Ohio Revised Code Search

...(A) Either party to the marriage may file a complaint for divorce or for legal separation, and when filed the other may file a counterclaim for divorce or for legal separation. The court of common pleas may grant divorces for the causes set forth in section 3105.01 of the Revised Code. The court of common pleas may grant legal separation on a complaint or counterclaim, regardless of whether the parties are living sep...

...(A) Upon satisfactory proof of the causes in the complaint for divorce, annulment, or legal separation, the court of common pleas shall make an order for the disposition, care, and maintenance of the children of the marriage, as is in their best interests, and in accordance with section 3109.04 of the Revised Code. (B) Upon the failure of proof of the causes in the complaint, the court may make the order for the dis...

...As used in sections 3105.41 to 3105.54 of the Revised Code: (A) "Collaborative family law communication" means any statement that occurs after the parties sign a collaborative family law participation agreement and before the collaborative family law process is concluded and that is made for the purpose of conducting, participating in, continuing, or reconvening a collaborative law process. (B) "Collaborativ...

...(A) A collaborative family law participation agreement must be in a record, be signed by the parties, and include all of the following: (1) A statement of the parties' intent to resolve a matter through a collaborative family law process under sections 3105.41 to 3105.55 of the Revised Code; (2) A description of the nature and scope of the matter; (3) The identity of the collaborative family lawyer who repre...

...(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (C) of this section, a collaborative family lawyer may not appear before a court to represent a party in a proceeding related to the collaborative family law matter. A collaborative family lawyer representing a party that is a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality is subject to disqualification under this division. (B) Except as otherwi...

...(A) Subject to sections 3105.50 and 3105.51 of the Revised Code, a collaborative family law communication is privileged under division (B) of this section, is not subject to discovery, and is not admissible in evidence. (B) In a proceeding, the following privileges apply: (1) A party may refuse to disclose, and may prevent any other person from disclosing, a collaborative family law communication. (2) A nonp...

...(A) If, at the time of the hearing, either spouse is not satisfied with the separation agreement or does not wish a dissolution of the marriage and if neither spouse files a motion pursuant to division (C) of this section to convert the action to an action for divorce, the court shall dismiss the petition and refuse to validate the proposed separation agreement. (B) If, upon review of the testimony of both sp...

...As used in this section and sections 3105.81 to 3105.90 of the Revised Code: (A) "Alternate payee" means a party in an action for divorce, legal separation, annulment, or dissolution of marriage who is to receive one or more payments from a benefit or lump sum payment under an order issued under section 3105.171 or 3105.65 of the Revised Code that is in compliance with sections 3105.81 to 3105.90 of the Revis...

...As used in sections 3107.01 to 3107.20 of the Revised Code: (A) "Adoption" means to create the legal relationship of parent and child between the petitioner and the adopted person, as if the adopted person were a legitimate blood descendant of the petitioner, for all purposes including inheritance and applicability of statutes, documents, and instruments, whether executed before or after the adoption is decreed, an...

...The following persons may adopt: (A) A husband and wife together, at least one of whom is an adult; (B) An unmarried adult; (C) A married adult without the other spouse joining as a petitioner if any of the following apply: (1) The other spouse is a parent of the person to be adopted and consents to the adoption; (2) The petitioner and the other spouse are separated under section 3103.06 or 3105.17 of the R...

...(A) A petition for adoption shall be prepared and filed according to the procedure for commencing an action under the Rules of Civil Procedure. It shall include the following information: (1) The date and place of birth of the person to be adopted, if known; (2) The name of the person to be adopted, if known; (3) The name to be used for the person to be adopted; (4) The date of placement of a minor and the na...

...(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, a person seeking to adopt a minor, or the agency or attorney arranging the adoption, shall submit a petition for the minor's adoption no later than ninety days after the date the minor is placed in the person's home. Failure to file a petition within the time provided by this division does not affect a court's jurisdiction to hear the petition and is not grounds...

...Unless consent is not required under section 3107.07 of the Revised Code, a petition to adopt a minor may be granted only if written consent to the adoption has been executed by all of the following: (A) The parents of the minor, including if any of the following apply: (1) The minor was conceived or born while the parents were married; (2) The minor is the child of the parent by adoption; (3) Prior to the d...

...(A)(1) The department of children and youth shall establish a putative father registry. To register, a putative father must complete a registration form prescribed under section 3107.065 of the Revised Code and submit it to the department. The registration form shall include the putative father's name; the name of the mother of the person he claims as his child; and the address or telephone number at which he wishes ...

...(A) An attorney arranging a minor's adoption, a mother, a public children services agency, a private noncustodial agency, or a private child placing agency may request at any time that the department of children and youth search the putative father registry to determine whether a man is registered as the minor's putative father. The request shall include the mother's name. On receipt of the request, the department sh...

...(A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, a court shall not issue a final decree of adoption or finalize an interlocutory order of adoption unless the mother placing the minor for adoption or the agency or attorney arranging the adoption files with the court a certified document provided by the department of children and youth under section 3107.063 of the Revised Code. The court shall not accept the do...

...(A) Before the birth of a child and with the written consent of the mother of the child, any of the following may serve or caused to be served actual notice to a putative father of the child that the mother of the child is considering placing the child for adoption: (1) An agency; (2) An attorney representing the person seeking to adopt the child; (3) An attorney representing the mother of the child. (B) As used ...

...(A) If notice to a putative father is served by a party listed in division (A)(1) or (2) of section 3107.067 of the Revised Code, an agency or an attorney representing the person seeking to adopt a child, when filing a petition for adoption of the child, shall submit to the court an affidavit setting forth the circumstances surrounding the service of actual notice including the time, if known, date, and manner in whi...

...Notice served under section 3107.067 of the Revised Code shall be provided to the putative father of the child in substantially the following form: "_________________________ (putative father's name), who has been named as the father of the unborn child of _________________________ (birth mother's name), or who claims to be the father of the unborn child, is notified that _________________________ (birth mother's na...

...(A) A notice served in accordance with section 3107.067 of the Revised Code on a putative father who is a resident of Ohio is valid regardless of whether the notice is served within or outside Ohio. (B) A notice served in accordance with section 3107.067 of the Revised Code outside Ohio on a putative father who is not a resident of Ohio is valid if the child was conceived: (1) In Ohio; or (2) Outside Ohio, if the ...

...(A) The required consent to adoption may be executed at any time after seventy-two hours after the birth of a minor, and shall be executed in the following manner: (1) If by the person to be adopted, whether a minor or an adult, in the presence of the court; (2) If by a parent of the person to be adopted, in accordance with section 3107.081 of the Revised Code; (3) If by an agency, by the executive head or o...

...Not less than seventy-two hours prior to the date a parent executes consent to the adoption of the parent's child under section 3107.081 of the Revised Code, an assessor shall meet in person with the parent and do both of the following unless the child is to be adopted by a stepparent, adult sibling, or grandparent or the parent resides in another state: (A) Provide the parent with a copy of the written materials ...

...(A) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, an assessor shall conduct a prefinalization assessment of a minor and petitioner before a court issues a final decree of adoption or finalizes an interlocutory order of adoption for the minor. On completion of the assessment, the assessor shall prepare a written report of the assessment and provide a copy of the report to the court before which the adoption peti...

...(A) As used in this section, "the least detrimental available alternative" means the alternative that would have the least long-term negative impact on the child. (B) When a court makes a determination in a contested adoption concerning the best interest of a child, the court shall consider all relevant factors including, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) The least detrimental available alternative fo...

...(A) As used in this section, "adoption file" means a file maintained by the department of health under sections 3107.12 to 3107.124 of the Revised Code. (B) An adopted person may request that the department of health disclose to the adopted person which court entered the interlocutory order or final decree of adoption regarding the adopted person if the adopted person seeks to do either or both of the followi...