Virginia Cornwell is an Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist and an Ohio Family Law Attorney practicing in Columbus and most Ohio Counties.
Effective July 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of Ohio has adopted 23 new family law forms to assist attorneys and people representing themselves in family law cases. These forms can be used in ANY county in Ohio, although local courts may require you to use their forms in ADDITION to the forms approved by the Supreme Court. The forms can be accessed as a PDF or in Word format by clicking the link below:
OHIO FAMILY LAW FORMS
CAUTION: You need to be sure you understand the meaning of the box you are checking or form you are selecting. For instance, there are two forms with very similar titles but very different meanings. The “Parenting Plan” form is for sole custody parenting arrangements and the “Shared Parenting Plan” is for shared parenting (similar to joint custody).
The forms are in a PDF format which does not appear to be fillable. You will have to print out the pages you need. The following forms are included in the new forms.
1) Complaint for Divorce Without Children
2) Complaint for Divorce With Children
3) Counterclaim for Divorce
4) Answer to Complaint for Divorce Without Children (and/or Reply to Counterclaim)
5) Answer to Complaint for Divorce With Children (and/or Reply to Counterclaim)
6) Final Judgment For Divorce Without Children
7) Final Judgment For Divorce With Children
8) Judgment Entry Converting Interest in Real Estate
9) Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (With Children or Without Children and Waiver of Service of Summons
10) Judgment Entry of Dissolution of Marriage (With Children or Without Children)
11) Separation Agreement
12) Shared Parenting Plan
13) Parenting Plan (Sole Custody to One Parent or Split Custody)
14) Parenting Judgment Entry (Sole Custody or Shared Parenting Decree)
15) Complaint for Parentage, Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities (Custody) and Parenting Time (Companionship and Visitation)
16) Motion for Contempt and Affidavit
17) Show Cause Order, Notice and Instructions to the Clerk
18) Motion for Change of Parenting Time (Companionship and Visitation) and Memorandum in Support
19) Motion for Change of Parental Rights and Responsibilities (Custody) and Memorandum in Support
20) Motion for Change of Child Support, Medical Support, Tax Exemption, or Other Child Related Expenses and Memorandum in Support
21) Explanation of Health Care Bills (For Contempt)
22) Waiver of Service of Summons
23) Request for Service
The following forms were previously provided by the Supreme Court of Ohio (CLICK THE LINK FOR THE FORM YOU WANT):
24) Affidavit of Income and Expenses
25) Parenting Proceeding Affidavit
26) Health Insurance Affidavit
27) Property Disclosure Affidavit
28) Motion and Affidavit or Counteraffidavit for Temporary Orders Without Oral Hearing
Keep in mind, the forms do NOT give legal advice, and do not tell you which option is best for you. Even if you cannot afford to hire an attorney to help you with your case, it might be worth your time and money to have a consultation with an attorney to discuss what the forms mean so that you can pick the options on the form that will be best for you. Also, having the right form to file your case does not mean you have all you need to WIN your case if the other side does not agree to what you want.
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DISCLAIMER – Read it, it’s important!
Family law is a term that is often misunderstood. People sometimes think that a family law attorney is a lawyer that you hire when you want to sue your family. In a way, that’s true, but family law does not cover every area that might involve litigation between you and your family. Traditionally, family law includes areas of law that are covered when you marry someone or have a child with them. Modern family law also includes non traditional families, same sex parents, relative and grandparent custody and more.
Finding a good attorney for your family law needs can be a challenge. Just as every attorney is unique, so is every client and every case. Almost every case has one or more weaknesses. Even if you are fortunate enough to have the rare situation where all of the law and all of the facts line up, that does not mean that you will be happy with the process, and the pace that things move through the courts. Even if you have all the time in the world, you probably don’t have all the money in the world.
So what’s the point we’re getting at? Here it is, plain and simple – almost every family law case has some bad news. The only exception is a case where the parties all agree regarding what should happen, and they simply need an attorney to represent one of the parties, (it would be a conflict of interest for one attorney to represent all of the parties) draft the paperwork and get the court order or child support enforcement agency (CSEA) order they need. When you meet with an attorney, if you aren’t hearing any bad news, and your case is contested, then maybe you need to discuss the matter a little more. Your case is the sum of the good news and the bad news. You should talk about both before you begin, and make a decision with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your case. You cannot help your attorney with your case if you don’t understand the strengths and weaknesses.
You may have a situation where your children’s life has become intolerable, but the financial cost and legal risk of going back to court seems unbearable too. In that case, you need to sit down with an attorney that will answer your questions, in plain English, and give you the information you need to choose between a rock and a hard place. A good attorney will give you that information, and then it’s up to you to take that information regarding the law, the discretion the court has in your situation, and work with your attorney to make the best decision. At the end of the day, it’s your life, and you are going to have to live with it.
Beyond just getting the straight skinny on the good and bad news, you need to pick an attorney that you can talk to, and one that talks to you. Clients have a right to know what is going on in their case and be involved in the decisions. If you feel like your attorney is not treating you with respect, you either need to discuss it with your attorney and solve the problem, or find another attorney. If your family law attorney cannot treat other attorneys with some respect as well, then you are more likely to pay higher legal fees and less likely to achieve what you want without an expensive trial and the risk of letting a judge decide your case without your participation. If your attorney’s approach is keeping you from settling your case, it might be time for you to deliver some bad news of your own. If you’re concerned, talk to your attorney about it.
For example, perhaps you cannot agree who should pay child support or how much it should be. That does not mean that you cannot stipulate regarding each party’s income, cost of health insurance or any other issues that you have investigated and have no legitimate dispute about. Why not turn a five day trial into a one day trial and save both parties a ton of money? Unfortunately, some attorneys cannot accept this approach. If this is something that makes sense to you, but not to your family law or Ohio custody attorney, you may have a problem. Perhaps you should have this discussion at your first meeting with your attorney to make sure that you see eye to eye on this issue. It’s important, really important.