Articles

Imputing Income for Ohio Child Support—What’s Changed

coins and calender | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

A lot can change in a quarter of a century: presidential administrations, fashions, hairlines and waistlines, to name a few. One thing that had not changed in a quarter-century was Ohio’s child support guidelines. In 2018, the Ohio House passed House Bill 366, bringing Ohio child support law into the 21st century at last. HB […]

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What is “Gross Income” For Ohio Child Support Purposes?

2 Little Boys with Calculators | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

For the first time in about 25, years, there is an updated version of the Ohio Child Support Guidelines. There have been a number of changes intended, quite literally, to bring the guidelines into the 21st century. The cost of living increased nearly 42% in the ten years from 1982 to 1992; from 1992 to […]

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Parenting Time Adjustment for Ohio Child Support

Father and son laughing and reading | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

Ohio’s child support guidelines have gotten a significant overhaul for the first time since 1992. This will affect every Ohio family with a child support order—new or modified—after the effective date of the updated guidelines: March 28, 2019. There are a lot of moving parts to the new law, far more than we can address […]

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Child Support After 18 in Ohio

18th Birthday Candle | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

When does child support terminate in Ohio? If you said when the child turns eighteen, you’re right—mostly. Child support does not automatically terminate when a child turns eighteen. In some cases, child support can continue until a child turns nineteen, or even longer. Here’s what you need to know about child support after eighteen in […]

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When a Child Cries at Parenting Time Transitions

Child Crying at Parenting Time Transition - Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

Transitions between parents and homes can be challenging for children, just ask any parent who has ever tried to drop a child off at preschool! The transition of moving from one parent’s home to the other’s for parenting time can be even more difficult, and often, the child will cry when having to leave one […]

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How to Stop Child Support in Ohio

Pay Child Support Written On Notepad | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

Your child support obligation had a clear and definite beginning: a court order from your divorce, dissolution, parenting or separation case, or administrative action through CSEA. And while that order made a statement about when child support payments would end, it most likely was silent about how exactly that would happen. When the time comes […]

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Homes for the Holidays: Holiday Tips for Divorced Parents

Dad and Child at Christmas | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

For children, the holidays are filled with wonder and joy. If you look back on your own childhood, many of your favorite holiday memories are centered around family traditions: playing football with your cousins on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve at Grandma’s house, Aunt Daisy’s lemon meringue pie or Uncle Joe’s carrot cake that appeared on the family holiday table year after year.

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Helping Your Kids Through Divorce

Divorced Dad with Arm Around Son's Shoulders | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

Divorce or separation is one of the most stressful experiences you may ever go through, taking a toll on you financially, socially, and of course, emotionally. As you know, when you are under that kind of pressure, it is hard to be your “best self” for other people—including your kids. Unfortunately, when the divorce has you […]

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Signs You’re Being a Bad Co-Parent

Finger Family | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

Being a good parent is hard. Being a good co-parent, in many ways, is even harder. For one thing, you’re trying to coordinate child-rearing efforts with another person in another household. For another, you’re trying to foster a positive relationship between your child and someone with whom you may still have deep conflicts. Both of […]

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How to Tell Your Kids You’re Divorcing

Mother Talking to Daughter | Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates

No part of divorce or separation is easy, but perhaps one of the most difficult steps is breaking the news of your breakup to your children. You know you must do it, but how? Understand that it won’t be easy, for you or for them, but there are things you can do to avoid making it harder […]

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