Filing for an uncontested divorce in Ohio protects your family from a drawn-out legal battle. This process is available if you and your spouse agree on major issues such as property division and child custody, or if these issues do not apply.
Review the Ohio qualifications for an uncontested divorce.
How to file
The process for an uncontested divorce is relatively simple. You and your spouse must sign a petition for the dissolution of marriage and submit it to your local county court, as long as one of you has lived there for six or more months.
If you own property or have shared debt, you must include details about how you will divide these items in a separation agreement. If you have children, this agreement should also include the consensus the two of you have reached on child custody, visitation and support. In either case, you must include financial disclosures.
The dissolution hearing
Even for an uncontested divorce, you must attend a hearing that the court will schedule within 90 days of your filing date. The judge may ask questions about your separation agreement or parenting plan. Once you provide all the required information, he or she will officially dissolve the marriage.
You can still strive for an uncontested divorce when you and your spouse disagree on some things. For example, you can attend a mediation session to attempt to negotiate a compromise on contentious items. Most people end up settling their differences without a trial. In fact, only 5% of Ohio divorce cases end up in court.
