Many people are familiar with the common family law terms “custody” and “visitation” and what they mean. However, it’s important to be aware that under Ohio law, child custody is officially referred to as the “allocation of parental rights and responsibilities.” Visitation for a parent is called “parenting time.” These terms have been used since […]
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 […]
It may happen in the heat of an argument, or after months of growing apart and talking about separation and divorce: your spouse asks you to leave the home you share (or tells you to). Whether the request comes as a shock, or is something you’d been dreading, you are probably wondering whether you have […]
Nearly half of married couples eventually terminate their marriages by divorce or dissolution, but most of us live our lives as if we are going to be in the other half. That leads to making decisions with the expectation that our marriages will last “until death do us part.” When that parting comes sooner, by […]
Every family faces its own challenges going through a divorce; families that have children with special needs may face more challenges than most. Depending on the age of your child and the nature of their needs, divorce or dissolution with a special needs child requires extra planning to make sure that your child is both […]
Most of us found 2020 to be a pretty difficult year. Many people saw their income decrease, and parents of young children were faced with the need to keep their kids safe, fed, happy, and educated through the pandemic. In the best of times, parenting is challenging. Under the circumstances many parents faced last year, […]
As a parent, you want the best for your child, and that includes making sure he or she gets the best education possible. With college costs rising, paying for that education is a challenge for most parents. After a divorce, coordinating with your co-parent to apply for financial aid and deciding who will be responsible […]
Every day, we are getting more news about the coronavirus and most of it is discouraging: more and more people are getting sick, many are dying, and a vaccine may be more than a year away. As if the health news isn’t enough of a burden, it is accompanied by an economic tsunami. With so […]
As family law attorneys, we are frequently asked by clients what they can do about enforcing court orders and collecting child support that is due, but unpaid. They may have a co-parent who is paid under the table, has unreliable or fluctuating income, is self-employed, or who manages to dodge payments in other ways. They […]
In 2018, there was a major overhaul to Ohio child support law, in an effort to bring it (literally) into the 21st century and account for the realities that modern families must deal with. While the new guidelines more closely reflect the needs of Ohio families, there remain some situations in which ordering child support […]
Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates, LLC
4030 Massillon Road
Green, Ohio 44685
(330) 996-4099
(330) 643-0732
