Articles

What to Do if Your Spouse is Hiding Assets

A divorced couple is hiding assets.

Divorce and the dissolution of a marriage can be overwhelming — and it can be more stressful if your spouse is hiding assets. Unfortunately, a party will sometimes try to hide assets out of spite or because they don’t think their spouse should be entitled to them. Concealing assets during a dissolution or divorce proceeding […]

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How Substance Abuse Can Affect Child Custody and Parenting Cases

Child custody during substance abuse dynamics.

A parent’s drug or alcohol abuse can have a detrimental impact on a child’s welfare — it can also affect the outcome of a child custody or parenting case. While parents have a Constitutional right to raise their children, a judge may terminate parental rights in extreme cases. However, if a child’s welfare would be […]

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How to Deal with Divorce Regret

Sad husband experiencing divorce regret.

Divorce and dissolution isn’t just a legal process — it’s an emotional one, too. Regardless of the reasons you and your spouse parted ways, it’s not uncommon to feel some guilt or regret once the judge has signed the divorce decree. Terminating a marriage brings many changes to a person’s life and it can often […]

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Is Deferred Compensation Subject to Property Division?

Deferred compensation is shown on the conceptual photo using the text

Division of property in a divorce can be a contentious issue for many reasons. One reason is that it is not always obvious what property is subject to division. In Ohio, if couples do not reach a mutually-agreeable property settlement, the court must divide their property according to principles of equitable distribution. “Equitable” sounds like […]

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Can I Make Changes to My Divorce Decree?

Couple's Hand With Divorce decree Agreement And Wedding Rings

What is a divorce decree? It is a court order that makes your divorce final and establishes the terms of your relationship to your ex-spouse after divorce: who will receive which assets, who will pay what debts, what your parenting arrangements will be for your children, whether one of you will pay spousal support to […]

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New Ohio Law: Postnuptial Agreements

Happy couple signing document, postnuptial agreement concept.

Most people are familiar with the concept of a prenuptial agreement, or prenup, which is an agreement between two people who are planning to marry. All states allow prenuptial agreements as long as certain conditions are met. These agreements allow couples to make a full financial disclosure to each other and agree how they will […]

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Forgotten Assets During Property Division

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In a recent blog post, we talked about marital property tracing, which is necessary when dividing property in a divorce or dissolution; as a general rule, only marital property, not separate property, gets divided in divorce. However, people often forget about many types of assets when thinking about their marital property. When thinking about property, […]

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When is a Distributive Award Given in Ohio?

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A regular part of the divorce process involves one party making payments or distributing assets to the other. This usually happens in the context of the division of marital property, or the payment of child support or spousal support. Less commonly, a court may order a “distributive award” from one party to the other in […]

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Marital Property Tracing in Divorce

Pen and calculator lying on a business paper with numbers. Tax document concept.

“What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours” is a lovely sentiment, and one shared by most spouses during their marriage. Unfortunately, in divorce or dissolution, it can become the literal truth, often at the expense of one spouse. Understanding Marital and Separate Property in Divorce To understand why, you need a brief background […]

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How to Behave in Court

Male and female legal/business professionals walk down the stone staircase of a stately courthouse type building. They are looking at each other and smiling concept.

Going to court can be intimidating. Not only is it likely an unfamiliar environment, but if you have to go to court, chances are you have something important at stake. In a family law case that could be custody (now called allocation of parental rights) or visitation (now called parenting time) of your children, whether […]

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