Virginia Cornwell is an Appeal Attorney and a Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist. 

Okay, let’s say you have already objected to your Magistrate’s Decision, (or, if you never received a Magistrate’s Decision, just a Judgment Entry), and you want to appeal.  The first question you will ask yourself is “How long do I have to file an appeal in Ohio?”  According to Ohio Rule of Appellate Procedure (4)(A)(1), you have 30 days from the date of the Entry.  If you do not have an attorney, or you are considering using a different attorney for your appeal, you do not have a lot of time to interview and hire the attorney you want.  Do NOT wait until the last second.  Start looking right away, because it may take you awhile to find the attorney that is the right fit.

At the Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell we represent clients Appeals from final, appealable orders in family law matters such as child support, custody, visitation, divorce, post-decree modifications, spousal support, and more.  We understand that the client may have received a disappointing or even devastating decision, and we do whatever we can to help the client turn things around.  We meet with the client and give them our opinion, as best we can from the Decision or Entry, so that the client may make an informed decision about whether they want to go forward with an Appeal.

If you have a family law appeal and want to talk to an attorney about your case, call our office at 614-225-9316 for a free consultation.

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Do you want to talk to an attorney about an appeal?  Our attorneys are here to help you!  It all starts with a phone call.

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Virginia Cornwell is an Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist Attorney who works with the LGBT community.

Many LGBT Ohioans will be celebrating the recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of Health, et al. and racing to the courthouse to get their marriage license and say “I do.”

However, the marriage of two partners may not change their family dynamic as completely as they hoped it would.  If the partners are co-parenting children together, assuming one of the parents is a biological parent, then after the marriage ceremony the children have a new step-parent.  Step-parent may not be the dynamic that the parties have in mind.  They may want something more permanent, like step-parent adoption.

Step-parent adoption is not right for everyone.  It will terminate the parental rights of the biological parent that is not part of the marriage.  That may be undesirable for some.  There are certain circumstances where the parental rights of the person who is not part of the marriage can be terminated against their will.  To learn whether step-parent adoption is right for your family, call the Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell to schedule a consultation.

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Do you want to talk to an attorney about a step parent adoption?  Our attorneys are here to help you!  It all starts with a phone call.

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Virginia Cornwell is an Ohio State Bar Association Certified Family Relations Specialist Attorney who works with the LGBT community. 

Many Ohio LGBT partners co-parent but do not take the extra step of putting their shared custody (similar to joint custody or shared parenting) arrangement in writing.  Others put their shared custody arrangement in writing, (known as Bonfield agreements) but do not put it in writing in a way that indicates a clear relinquishment of sole custody in favor of shared custody (for example a power of attorney or a will rather than a shared custody agreement).

Mistakes like this can be tragic for the non-biological parent (or non-legal parent) if the couple breaks up.  Wills and powers of attorneys are revocable.  Shared custody agreements (the ones that have any legal authority) must be approved by the juvenile court.  An example of how things can go devastatingly wrong without a shared custody agreement is the Mullen case.

In the Ohio Supreme Court Case In Re Mullen, 129 Ohio St.3d 417, 2011-Ohio-3361, while together, the parties had taken numerous steps to show their commitment to co-parenting.  They had planned the pregnancy together, were together at the birth, made a ceremonial birth certificate with both parties’ names, and shared parenting responsibilities. The biological mother also prepared a will naming the other mother as custodian if she should pass away, and the biological mother gave her partner a power of attorney.  However, when the parties separated, according to Mullen, the will and the power of attorney were revoked and the parties found themselves in litigation over whether they would continue to co-parent the child.

In this case, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the findings of the lower courts which did not require the biological mother to continue to co-parent with her former partner.  The Court noted that while the biological mother had the opportunity to permanently surrender her sole custody in favor of shared custody, she did not do it. The court did not go so far as to say that they would always require a “Bonfield” agreement, but if the court did not grant any custodial rights under these circumstances, it is wise to interpret this case as a cautionary tale and put these important issues in writing, and have them approved by the juvenile court.

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Do you want to talk to an attorney about a shared custody agreement?  Our attorneys are here to help you!  It all starts with a phone call.

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In cases of dissolution, the proceedings can be very fast, as little as 30 days after their court papers are filed, the parties can have a hearing in our office with a private judge, avoid the court house altogether, and move on with their lives.

In cases where divorce is necessary, our experienced divorce attorneys are here to help our LGBT / same sex clients obtain the divorce they need.

For Ohio LGBT clients who have been waiting to marry, but wish to preserve their assets in case of divorce, we are here to help you with a prenuptial agreement.

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Do you want to talk to an attorney about ending your same sex, gay, LGBT marriage (divorce)?  Our attorneys are here to help you!  It all starts with a phone call.

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In a 5-4 decision announced on Friday, June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that same sex marriage is a constitutional right, and that states may not ban same sex marriage. In Obergefell, et al. v. Hodges, Director, Ohio Department of Health, et al. , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that

• The Fourteenth Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex, and
• States must recognize a marriage of the same sex when the marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out of state

What does this mean to Ohioans?  Legally, it means that same sex couples are now be able to both marry and divorce in Ohio.

However, the decision does go on to say: “Finally, it must be emphasized that religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned.”  What does this mean to Ohioans who want to have a same sex marriage ceremony?  It means that they do not have the right to have their ceremony in a church who does not accept same sex marriage.

The decision anticipates some of the “push back” that may come from states who have anti-same sex marriage laws on the books still, such as Ohio, and deals with the possibility in short measure by stating:

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Want to talk to an attorney about ending your same sex, gay, LGBT marriage (divorce).  Our attorneys are here to help you!  It starts with a phone call.

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Virginia Cornwell is a Columbus, Ohio Divorce Attorney and OSBA Certified Family Relations Specialist.

What is financial misconduct?  According to Ohio Revised Code 3105.171(E)(4), it is a basis upon which an Ohio divorce court can make a distributive award (we will get to that later).  That statute says:

If a spouse has engaged in financial misconduct, including, but not limited to, the dissipation, destruction, concealment, nondisclosure, or fraudulent disposition of assets, the court may compensate the offended spouse with a distributive award or with a greater award of marital property.

So what does this mean in plain English?  It means if you are getting divorced and your spouse is destroying, ruining, hiding, or getting rid of assets in a sneaky way, the court can give you some of their separate property to punish them.  When a court does this, it is called a distributive award. 

So what is separate property?  Well, the answer to that can be found in the same statute, Ohio Revised Code 3105.171:

(a) “Separate property” means all real and personal property and any interest in real or personal property that is found by the court to be any of the following:

(i) An inheritance by one spouse by bequest, devise, or descent during the course of the marriage;

(ii) Any real or personal property or interest in real or personal property that was acquired by one spouse prior to the date of the marriage;

(iii) Passive income and appreciation acquired from separate property by one spouse during the marriage;

(iv) Any real or personal property or interest in real or personal property acquired by one spouse after a decree of legal separation issued under section 3105.17 of the Revised Code;

(v) Any real or personal property or interest in real or personal property that is excluded by a valid antenuptial agreement;

(vi) Compensation to a spouse for the spouse’s personal injury, except for loss of marital earnings and compensation for expenses paid from marital assets;

(vii) Any gift of any real or personal property or of an interest in real or personal property that is made after the date of the marriage and that is proven by clear and convincing evidence to have been given to only one spouse.

So what does this all mean?  It means if your spouse has separate property, and they are playing games with the marital property, the court can remedy this by giving you some of their separate property.

If you believe your spouse is hiding, destroying or transferring some of your marital property, and you would like to talk to one of our attorneys about this, please call us at 614-225-9316.

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Want your questions answered by a live person (either in person or by telephone)?  We would be happy to schedule a consultation with you.

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1. The numbers that were used to calculate the child support were wrong; or
2. The numbers were correct, but the court should give you a deviation (hopefully downward, not upward) in your child support amount.

First, you must know that you have only a little bit of time to make your objection.  If your child support order that was reviewed was a court order, you have 14 days to make your objection.  The law says that you have 14 days of receipt  of information re your rights to object (JFS 07724), which usually comes with the administrative review recommendation, but to be safe, you should calculate that 14 days from the date the administrative  review recommendation was made.  Some CSEA agencies will tell you that the deadline is 14 days from the date that recommendation was made, and to save yourself a world of grief, you should not fight the machine, and just get your objection in within 14 days from when the recommendation was made.  Please note – as this blog is written, legislature is being proposed to changed these deadlines, and so when you read this, you need to consult with an attorney to see if the deadlines are still accurate.

If your child support order that was reviewed was an administrative order, you have a little more time to make your objection.  According to the law, you have 30 days from the date you received JFS 07724 and your administrative order to object, but again, to be safe, you should object by 30 days from the date recommendation is made.  Again, to be safe, you need to check with an attorney re these deadlines because legislation is being proposed to change them.

Your objection must be RECEIVED by the deadline, not mailed by the deadline.  

Okay, so, assuming you got your objection in on time, what is next?  Well, that depends on the basis of your objection, but the bottom line is you start gathering your evidence to support the basis for your objection, and figuring out how you are going to get the evidence admitted into court under the Ohio Rules of Evidence.

The Law Offices of Virginia C. Cornwell represents clients in child supports matters, and helps them with the their child support objections.  For an appointment to discuss your case, please call our office at 614-225-9316 to set a consultation to discuss the facts and circumstances in your case.

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Want your questions answered by a live person (either in person or by telephone)?  We would be happy to schedule a consultation with you.

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It is important to understand the nature and limitations of these orders.  They are not domestic violence orders, although they usually instruct the parties not to harass each other.  They do not have any provisions that will require a party to give up their guns (unlike a civil protection order / domestic violence protection order).  There is no allegation of wrong doing necessary to get these orders.  These orders are simply put on to protect the status quo during the divorce, so that the parties remain relatively peaceful while they wait their turn for the court to end their marriage, divide their property and debts, and make orders regarding support and children.

Among other things, temporary restraining orders usually restrain the parties from taking funds out of any of their assets except for checking accounts.  This prohibits the parties from dipping into retirement, savings or anything else to finance their divorce.  This can seriously disadvantage the party who did not plan for the divorce.  One party has all their ducks in a row and the other is unable to afford their attorney.

There are very few good solutions for this problem.  An attorney can file a motion for attorney fees, but the attorney fees are not awarded often enough to address the problem or equalize the parties’ financial power, and when the fees are awarded, the awards are often minimal compared to the need.

When people think divorce is coming, they are often afraid to financially prepare themselves for the divorce, because they are afraid that taking the money will hasten the divorce itself.  That may or may not be true.  Each client is in the best position to judge their own spouse’s potential reaction.  However, when a client believes divorce is coming, they need to understand that a temporary restraining order is coming as well, and it may take a while to get to agreement, if agreement can be reached.  By failing to prepare for divorce, and for the temporary restraining order that will soon be limiting their access to their assets, people facing divorce are taking a risk of being the disadvantaged party throughout the entire divorce.

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So what happens then?  If the parties cannot agree who will be awarded the dog in the divorce, the Judge will hear evidence regarding such things as who paid for the dog, was the dog owned before marriage, who cared for the dog, and the like.  The court is aware that the dog is a living thing and not simply a piece of furniture, and that one or both of the parties are very attached to the dog.

Sometimes courts will make orders such as “the dog travels with the children”, so that the children are never separated from their beloved pet, and the animal visits both households when the children do.  If there are no children, the court may still make orders that allows each of the parties to see the dog from time to time, but the parties are hostile, it is more likely that the court is going to award the dog to one party or the other.

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Situations where the child is on a publicly funded health plan can be problematic when parties are in divorce or child support litigation, and part of the proposed settlement includes a “zero child support” term.  Cash medical support is not subject to deviation.  Therefore, if the child does not have health insurance, the non-residential parent (or non-school placement parent) is going to pay SOME child support, whether they like it or not.  The parties simply do not have the power to bargain cash medical support away.

For more information about cash medical support in Ohio, see our article about cash medical support:

https://cornwell-law.com/10/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-changes-to-ohio-child-support-law/

CALL NOW  at (614) 225-9316

Want your questions answered by a live person (either in person or by telephone)?  We would be happy to schedule a consultation with you.

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