USA – OHIO Trends and Developments Contributed by: Andrew A Zashin, Amy M Keating, Kyleigh A Weinfurtner and Christopher R Reynolds, Zashin Law
While Ohio did not experience any significant legal changes in 2024, high-net-worth family law practice continues to evolve in more nuanced ways. Additionally, some appellate court cases signal potential guidance for lower courts on otherwise discretionary issues. Continued Interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Ohio continues to see an interest in alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) mechanisms from both clients and courts. In December 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court published a Neutral Evalu - ation Toolkit as a resource for courts, promoting the ADR “neutral evaluation” model, sometimes known as “early neutral evaluation.” A number of family law courts around the state are imple - menting early neutral evaluation programmes in which parties can either agree to participate or can be ordered to participate. Early neutral evaluation (“ENE”) is a dispute resolution process by which the early neutral evaluators provide an evaluation of the probable outcome of any dispute. ENE is not mediation; instead, the evaluators provide feedback to the parties after submissions from the parties and argument. The parties can use that feedback to determine if a settlement can be reached; how - ever, the parties are not required to accept the evaluation provided and can proceed with litiga - tion. Other dispute resolution processes are also attracting more attention, including arbitration and parenting coordination for parenting issues. Private judging is also available. Ohio has an arbitration statute to govern pro - ceedings, though it is not specific to family law arbitration as in other states. Arbitration offers the parties a private and streamlined forum to
have their dispute resolved; the arbitrator(s) commits to issuing an award with a set time - frame. While not always the case, arbitration is generally more cost-effective than traditional litigation. Absent unique circumstances, arbitra - tion awards are not appealable and offer finality. Arbitration is attractive to high-net-worth clients who may require certain disputes to be resolved by a third party but also appreciate the privacy and efficiency of the proceedings. Ohio does not allow arbitration of parenting issues, though child support may be arbitrated. However, Ohio does specifically recognise par - enting coordination. A parenting coordinator is a neutral third party who is appointed by the court to help divorced or separated parents resolve disputes and, if these cannot be resolved, to make certain decisions about their children. The court appointment provides the parenting coordinator with his/her authority to implement the court order and to make decisions within the scope of their authority; while a parenting coordinator cannot radically change the parent - ing time schedule, for example, the coordinator can make decisions about participation in extra - curricular activities or about coordinating vaca - tion parenting time. Parenting coordinators are typically licensed mental health professionals or family law attorneys how have specific training. Courts are more frequently appointing parenting coordinators for high-conflict parents in either post-divorce conflicts or for parents finalising contentious custody litigation. Courts hope that parenting coordinators can minimise post- divorce litigation by resolving discrete issues outside of the court and without need for court resources. Additionally, parenting coordinators can respond to time-sensitive disputes more quickly than courts can – being able to address
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