Tag Archives: Miami County

Montgomery, Greene, Butler, Clark, Miami and Warren County Ohio: Divorce Fact 6/10: How long will my divorce / dissolution case take?

THE TIMING OF THE CASE WLL VARY DEPENDING ON SERVICE OF PROCESS AND THE COURT’S DOCKET: If you are the Plaintiff (filing for divorce first), you must first “perfect service” of process and the court summons on the other party (Defendant) before the court (Greene, Butler, Montgomery, Clark, and Warren County Courts) will schedule a court date.  The Court does not have jurisdiction over the opposing party until he/she has been properly served with the appropriate paperwork.  Service is typically perfected via certified mail, issued by the Clerk of Courts shortly after the case is filed.  Essentially, the Clerk gathers all of the documents filed, creates its own summons, and requests that the postal service deliver the documents to the defendant via certified mail. The Court will not consider service perfected until the U.S.P.S. sends the return receipt to the Clerk of Court’s office.

If the defendant refuses to sign or otherwise claim the certified mail, the clerk of courts will then notify your attorney that service was not perfected.  The attorney will then ask the clerk to “re-issue” service via regular mail, as Ohio law allows service by regular mail if the certified mail was unclaimed or refused by the defendant.  Service can also be perfected via personal service by the county sheriff or a special process server (although these methods are more expensive than certified mail).  Regardless of how service is ultimately perfected, the court will not schedule the case for a hearing until service has been completed.   Further impacting the scheduling of the case is the court’s own docket.  Logically, if the court has a backed-up docket, your case will be scheduled out further than if the court’s docket is not as crowded.   How quickly you receive a court date cannot be controlled by the attorneys.

Brought to you by the Miami-Valley law offices of Morrison & Nicholson.  Author: Charles W. Morrison, Partner at Morrison & Nicholson. Call today to schedule a free consultation with an attorney by calling (937) 432 – 9775.

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OHIO County-Specific Divorce Requirements

man woman divorce ohio Often, married couples that are divorcing want to make the process as quick and painless (and inexpensive) as possible. They have come to some sort of agreement as to division of real and personal property, alimony amounts (if any), who they want to be the residential parent, and so on. But, just as frequently, divorcing couples cannot come to an agreement as to one or more of the above issues. In the latter case, this would be a contested divorce. When the divorce is contested, attorneys first work to resolve these issues by way of settlement in order to avoid a trial.

However, many times couples are so at odds with one another that nothing is negotiable and a trial is the only way that a resolution to one of the common issues can be reached. The trial is not unlike a criminal trial in that witnesses will be called to present testimonial evidence and documents will entered as exhibits to prove whatever the party introducing the evidence wants to prove (e.g., that a retirement account or home should not be considered maritial property).

Because a contested divorce can go to trial, one must be cognizant of how many courts differ in the trial process. In short, trial processes are very county-specific and it is important to be familiar with the Court’s local rules and customary practices. Some counties require several “pre-trials” beforehand and ask for several formal statements to be submitted to the court and filed with the Clerk of Courts ahead of the pre-trial or trial date. Some courts require the parties to submit to mediation before a trial is finally conducted, while other counties do not provide a mediation program for Domestic Relations matters at all. In other words, A divorce action in Greene County, Ohio can differ dramatically from a divorce action in Montgomery County, Miami County, Warren County or Butler County, Ohio. Familiarity with the judges and the court-specific rules can really help divorcing couples avoid a long and protracted divorce action and help make the entire process easier to meander through and more cost-effective for all involved.

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Montgomery, Greene, Butler, Clark, and Warren County Ohio: Divorce Fact 7/10: Providing Financial Affidavits etc.

YOU WILL NEED TO PROVIDE CERTAIN PERSONAL INFORMATION: Some Courts have mandatory discovery procedures where each party must voluntarily turnover financial information to the other side (Montgomery County requires mandatory disclosure of financial information).  This helps both parties understand what marital and non-marital assets and liabilities are involved in the case and helps facilitate settlement.  Further, Ohio rules of civil procedure allow each party to demand certain information and answers under oath to certain questions from the other party.  Finally, certain courts, such as Greene County Domestic Relations Court and Montgomery County) require mandatory pre-trial statements be filed with the court (that contain an offer of settlement) that must be completed and exchanged between the parties before the pre-trial with the judge.

Brought to you by the Centerville, Ohio law offices of Morrison & Nicholson.  Call today to schedule a free consultation (937) 432 – 9775.

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Montgomery, Greene, Clark, and Warren County Ohio: Divorce Fact 8/10: When Minor Children are involved you must attend a seminar

WHEN MINOR CHILDREN ARE INVOLVED YOU WILL NEED TO ATTEND A SEMINAR: If the case involves children, Ohio law mandates that both parties attend a parenting seminar prior to the final hearing.  The purpose of the seminar is to educate both parents as to how children are affected by a divorce and ways in which to manage the adjustment.  The class is usually two hours and is held in the evenings.  The location of the seminar varies by county, as each county has its own seminar provider.  For instance, in Montgomery County the seminar is held at Sinclair Community College in downtown Dayton, Ohio.

Brought to you by the Miami Valley Ohio law offices of Morrison & Nicholson.  Call today to schedule a free consultation (937) 432 – 9775.

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