Understanding uncontested divorce in
Ohio
repared by
The Center for
Principled Family Advocacy
In Ohio, you can end your marriage
without fighting in court.
Will your divorce be uncontested?
That’s up to you and your spouse. The word
“uncontested” has a specific meaning under Ohio
divorce laws.
Divorce and dissolution in Ohio
Ending marriage in Ohio without a
court fight is most often done through dissolution.
Divorce and dissolution
are distinct legal actions in the state.
In
dissolution, you negotiate a settlement outside
of court and then file a separation agreement along
with other forms. Both spouses must attend the
dissolution hearing. The separation agreement must
be approved by the court.
Even though you are negotiating
outside of court in a dissolution, you might still
have significant differences to resolve. As
unpleasant as these might become, dissolution allows
you to keep these battles private.
In addition, you can seek any
outside assistance you deem appropriate:
attorneys trained in
collaborative divorce,
mediators, arbitrators,
counselors, clergy or others.
Uncontested Ohio divorce
If you cannot reach agreement and
still want to terminate the marriage, one of you
must file for
Divorce.
A person filing for divorce in Ohio
must allege at least one of
nine “fault” or two “no-fault”
grounds. Divorce is granted on fault grounds only if
at least one witness supports the alleged ground.
What if one spouse files for
divorce and the other does not respond? After 42
days, the filing spouse can ask the court to grant
an
uncontested divorce.
Because only in rare circumstances
could someone guarantee their spouse will fail to
respond to a divorce complaint, you are unlikely to
find any special Ohio uncontested divorce forms,
kits or attorneys.
At hearing, the court will verify
that the non-answering spouse was legally notified.
The judge will also want to be satisfied that the
divorce is justified and the submitted settlement
agreement is at least fair and legal to the
non-participating spouse.
You can change your mind
In most cases, however, the second
spouse does file what is called an answer. When he
or she does, the case is moved to the contested
docket and ischeduled for a pre-trial hearing.
Sometimes the filing of a complaint
and answer motivates a couple to reach agreement
outside of court. If they come to terms, the court
will allow them to withdraw the answer and move the
case to judgment incorporating their agreement.
A divorce that begins contested but
is then resolved outside of court hearings may also
be called uncontested.
The bottom line
Some spouses do allow their divorce
to proceed without their participation. Causes can
include guilt, depression, fear and real or
defensive apathy.
While court officials will take
steps to protect non-participating spouses, these
decisions can be influenced by un-refuted
allegations and evidence presented by your spouse.
At the least, you should consult with an attorney to
understand your position and possible outcomes.
In Ohio, you can end your marriage
without fighting in or out of court. But you can’t
just say you want an uncontested divorce. Whether
divorce is uncontested is determined by specific
actions of the spouses.
You might suspect your spouse will
allow your divorce to proceed uncontested. Legally
and emotionally, you should proceed as if they will
contest. If they do file an answer, you can still
reach agreement outside of court.
Attorney members of the Center for Principled
Family Advocacy can guide spouses seeing divorce to
the approach and strategy best suited to their
needs. |