Why Divorce.com?
Benefits of an online divorce
Divorce.com is your go-to and easy-to-use online tool for preparing your divorce forms. You can generate all the required divorce papers conveniently. It will help you save a lot of money and avoid unnecessary stress to put your efforts into more important matters!
With Divorce.com, you can acquire divorce forms specific to your situation and easily fill them out. There is no need to hire expensive divorce attorneys. If spouses are on good grounds with each other, they can go through the whole divorce process by themselves.
Our tool is fully accessible and functional from any device (PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone). All that is needed is an internet connection.
Go through the questionnaire at any time, and your progress is saved
Make changes and edit your forms on demand
Download all the generated forms in a convenient PDF format, after just 2 business days.
Make your preparation of divorce papers stress-free with Divorce.com!
Ohio
Divorce Forms
All the forms required
The list of divorce documents for cases of childless partners includes:
Form 6 - Complaint for Divorce Without Children
Form 1 - Affidavit of Basic Information, Income, and Expenses
Form 2 - Affidavit of Property and Debt
Form 19 - Separation Agreement
Form 10 - Answer to Complaint for Divorce Without Children
DR Form 31/Juvi Form 10 - Request for Service
Form 14, Judgment Entry - Decree of Divorce Without Children
The list of divorce forms for couples with children is the following:
Form 7 - Complaint for Divorce With Children
Form 1 - Affidavit of Basic Information, Income, and Expenses
Form 2 - Affidavit of Property and Debt
Form 3 - Parenting Proceeding Affidavit
Form 4 - Health Insurance Affidavit
Form 5 - Motion and Affidavit or Counter Affidavit for Temporary Orders Without Oral Hearing
DR Form 31/Juvi Form 10 - Request for Service
Form 11 - Answer to Complaint for Divorce With Children
Form 19 - Separation Agreement
Form 20 - Shared Parenting Plan
Form 21 - Parenting Plan
Form 15, Judgment Entry - Decree of Divorce With Children
Steps to consider
Filing Requirements
Residency Requirements
Spouses who want to file for a divorce in Ohio must meet specific residency requirements. To be more specific, the court can grant a dissolution of marriage to partners if at least one of them has been a resident of Ohio for a minimum of 6 months before the initial filing.
One of the partners has to be a resident of the county where they want to file for a minimum of 90 days.
Grounds for Divorce
The state of Ohio recognizes both fault-based and no-fault grounds for divorce.
A no-fault divorce refers to the divorce process where neither spouse committed misconduct. Grounds for a no-fault divorce are:
Irreconcilable differences that led to the irretrievable breakdown of marriage
Voluntary separation for a minimum period of 1 year
A divorce is fault-based if one of the partners committed misconduct. Grounds for a fault-based divorce are:
Adultery
Cruelty
Bigamy
Imprisonment
Alcohol abuse
Fraudulent contract
Wilful desertion for 1 year
Gross neglect of duty
Initial Filing
Spouses must file divorce forms with the District Court of Common Pleas if they want to do it in Ohio. Moreover, it is important to remember that papers need to be filed in the county where one of the parties has resided for a minimum of 90 days.
Partners can file their divorce papers together if their divorce is uncontested. However, it might be good to contact the local county clerk and get information about the required papers.
Filing Fees
The court requires the petitioner to pay a mandatory filing fee. The necessary amount of money varies from county to county. However, the filing fee ranges between $200 and $300.
If the petitioner cannot pay filing fees due to financial hardship, one can apply for a waiver. The court reviews this request and allows the petitioner to file for free if financial papers provide evidence of financial struggles.
Serving the Respondent
The filing party has to notify the respondent regarding the divorce process. It is also required to deliver all the papers. There are several ways of serving papers in the state of Ohio:
Certified mail
Hire a sheriff
Hire a certified private server
The majority of people choose the first option as it is cheaper. Hiring a sheriff or private server is a viable option as well. If the petitioner cannot locate the spouse, it is possible to serve by publication in the local newspaper.
Waiting Period
The court cannot finalize the divorce until 30 days have passed since the date of filing. Moreover, these 30 days give the petitioner time to serve papers to the respondent properly.
A 30-day time period may not be enough for the court to process papers and grant a divorce. Everything depends on the specifics and details of the case and the court's workload.
Finalizing a Divorce Case
In the case of an uncontested divorce, the court sets a hearing after processing all the documents. It often takes only one hearing for an uncontested divorce to be finalized. If divorce becomes contested, it may be required to attend multiple hearings until all the disagreements are settled. This means a contested divorce can take much more time than an uncontested one.
Filing basics
Filing for Divorce
Ohio
How to get started
The list of divorce documents for cases of childless partners includes:
Form 6 - Complaint for Divorce Without Children
Form 1 - Affidavit of Basic Information, Income, and Expenses
Form 2 - Affidavit of Property and Debt
Form 19 - Separation Agreement
Form 10 - Answer to Complaint for Divorce Without Children
DR Form 31/Juvi Form 10 - Request for Service
Form 14, Judgment Entry - Decree of Divorce Without Children
The list of divorce forms for couples with children is the following:
Form 7 - Complaint for Divorce With Children
Form 1 - Affidavit of Basic Information, Income, and Expenses
Form 2 - Affidavit of Property and Debt
Form 3 - Parenting Proceeding Affidavit
Form 4 - Health Insurance Affidavit
Form 5 - Motion and Affidavit or Counter Affidavit for Temporary Orders Without Oral Hearing
DR Form 31/Juvi Form 10 - Request for Service
Form 11 - Answer to Complaint for Divorce With Children
Form 19 - Separation Agreement
Form 20 - Shared Parenting Plan
Form 21 - Parenting Plan
Form 15, Judgment Entry - Decree of Divorce With Children
Custody Basics
The state of Ohio recognizes two types of custody: sole and joint.
Sole custody is referred to as “parental rights and responsibilities.” Under sole custody, a child lives most of the time with one parent, also known as a residential parent.
Joint custody is known as “shared parenting.” Under this type of custody, parents spend equal time with a child. The court may assign one of the parents’ homes as the child's place of residence, if needed.
If parents cannot reach a custody agreement, the court is likely to advise them to try out mediation. It is a negotiation process during which both spouses are trying to resolve their conflict with the help of a third party. A professional mediator does not provide legal advice - the main task is to navigate and lead partners to an agreement.
Uncontested Divorce
An uncontested divorce is a relatively straightforward procedure. However, it is required to follow some necessary steps to make it work.
Talk with your partner and sort out all potential issues and points of conflict
Confirm one spouse meets the residency requirements
Acquire the necessary divorce forms from the court to fill out yourself or get ready-to-sign papers from Divorce.com
File the papers with the local county clerk and pay the fees
Serve the documents to the defendant via mail or through the services of a sheriff/server
Provide the court with evidence of service
Wait for the court to assign a hearing date
Attend the hearing and receive a decree of divorce
All-in-all, an uncontested divorce is not that hard. Preparation of legal papers is probably the hardest step. Thankfully, Divorce.com is here to help.
Support Basics
Under the state of Ohio family law, both parents are obligated to support the child. Courts have specific guidelines that determine the amount of financial support a parent must provide.
Child support payments are not affected by the partners’ behavior while still married. However, the judge may move from the state’s guidelines regarding child support, if they consider that a different approach is in the child's best interests.
A judge may consider a variety of factors to determine the amount of support, including:
Earning ability of a child
Special needs of a child
Who pays for the day-to-day needs of a child
A potential standard of living that a child could have had if parents did not divorce
