child custody

Should Ohio Pass a New Law Establishing 50/50 Shared Parenting in Divorce Cases?

Ohio would join only Arkansas and Kentucky as states with a law establishing automatic equal shared parenting time.

Ohio House introduces HB14 to establish automatic 50-50 Child Custody, but is this in the best interest of the child?

A separation or divorce is a highly stressful and emotional experience for everyone involved, but for children, it can often be traumatic. Children are often left feeling shocked, angry, uncertain, or even guilty. These are all totally normal reactions. In response to these natural emotions, one of the best things parents and courts can do throughout divorce proceedings is consider the best interests of their children in regard to custody and residential parenting decisions.

In most jurisdictions, including Ohio, the “best interest” of the child standard is the basis for most custody decisions. The purpose of this standard is to safeguard a child’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being by ensuring the parents can provide the best upbringing for the child.… View Full Article → “Should Ohio Pass a New Law Establishing 50/50 Shared Parenting in Divorce Cases?”

Here Comes the Judge: A Little Insight for Your Child Custody and Divorce Case

Michael Mastracci, an attorney from Baltimore, Maryland, publishes one of my favorite blogs, “Divorce Without Dishonor.” He is a huge proponent of utilizing the collaborative law model in divorce and custody matters whenever possible. He recently posted an excellent piece, with which I agree, well worth sharing. I have added a few of my own thoughts at the end.

When I was in law school one of the adjunct professors was a circuit court judge with years of experience presiding over cases involving dueling parents arguing about virtually every aspect of their children’s lives. His advice, probably the best advice in three years of law school, was to know your judge. His Honor was not speaking about knowing the judge personally (although that never hurts) but knowing what he or she is likely to do in any given situation or factual scenario. What does that mean?

People often tend to forget that judges are people, people who likely either knew the governor or knew people close to the governor in order to get appointed.… View Full Article → “Here Comes the Judge: A Little Insight for Your Child Custody and Divorce Case”

Virtual Visitation: Part 2 – Legal Aspects

In the second part of a two part series, Attorney Robert Mues looks at the legal aspects of Virtual Visitation.

Ohio Revised Code Section 3109.051(A) provides, in part, that, “Whenever possible, the order or decree permitting the parenting time shall ensure the opportunity for both parents to have frequent and continuing contact with the child, unless frequent and continuing contact by either parent with the child would not be in the best interest of the child.” In 2006, a bill was introduced in the Ohio Senate to allow Juvenile or Domestic Relations Courts to grant a reasonable amount of “electronic communication” between a parent and a child so long as the electronic communication was in the child’s best interest and the equipment was readily available. In Senate Bill 341, electronic communications was defined as “communication facilitated by the use of methods of communication such as the telephone, electronic mail, instant messaging, video conferencing, or other wired or wireless technologies via the internet, or another medium of communication that allows a party who has been granted parenting time, companionship, or visitation rights to communicate with a child during times in which the child is not physically present with the party.”… View Full Article → “Virtual Visitation: Part 2 – Legal Aspects”

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