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Prepared by
The Center for
Principled Family Advocacy
The rules for divorce in Ohio are found in
Ohio Revised Code Title 31, especially chapter 3105. The
person filing for divorce must be an Ohio resident for six
months before filing.
Divorce and
dissolution are distinct
legal actions in Ohio. Dissolution is cooperative. You
negotiate all matters relating to the end of marriage, then
file for dissolution. Both spouses must appear at the
dissolution hearing.
Divorce is adversarial. You file for
divorce when you cannot reach agreement with your spouse on
whether and how to end the marriage.
A person filing must have grounds for
divorce. Ohio allows fault and
no-fault grounds. The nine
fault grounds are:
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Adultery
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Gross neglect
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Extreme cruelty
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Habitual drunkenness
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Having a another wife or husband living
at the time of the marriage (bigamy)
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Willful absence for one year
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Fraudulent contract
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Imprisonment
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Getting a divorce in another state
When one spouse files a divorce
complaint and the other fails to respond within 42 days of
legal notification, the matters becomes an
uncontested divorce.
There are two no-fault grounds. The first
is voluntarily living separate and apart without
cohabitation for one year. The second is incompatibility not
denied by either spouse.
Neither the property division nor spousal
support (alimony) is changed by a finding of fault by the
court. Parental rights are a different matter, as a fault
might indicate a person is unfit for some or any
child-rearing responsibilities.
Most people prefer no-fault divorce. There
is no economic benefit to a divorce on fault grounds.
No-fault is better for a family emotionally and financially
compared to investing energy and assets on a court fight.
A couple’s interests are better served by
resolving family disputes through mediation or negotiation
with the help of
professionals from the Center for Principled Family Advocacy.
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