USA – OHIO Law and Practice Contributed by: Andrew A Zashin, Amy M Keating, Kyleigh A Weinfurtner and Christopher R Reynolds, Zashin Law
1. Divorce 1.1 Grounds, Timeline, Service and Process There are two primary ways for Ohio parties to terminate their marriage: dissolution and divorce. Under both methods, one of the parties must have been a resident of Ohio for at least six months immediately preceding the commence - ment of the action. Dissolution In dissolution proceedings, parties reach out-of- court agreements regarding all issues pertain - ing to property division, support, and children, if any. The parties then jointly petition the court to adopt these agreements and terminate the marriage. The court will then take testimony from the parties at a final hearing on the dissolution, which will be set no less than 30 days but not more than 90 days after the filing of the petition. Divorce Any individual over the age of 18 who has been an Ohio resident for more than six months may file a complaint for divorce. This applies to all marriages, including same-sex marriages. Ohio no longer recognises common law marriage. Grounds for Divorce Ohio law provides both no-fault and fault-based grounds for divorce. Parties can obtain a no-fault divorce if they have lived separate and apart from their spouse for at least one year, without cohabitation, or by agreeing they are incompat - ible. Ohio law also permits a divorce under any of the following fault-based grounds: • either party had a husband or wife at the time of the marriage; • wilful absence of the adverse party for more than one year;
• adultery; • extreme cruelty;
• fraudulent contract; • gross neglect of duty; • habitual drunkenness;
• imprisonment of the adverse party in a state or federal correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint; or, • either husband or wife procured a divorce outside of the state of Ohio. Divorce Process A party initiates divorce proceedings by filing a complaint for divorce. In the Rules of Superin - tendence, the Supreme Court of Ohio sets forth guidelines for trial courts to dispose of divorce cases with children in 18 months, and divorce cases without children in 12 months of the date of filing. Further timelines for actions pertaining to divorce proceedings are set forth in sched - uling orders issued by the court, local rules of court, and the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure. At minimum, a divorce cannot be granted until at least 42 days have passed from service of the divorce complaint or 28 days after service of a counterclaim. A complaint for divorce must be served upon the non-filing spouse in accordance with the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure before a court can grant the divorce. Generally, parties are served via certified mail, commercial carrier, or personal service. If the filing spouse is unable to locate the non-filing spouse, they can also perfect ser - vice by publication in a newspaper or posting of the notice of the action in a conspicuous place in the courthouse. A divorce cannot be granted sooner than 28 days after the date of the last publication.
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