Practice Areas

Columbus Family Law Attorney ◦ Divorce, Dissolution

Our law firm only handles matters involving divorce, dissolution, and other family relations law (domestic relations) issues. By only handling family law matters, we are able to acquire more specialized knowledge and we are able to offer our services more efficiently to our clients.

Family Law

Family law is also sometimes called domestic relations law. Generally, family law deals with two types of relationships: first, the relationship between husbands and wives; second, the relationship between parents and children.

Family law deals with specific lawsuits, specific issues, and other specific matters. These lawsuits, issues, and matters are discussed below.

Lawsuits

A lawsuit is a proceeding handled by a court in which the rights and duties of the parties are determined. Family law includes various types of lawsuits.

Divorce

A divorce is a lawsuit that terminates a marriage. Generally, other issues are also addressed in a divorce. Typically, the parties’ property and debt will be divided. If the parties have children, shared parenting, custody, visitation, child support, and other child-related issues will be addressed.

Dissolution

A dissolution is also a lawsuit that terminates a marriage. In a dissolution the parties have reached a full agreement on all issues. The parties submit their agreement to the court. If the agreement is legally proper, the court will review and approve the agreement, make the agreement the order of the court and terminate the marriage.

Legal Separation

A legal separation is a lawsuit that recognizes that the parties have the right to live separate from one another. A legal separation lawsuit does not terminate a marriage. Generally, except for the termination of the marriage, a legal separation lawsuit will address the same issues typically addressed in a divorce lawsuit.

Annulment

An annulment is a lawsuit in which the court declares that the parties’ marriage is void. That is, the court declares that the marriage was never legally valid because of some barrier to the creation of a valid marriage. For example, a person who is already married cannot legally enter into a second marriage without terminating the first marriage.

Domestic Violence

A domestic violence lawsuit is a lawsuit in which the court determines if one of the parties has committed an act of violence against the other party. If the court finds that an act of violence has occurred, the court can issue various orders. Most importantly, the court can order the abuser to leave the marital home and can grant exclusive possession of the marital home to the victim.

Paternity

A paternity lawsuit is a lawsuit that legally establishes a father-child relationship. After the relationship is established, the court may address other issues including shared parenting, and child custody, visitation and support.

Issues

In a lawsuit, a court will typically address many different issues. The issues addressed by the court will vary depending on the type of lawsuit and the facts of the case.

Grounds

In some lawsuits, like divorces, legal separations and annulments, a party must prove that grounds exist for the lawsuit. This means that a party must prove that some legal basis exists for the lawsuit. For example, in a divorce lawsuit, a party must prove extreme cruelty, gross neglect of duty, adultery or some other appropriate grounds.

Property Division

Generally, the term property refers to financial assets. These assets include real estate, motor vehicles, bank accounts, investments, and pensions. When a court divides marital property, the court generally awards each party one half of the value of the total marital property. When a court distributes separate property, the court generally awards the separate property to the party who owns the separate property. We can represent clients with property awards and settlements including complex asset or high asset property division.

Debt Division

Generally, a debt is a legal duty to pay money. Debts include mortgage debts, motor vehicle debts, credit card debts, and educational loans. When a court addresses marital debts, the court will generally make each party responsible for one half of the marital debts. A separate debt will generally be the responsibility of the party who incurred the debt.

Shared Parenting

If a case involves minor children, a court must determine if it should issue a shared parenting order. In a shared parenting order, parental rights and duties are divided between the parents. In many cases, the rights and duties are divided equally. However, the rights and duties may also be divided in an unequal manner. Whether custody is resolved in a divorce or in a custody case involving unmarried parents, we can help.

Sole Custody

If a court does not issue a shared parenting order, the court must issue a sole custody order. A sole custody order grants all or most of the parental rights and responsibilities to one parent (the custodial parent). Generally, the custodial parent has the right to have physical possession of the child or children and the right to make decisions regarding them. Typically, the other parent (the non-custodial parent), will be granted parenting time rights (visitation rights) with the children.

Visitation

If a court grants a sole custody order, the court will normally give the non-custodial party parenting time rights. Parenting time rights were previously called “visitation” rights. Basically, if a party has parenting time with a child, that party has the right to have physical possession of the child. Each county has a standard parenting time schedule. However, courts are free to deviate from these standard schedules when the circumstances are appropriate.

Child Support

Child support is money paid by one party to another party to help pay for minor children’s living expenses. If a court issues a sole custody order, the court will generally order the non-custodial parent to pay child support to the custodial parent. A presumptive amount of child support is determined using a mathematical formula.

After the presumptive amount is determined, a party may present evidence and arguments as to why the amount is too high or too low. In a shared parenting case, the same general rules are followed. However, in a shared parenting case, because of the shared nature of the parties’ duties, determination of child support can be much more complicated.

Spousal Support

Spousal support is money paid by one party to the other party to help with the other party’s living expenses. In the past, spousal support was called “alimony.” Spousal support is determined based on a number of factors. Generally, the most important factors are the duration of the marriage, the income earned by each party, and the difference in incomes between the parties.

Health Insurance

If minor children are present, a court will generally order one or both parties to provide health insurance for the children. The court will also issue an order requiring the parties to pay any of the children’s medical and dental expenses that are not paid for by insurance. Generally, a court will not order one party to pay for the other party’s health insurance. If the court determines that one party should contribute to the other party’s health insurance expenses, the court will typically issue a spousal support order.

Income Taxes

Courts address various income tax issues. If an income tax debt is due, a court may treat the debt as a marital debt. If an income tax refund has been sent, the court will generally treat the refund as marital property. Other tax benefits may also be divided as marital property. If minor children are present, the court must issue an order stating which party has the right to claim a child as a dependant.

College Expenses

A court does not have the direct authority to order one or both parties to pay for their children’s college expenses. However, if the parties reach an agreement on college expenses, the court can approve the parties’ agreement and make the agreement an order of the court. College expenses may include tuition, room and board, books and fees, and other expenses.

Post Decree Modifications

After a divorce or dissolution, one or both of the parties may find that circumstances have changed, and that a divorce decree must also change with regard to child custody, child support, or other matters.

Other Matters

Objections and Appeals

After a trial has occurred, and a decision has been issued, one party may feel that he or she was not treated fairly. In these situations, objections or appeals may be filed. The handling of objections and appeals is a specialized area of law. Our law firm handles objections and appeals throughout the State of Ohio. We also represent clients in the Ohio Supreme Court.

Premarital Planning

Marriage creates new rights and duties between spouses. We provide information regarding those rights and duties. We also provide information and advice on how legal and financial matters should be structured to minimize a spouse’s risk if the marriage is terminated in the future.

Premarital Agreements

Premarital agreements are also called prenuptial agreements. Premarital agreements are powerful planning tools. By using a premarital agreement, a party can stop the creation of certain duties that would automatically be created at the time of marriage. Generally, when a marriage is ended, each party receives one half of the marital assets. However, by using a premarital agreement, one party may be able to keep all legal and financial interests in one or more assets.

Alternatives to Litigation

Sometimes, the parties to a divorce, dissolution, or custody dispute discover that they do not want the expense and stress that comes with a courtroom battle. Some parties would rather not give up control of their family issues to the family law court system. In those cases, alternatives to litigation such as mediation or a collaborative law approach may provide longer-lasting resolutions for the issues.

Contact Us

Please contact the lawyers at Dougherty, Hanneman and Snedaker for a confidential consultation with an Ohio State Bar Association Certified Specialist in Family Relations Law regarding your family law issue. Attorneys Douglas Dougherty, James Hanneman and Robert “Chip” Snedaker are three of just ninety nine attorneys (as of January 1, 2008) in the state of Ohio, who have earned the designation of Certified Specialist, Family Relations Law.