Terminating Your Marriage

To file for divorce in the state of Ohio, you must be an Ohio resident for at least 6 months, and of the county for 90 days.

For a dissolution of marriage, one party must meet these same requirements.

For a dissolution, both parties must sign a Separation Agreement that settles all property and debt division, spousal support, child custody of any minor children and child support. The parties may also decide to enter in to a separate agreement regarding their children called a Shared Parenting.

If the parties are unable to come to an agreement, follow the standard divorce procedure will then be followed with one parties filing a Complaint for Divorce which the other party will need to file an Answer and may wish to file a Counterclaim as well. If the parties later reach an agreement, the case can be resolved with an uncontested hearing instead of a trial.

The parties may also wish to enter into the Collaborative Family Law Process. Both parties must hire a collaborative family attorney and sign an agreement to work toward a settlement of all disputed matters.

The court of common pleas may grant divorces for the following causes:

(A) Either party had a husband or wife living at the time of the marriage from which the divorce is sought;

(B) Willful absence of the adverse party for one year;

(C) Adultery;

(D) Extreme cruelty;

(E) Fraudulent contract;

(F) Any gross neglect of duty;

(G) Habitual drunkenness;

(H) Imprisonment of the adverse party in a state or federal correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint;

(I) Procurement of a divorce outside this state, by a husband or wife, by virtue of which the party who procured it is released from the obligations of the marriage, while those obligations remain binding upon the other party;

(J) On the application of either party, when husband and wife have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation;

(K) Incompatibility, unless denied by either party.