Ohio Family Law

Divorce, Dissolution, Legal Separation & Annulment

Are you seeking to end your marriage? If so, then the first step you will need to take is learning the difference between a Divorce, Dissolution, Legal Separation, and Annulment. The family law attorneys at Sheppard Law Offices can assist you to better understand which type of action is right for you. We will advise you, and aggressively advocate on your behalf on such issues as:

• Property Division

• Child Custody

• Visitation

• Child Support

• Alimony (Spousal Support).

What is the Difference between “Divorce”, “Dissolution”, “Legal Separation” and “Annulment?”

A Divorce is the legal separation and termination of the marital relationship by the judgment of a court, which may be granted only upon a finding by the court that certain “grounds” for a Divorce exists. A divorce typically takes place because the parties cannot agree on all terms of the separation; therefore, a judge is needed to rule upon those outstanding issues. Divorces can be costly, ranging anywhere from $4,000 to over $10,000. In addition, it may take several months or a couple of years to conclude a divorce action.

When these heated battles take place at temporary order hearings, preliminary hearings, pre-trials, and the actual trial itself, you must have legal counsel who is going to fight for your rights. We, the divorce attorneys at Sheppard Law Offices, listen to our clients, and we aggressively pursue our clients’ wishes within the bounds of the law.

There are two types of Divorce: contested and uncontested. A Contested Divorce is what many people normally think of when they hear the word “Divorce”. Issues of child support, child custody, visitation, shared parenting, spousal support (alimony), property division, allocation of assets and debts, and tax can be litigated for months, even years. An Uncontested Divorce occurs where one spouse (i.e. the defendant) fails to appear in court during the early stages of the case or fails to answer the divorce complaint. The same issues that are raised in a divorce action may arise; however, the court only receives testimony by the Plaintiff and renders it decision accordingly.

Dissolution is a form of no fault termination of the marriage relationship where both parties have agreed upon ALL of the terms of the termination. The parties will have agreed to all (if applicable) of the following terms: the division of marital property, spousal support, parental rights and responsibilities, child support, visitation, etc. The parties are requesting that the court terminate the marriage and approve the agreement between the parties. The advantages of Dissolution are that it is not adversarial in nature (i.e. the parties have already agreed upon every aspect of the termination); there is no plaintiff or defendant; and the court does not have to make any of the decisions it would have to make in a contested divorce. Additionally, it is less expensive and concluded in a shorter period of time than a divorce action.

Our experienced Family Law Attorneys will guide you through the dissolution process.

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Legal Separation is very similar to a divorce action. This type of process (which is not commonly used) is undertaken by the parties who want to live apart, but for some reason, do not want to officially terminate their marriage.

An Annulment is a decree from a court determining that the marriage is legally invalid (“null” and “void”) because of some defect that existed at the time the marriage was entered into. An Annulment Decree declares that a marital status never existed, unlike a Divorce Decree or Dissolution of Marriage Order that terminates a marriage. The grounds for an annulment include: an underage marriage; bigamy (i.e. one of the parties has another living spouse); mental incompetence of one of the parties; fraud; duress; and non-consummation of the marriage (which may include impotency).

QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Orders)

A QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) is an order that needs to be included in a Divorce Agreement when dealing with retirement and pension funds. The QDRO establishes a soon-to-be-ex-spouse's (i.e. alternate payee) legal right to receive a designated percentage of the other spouse’s (i.e. plan participant) qualified plan account balance or benefit payments. Income tax consequences occur at the time the alternate payee becomes entitled (i.e. receives) disbursement of the proceeds.

Also, the QDRO arrangement may permit an alternate payee to withdraw his or her share and roll the money over into his or her own IRA to the extent that current withdrawals are permitted by the terms of the qualified retirement plan. The IRA rollover procedure allows the alternate payee to take over management of the money while continuing to postpone tax implications until funds are withdrawn from the IRA.

What happens when your qualified retirement account money goes to your ex-spouse without a QDRO?

It is treated as a taxable distribution to you. This means that you owe the IRS for money that actually winds up in your ex spouse’s pocket. Your ex-spouse will love this because it's a tax-free windfall at your expense. On top of the income tax bill, you may also get stung with a 10% premature withdrawal penalty if you are under age 59 ½.

Division of Marital Assets

When dividing property during divorce a court will first determine if the property is marital or non-marital property. This can be a very complicated process and is dealt with according to Ohio laws governing the division of assets accumulated during a marriage. Property acquired by either spouse BEFORE marriage is considered Non–Marital Property. All property acquired AFTER marriage is considered “property of the marriage”, or Marital Property.

How Does the Court Determine If Property is Marital or Non-Marital Property?

The courts have no authority over non–marital property. The first thing the court must do is determine whether it has authority over the property. Next, if the property is marital property, then the court must “equitably” divide the property.

Property is presumed to be marital property with the following exceptions:

• Property acquired by gift, legacy or descent.
• Property acquired in exchange for property acquired before the marriage or in exchange for property acquired by gift, legacy or descent.
• Property acquired by a spouse after a Judgment of Legal Separation.
• Property excluded by valid agreement of the parties.
• Any judgment or property obtained by judgment awarded to a spouse from the other spouse.
• Property acquired before the marriage.

When marital and non–marital property has been combined the process of determining marital property can be quite complicated. For example, what happens when one spouse uses non–marital property to buy a house with the other spouse? What happens when one spouse inherits money and that money is deposited into a joint bank account? If a court decides that property is marital property, then the court must determine how to “equitably” split the property.

Our family law firm can assist you in the following areas:

• Divorce
• Dissolution
• Custody & Visitation
• Shared Parenting Plans
• Child & Spousal Support
• Adoption Law
• Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements
• Annulment
• Legal Separation
• Contempt – violation of court orders
• Modification – changing court orders

Contact our office today and schedule your free one-half (1/2) hour initial consultation.

Contact Sheppard Law Offices and Attorney Kenneth L. Sheppard, Jr. to discuss your particular situation. Call today to schedule your free consultation at 1-877-505-9455.

 

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