The news out of Cuyahoga County in recent days drives home yet again the depth of the issue that Ohio faces regarding children in foster care. According to an article on Cleveland.com, authorities report that there are nearly 2,300 children in some form of...
child custody
Can I recover parental rights terminated by the state?
The law grants biological parents a great deal of preference when it comes to matters of child custody. Unless egregious conditions exist that put the welfare of a child at risk, the rights of biological parents to retain custody are significant. This is especially...
Is an inheritance marital property?
Your spouse wants to get divorced. You find out about it six months after you get a $1 million inheritance from your parents. Is that money marital property? Are you required to split it with your ex, giving him or her roughly half of the money when you break off your...
Parenting: An imperfect art in or out of marriage
Being a parent is not easy. Being an unmarried parent or parent after divorce is no easier. If anything, many would likely agree that trying to foster and maintain a workable family model is more difficult when the parents are not together. Pennsylvania law seeks to...
Factors that that can influence Ohio child custody
Parents typically want what's best for their children. That is true whether the parents are together or apart. Even if parents don't see eye to eye on all matters, they are likely to agree that they want to provide the conditions they feel are important for ensuring...
What is bird nesting and is it worth considering?
Regular readers know we revisit matters on occasion. One of the topics that gets a lot of ink, and we think rightly so, is that of parenting and how to create plans that work for Ohio couples who have determined they have come to the end of the road of their own...
How to prepare for a hearing on child custody
When parents no longer live together or are headed for divorce, it's inevitable that a child custody issue will arise. Many parents are able to solve this issue on their own before they even hit mediation. Then there are parents who wind up in family court in front of...
8 elements of a parenting plan
One of the hardest issues to work out in a divorce is a parenting plan for the children. Ohio has two types of child custody. Sole custody is when one parent is designated as the sole legal custodian of the children. This parent has the authority to make all decisions...
Don’t censor your child’s love for the other parent after divorce
Most of us have known of a parent who, after having separated from their spouse, spoke ill of them to their child. Maybe a single parent who bad-mouthed the other raised you, or maybe you know the temptation to vent your frustrations about your ex to your child....
Parallel parenting: an alternative to co-parenting
"Mommy, why don't you and Daddy love each other anymore?" "I don't want to go to Daddy's house, it smells funny and my room is scary." "When is Daddy going to pick us up from school?"Do any of these sound familiar to you? Have you heard some variation from your kids...