One of the most important parts of a custody case are the initial and permanent allocations of custody and parenting time. On a temporary basis, due to existing Local Rules and standard parenting schedules, many times one parent is given the majority of parenting time...
Divorce And Family Law
Divorce is a team sport
Once you decide to get a divorce, you may feel isolated. Your friends. Your family. Everyone is married. Yet, you are going to get a divorce. It was a long time coming and you finally decided. Now what? What do you do? Who do you talk to? Who will guide you through...
Commonly Asked Questions about Guardian Ad Litem
1. What is a Guardian ad litem (GAL)? A Guardian Ad Litem, or a “GAL”, is a court appointed professional who acts as a neutral third-party voice in a court case involving children. As defined by Ohio Rules of Superintendence “Guardian ad litem means an individual...
Co-parenting during the holidays
The holidays are upon us. The Christmas decor is coming out even before children have determined their Halloween costumes. This is an exciting time for children, but it can also be stressful for parents who are in the middle of custody proceedings and for those...
What role does social media have in divorce?
With nearly half of the world’s population now using some type of social media, escaping it is nearly impossible. How many people have your heard of that reconnected with an old high school flame through Facebook? It is everywhere. Innocently, we like to post pictures...
Is my child’s other parent required to give me part of the child’s stimulus check?
Division of government issued Stimulus payments between separated or divorced parents If you are a parent who shares custody or alternates years in which you can claim your child for taxes, you may be asking yourself whether you are entitled to any portion of the...
How do you stay safe at home while quarantining?
The world we live in, as COVID-19 spreads around the world and throughout our county, is not the same world we lived in a year or even a month ago. By the end of March no fewer than 30 states had implemented "stay at home orders" to help flatten the curve and...
How does the Coronavirus affect parenting with an ex?
March 2020 is one for the books. We have gone from worrying about a week that began with a full moon and ended with Friday the 13th to this week we are all working from home and our kids may not go back to school for months. What does that mean for parenting with an...
A Note from the Rittgers Rittgers & Nakajima Domestic Relations team on the custody implications of Ohio’s Extended Spring Break:
Effective March 16, 2020, Governor DeWine has implemented an "extended Spring Break" for all K-12 public and private schools. As of now, this announcement does not include daycares or in-home childcare. This announcement has left many people wondering how the school...
What is yours is mine and what is mine is mine too?
How to determine separate property in divorce When entering a marriage many spouses combine all their financial assets into joint accounts, buy property together, and proceed under the assumption of 'what is mine is yours' and vice versa. However, this age-old...