Terminating your marriage is a difficult and time-consuming process. Most of us need a lawyer to help with the details. Who gets what stuff? What about the children, custody, support, visitation issues? Am I entitled to alimony payments? If so, how much for how long? Ask a lawyer. You NEED help NOW
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STEP ONE: PROPERTY DIVISION
There are two kinds of property in a marriage: "Separate" property and "marital' property. You need to divide your stuff into these two categories. Separate property is NOT divided between spouses and remains your property 100%. Marital property is subject to "equitable division" by the court. Make a list of "his" and "hers" items of all the important stuff you own. You may also want to list purchase date, price and current fair market value. Remember, fmv is the "garage sale" price of the item today. You can divide up your property by value, quantify or both. Ohio law requires the division to be FAIR and EQUITABLE. Try to be fair to the other side. You do not want the court to have to decide this issue for you. They usually just sell it all and divide the proceeds, so work it out together. If you get stuck on some items, talk to a lawyer right away.
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Child Support and/or Alimony: How do I determine how much for how long, if any?
Child Support and Alimony (now known as "spousal support") is a very complicated process by which you determine if any payment is owed between parties/parents, and if so, how much for how long. The there are 16 factors (R.C. 3105.18) the court must look at in determining if spousal support is "reasonable and appropriate." There are even more factors the court must review to determine child support, and, there are specific things that may justify a "deviation" from the "guideline" amount calculated under Ohio Law. Don't try this one at home. Talk to a lawyer. The numbers you plug in and place you stick them make all the difference in the final amount. Only your local attorney can know how the court interprets the law and what the likely outcome will be in your case. Trust only a trained professional. This issue causes lots of fighting and attorney's fees to the uneducated and/or unrealistic client.
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