USA – OHIO Law and Practice Contributed by: Andrew A Zashin, Amy M Keating, Kyleigh A Weinfurtner and Christopher R Reynolds, Zashin Law
modify the same if it determines that the foreign order is not in the best interest of the child. 2.8 Media Access and Transparency Public Access to Divorce Records Under Ohio’s open records law, court proceed - ings and records are generally accessible to the public. While this also applies to domestic rela - tions matters, many Ohio courts take efforts to limit ease of public access to sensitive docu - ments filed in domestic relations matters. Some courts do not allow documents filed in domestic relations matters to be accessible via the public internet docket or restrict access to counsel of record. Other courts have specific case-based files to maintain information regarding the par - ties’ financials, children, or other sensitive infor - mation. Dockets pertaining to domestic violence civil protection orders are not available online per federal law. Additionally, various rules require parties to redact personal identifiers such as social secu - rity numbers and other private information, like bank account numbers and children’s names and dates of birth, from public filings. In an effort to further protect children, some courts require minors to only be referred to by their initials in public filings. Sealing Court Records Ultimately, however, despite the court’s efforts to protect a litigant’s privacy, the records remain available to the media and the public at large. Many individuals – particularly public figures – want to “seal” their records to prevent them from being publicly available. Simply being a public figure in Ohio, however, is not enough to per - mit a court to restrict the records. Upon the fil - ing of a motion by either party, a court can seal records that contain trade secrets, proprietary information, or confidential business records.
Parties can similarly agree to confidentiality agreements or protective orders that endeavour to limit public access to documents contain - ing the above-referenced information, or other sensitive information regarding the parties, but whether those records are sealed is ultimately in the court’s discretion. The public nature of divorce proceedings often prompts public fig - ures, and other privacy-conscious individuals, to utilise alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation or arbitration in lieu of con - tested, public litigation proceedings. 2.9 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) ADR Processes in Domestic Relations Matters There exist various ADR models for parties look - ing to resolve issues pertaining to the termina - tion of their marriage without litigation, including mediation, arbitration, and the collaborative law process. Mediation Mediation involves a third-party neutral who assists the parties in attempting to reach an agreement to resolve some or all of the issues related to the termination of their marriage, including property division, spousal support, child support, and provisions pertaining to custody and parenting time schedules with any minor children. Mediation can be court- ordered or pursuant to a private agreement of the parties. Some court-ordered mediation pro - grammes only address issues pertaining to chil - dren. Others will address financial issues as well. Court-ordered mediation can occur with a court- employed mediator or with a mediator selected by the parties. Arbitration Arbitration is another form of ADR. In arbitra - tion, the parties submit disputed issues to an
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