As much as we love Fido, when it comes to divorce, under Ohio law, Fido is considered property, not a child. Yet we still hear about “custody battles” over pets all the time. Why? Well, the answer is simple. Fido may be legally property, but he may be very cherished property, and the parties do not agree which of them is going to take Fido after the divorce is over.
So what happens then? If the parties cannot agree who will be awarded the dog in the divorce, the Judge will hear evidence regarding such things as who paid for the dog, was the dog owned before marriage, who cared for the dog, and the like. The court is aware that the dog is a living thing and not simply a piece of furniture, and that one or both of the parties are very attached to the dog.
Sometimes courts will make orders such as “the dog travels with the children”, so that the children are never separated from their beloved pet, and the animal visits both households when the children do. If there are no children, the court may still make orders that allows each of the parties to see the dog from time to time, but the parties are hostile, it is more likely that the court is going to award the dog to one party or the other.
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Since 2008, Ohio has had additional child support orders called “cash medical support orders”. These orders only come in to play when private health insurance is not available to the child who is the subject of the support order and/or the child is on Medicaid, Molina, Care Source or some other publicly funded health insurance. If the child is not on a publicly funded health plan, then the cash medical support goes to the residential parent. If the child IS on a publicly funded health plan, then the cash medical support goes to the county that is administering the plan or to the State of Ohio.
Tomorrow, in cases consolidated as 
In Ohio, if your ex is court ordered to pay for part of your child’s medical expenses, and they are not doing it, then you may have to go back to court to enforce your order. First, you need to follow the process to ask your ex for what is due. In order to avoid problems, both with your ex (theoretically) and with the court, you need to get ORGANIZED.
Virginia Cornwell is a