divorce hearing that can corroborate your testimony, whether or not the case is contested or not.  Under Ohio law, the legislature has made a policy decision that all testimony related to the grounds for a divorce must be corroborated by another witness.

The can be anyone that knows you (friend, mother, brother, sister, etc).  You will need to provide the full name, address and relationship to you of the person that will be your witness.  The person may or may not have to testify about personal matters of your marriage, depending on whether the divorce is “contested” or “uncontested.”

If the case is uncontested and you are seeking a divorce based upon the ground(s) of incompatibility and/or living separate and apart for more than one year, the witness will simply have to testify that you and your spouse are incompatible and/or have been living separate and apart for more than one year.   If the ground(s) for divorce include adultery, extreme cruelty, gross neglect of duty, etc., then obviously the witness will have to testify to more personal marital matters of which they have personal knowledge.