When you and your spouse got married, you joined your lives personally and financially. Separating your lives through divorce also involves separating your finances. The division of assets and debts is often one of the most consequential aspects of the divorce process. The fewer assets and liabilities a couple has, the simpler this process typically is. Complex assets and investments or a high net worth will greatly complicate asset division during a divorce. If you have a complicated financial situation and you plan to end your marriage, working with a skilled divorce lawyer is highly recommended.

Marital and Separate Property that Has Been Commingled  

Ohio is an “equitable division” state, which means that marital property is divided fairly between the spouses based on factors including each spouse’s property, debts, and earning potential, the duration of the marriage, and tax consequences. Only property contained within the marital estate is divided by Ohio courts in a divorce. Property that is classified as “separate property” is assigned to the spouse who originally owned the asset. Marital property is the property that was acquired during the marriage. Separate property includes property acquired before the marriage, inheritance, passive income from separate property, and property acquired after a legal separation.

There is no doubt that 2020 was a challenging year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Although many are looking forward to a new year, it is important to understand any new laws that are taking effect in 2021, especially if you are a gun owner. People who live in Ohio can now apply for and renew their concealed carry permits at any sheriff’s office in the state. Previously, residents could only apply for or renew their permits from the county in which they lived or a neighboring county. The new law also extends all expiration dates through June 30, 2021. In addition, if a license expires between April 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, the license is further extended an additional 90 days past the expiration date. Ohio gun laws can be detailed and complex, causing someone to unintentionally violate them, which can lead to serious criminal charges. 

Understanding Ohio Gun Laws

According to Ohio law, citizens are allowed to openly carry weapons without a permit. However, a license for carrying a concealed weapon (CCW) allows a person to conceal firearms, under certain regulations that are designed with the safety of the gun owner, police, and the public in mind. When applying for a CCW, you must be 21 years older or older, and either reside or work in the state of Ohio. You must demonstrate that you are competent to use a weapon, and you will be fingerprinted and undergo a background check.

When you get married, you and your spouse will not only be making the commitment to spend your lives together, but you will be entering into a legal partnership that affects the income you earn, the property you own, and much more. This means that if your relationship breaks down in the future, and you decide to get a divorce, you will need to address multiple types of financial and legal issues, including dividing the marital property you own together. Even though you probably do not want to think about the possibility of divorce when you are planning to begin your new life as a married couple, considering these issues can help you avoid difficulty and uncertainty in the future. By creating a prenuptial agreement, you can make decisions about these financial issues and provide yourself with protection if your Ohio marriage does not last.

Situations Where a Prenup Can Be Beneficial

A prenuptial agreement (prenup) will typically involve financial issues related to property, debts, income, and financial support. It may make decisions about how a couple’s property will be divided in the event of a divorce, or it may state that certain assets are considered marital property, while other assets are separate property that will be owned by one spouse. A prenup can also decide whether one spouse will pay spousal support to the other in the event of a separation or divorce, as well as the amount of these payments and how long they will last.

The holiday season is usually a period when families get together, and people often enjoy some much-needed time off of work as they celebrate traditions and prepare for the year to come. Nothing can destroy the holiday spirit like a serious injury, but unfortunately, the risks of being involved in a car accident may be higher during this time due to increased rates of drunk driving.

Alcohol consumption often increases during the month of December as people get together for holiday parties, and this leads more people to drink and drive. Across the United States, more than 300 people are killed in drunk driving crashes each year in the period between Christmas and New Year’s Day. This trend also affects people in Ohio, where approximately 1,000 drunk-driving-related accidents occur every year in December. 

Even though it can be difficult to contemplate the possibility of death, it is important for everyone to consider what they want to happen when they reach the end of their life. This has become especially clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, since the spread of this disease has forced many people to make decisions about the types of care they would want to receive if they are on a ventilator, in a coma, or unable to make their own decisions or communicate their wishes. As part of the estate planning process, it is a good idea to create advance medical directives that address the types of medical care a person wishes to receive and the measures to be taken if he or she becomes incapacitated. These directives may include a living will and durable power of attorney for healthcare.

Making Decisions About Medical Care

While advance medical directives can address what a person wants to happen near the end of his or her life, they can also be used in situations where a person is incapacitated and cannot make his or her wishes known. By considering these issues while a person is still in good health and able to make decisions for himself or herself, family members can avoid being placed in a difficult position if the unexpected should happen.

Alleged criminal acts are taken seriously in the state of Ohio. Offenses that are committed by an individual who is under the age of 18 are typically handled through Ohio’s juvenile justice system. In addition to the right to legal counsel in juvenile court proceedings, as guaranteed by the United States Constitution, these cases often have their own statutory provisions that expand upon that right. However, there are certain crimes that may result in a minor being charged as an adult. Therefore, if your minor child is facing charges in Ohio, it is imperative that you hire a diligent criminal defense attorney to protect your son or daughter’s rights and help them avoid a permanent criminal record.  

Penalties for Juvenile Offenses

Minors who are convicted of criminal offenses are considered delinquent. In these cases, a judge will hold a dispositional hearing to determine the appropriate sentence for a juvenile offender. Depending on the circumstances of the offense, Ohio issues various punishments for juvenile offenders, including but not limited to the following:

• Community service

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While the overall divorce rate in the United States has declined over the past few decades, it has actually increased for one demographic: people over the age of 50. In these cases, which are commonly known as “gray divorces,” there is a wide variety of complex issues that spouses will need to consider as they legally dissolve their marriage, including determining how to divide marital property. This can be a major concern for those who are close to retirement age or who have already retired since they will need to determine how to maintain financial stability so they can support themselves once their divorce is complete. However, no matter your age, retirement savings and benefits are an important issue to address during the property division process in Ohio.

Dividing Retirement Accounts and Pension Benefits

Marital assets include any money or property earned or acquired by either spouse after they were married and before they were legally separated, and these assets must be divided as equally as possible between spouses during an Ohio divorce. If a retirement account such as a 401(k) or IRA was created during a couple’s marriage, or if contributions were made to an account while the spouses were married, this account will typically be considered marital property. Likewise, if a spouse worked in a pension-eligible position while married, his or her pension benefits will be subject to division between the spouses.

Being stuck driving next to a large, commercial truck is often inevitable when you are navigating Ohio highways. These massive vehicles’ integral role in shipping and distributing goods can make it feel as if they own the roads. This can be intimidating as a passenger vehicle driver -- not only can you not see around the truck, but you may see the large vehicles drifting between lanes from time to time, placing the other drivers and passengers at risk of an accident. 

One common accident that involves commercial truckers is known as a rollover accident. If you have ever seen a truck flipped over on the side of the highway, you have witnessed the aftermath of these catastrophic events. Rollover accidents are especially dangerous because the commercial truck can hit a number of other cars in the process. In some instances, these trucks can roll in the middle of the highway, hitting other vehicles and blocking the roadway, while in other cases, the trucks may roll off the side of the highway. Any drivers and passengers who get injured in truck accidents can file a personal injury claim to receive compensation for their injuries. Depending on the cause of the accident, one or more parties may be held liable for your injuries.

As soon as you are arrested, a permanent stain will appear on your criminal record. This is true even if the arrest does not amount to a criminal charge or conviction. Unfortunately, your criminal record can largely influence your future in terms of educational and professional opportunities since the information on this record may automatically disqualify you for certain jobs. The state of Ohio has recognized the damaging effects that this societal stigma can have on those who have paid for their crimes and are trying to move forward with their lives. In order to give these individuals a second chance, Ohio legislation allows individuals with a criminal record to apply to seal their records. Since gaining the approval to seal your criminal record can be life-changing, it is important to see if you are eligible and to work with an experienced criminal defense attorney for help in completing the process.

What Does Record Sealing Do?

When you go to a job interview or apply for college, you have likely seen the “Have you committed a crime?” checkbox. For those who have never been arrested or convicted of a crime, this may not appear daunting. However, this little box can disqualify those with a criminal background from being considered for these opportunities. The state does not allow for the complete destruction of these records, but there is a way to secure these records from public review. When a record is sealed, any paper and electronic records of your arrest and criminal charges are filed in a separate and secure location. These records can still be accessed by a number of individuals, including the following:

It can be uncomfortable to imagine what life will be like when you are gone. You may be imagining your spouse lonely or moving on or you may picture your kids continuing to grow up without you there. While you may not be able to control what happens to your loved ones after you pass away, you are able to determine how you would like your assets dealt with upon your death. This may include your finances, property, or other valuable belongings that you would like to control whose hands they fall into. There are two types of legal documents that designate how your affairs will be handled after your passing, and deciding which works for you is an important step in the Ohio estate planning process.

What Is a Will?

A will is a legal document that allows you to outline where your assets will be distributed and how you would like your affairs handled upon your death. You will list out your various assets and name the person who will receive this asset. This will include your home, vehicle, any owned property as well as your financial savings. For those with children who are minors, creating a will is especially important. It will allow you to name their legal guardians in the instance of your death. This can be a difficult decision to make, imagining who will care for your kids in your absence, but this will keep your children from being placed with family members who you think may be unfit to care for them. You can also divide up your estate between your children within your will, or even remove a child or spouse from being a beneficiary if you wish.

The divorce process includes a number of different areas that must be addressed before your marriage can be legally dissolved. This includes the division of assets, spousal support (alimony) determinations, and perhaps most importantly, drafting a parenting plan for your children. Building a parenting plan and creating “rules” for you and your former spouse can feel uncomfortable, and you may need to resolve a variety of disagreements. It is likely that you each have slightly different parenting styles and differing opinions on how to handle situations that come up involving your children. These discrepancies can be easier to discuss and manage as a married couple, but they may not be so easy to address and resolve once the divorce papers are signed. During your divorce, you will need to formulate a legal parenting plan that addresses how you and your co-parent will deal with child-related situations, work together to raise your children, and resolve any disagreements that may arise.

Specific Issues to Address

A typical parenting plan will include larger details, such as the parenting time (visitation) schedule and each parent’s rights and responsibilities for making decisions about how children will be raised, but it will also hammer out minor details. Below are some of the issues that the Ohio family court system allows you to address to make sure that your parenting plan fits your family’s needs:

As is the case with most emergency situations, getting into an auto accident can be traumatic. From the instant you feel the impact of the collision, it may seem like everything goes by in a blur. No one anticipates being injured in a crash when they hop in their car to go to work or the grocery store. However, it is a good idea to have a checklist in the back of your mind in case you ever find yourself in this situation. In many cases, car accidents can result in serious or even fatal injuries. If you fail to take the proper measures on the scene, you could jeopardize your ability to receive the compensation that you deserve. The actions you take at the scene of the accident can influence how plausible your case is to the court. That is why hiring an experienced attorney is crucial when filing a personal injury claim. By following the below steps, you can increase your chances of seeking damages.

Check for Injuries

Before making any movement, it is imperative that you check yourself for injuries and ask your other passengers about any pain they may be experiencing. Evaluating your health and safety is important, because the adrenaline from the collision can cause you to disregard serious injuries and risk worsening them. Once you have checked your own health and looked for any obvious wounds, you can proceed to evaluate the rest of the situation. If possible, you should move your car to the side of the road or to a safe area to avoid further damage from other vehicles.

The divorce process involves a variety of decision-making steps, all of which are meant to be permanent. In certain cases, you may be able to decide how to divide your assets, when you will spend time with your children, and how much (if any) you or your spouse will receive in financial support. The permanence of these decisions can add another layer of stress onto each prospective ex-spouse. You may be thinking, "How can I make decisions for my future when I do not even know what it will look like?" Although a divorce decree is meant to be permanent, there is some leeway. The terms of your divorce may be modified, if necessary, with the help of a skilled attorney.

Post-Divorce Modifications

Changes made after the completion of a divorce are typically tied to finances or parenting issues. Spousal maintenance is determined by comparing both spouses’ incomes and factoring in your lifestyles. In some cases, you or your ex-spouse could endure a large pay cut or lose your job, possibly warranting an increase or decrease in the amount of spousal support payments. Similarly, if one of you receives a raise or gets a job after being unemployed, the amount of spousal support could be adjusted, or it could be terminated altogether. Because finances and income can change greatly throughout your life, it is important to understand that the number you decide on in court is not set in stone if there is a significant change in circumstances.

With weather that fluctuates daily in Ohio and surrounding states, it can be difficult to become accustomed to driving on icy roads. As a result, car accidents with minor to serious injuries can occur frequently. Winter may come around every year, but that does not mean that everyone on the road is prepared to battle the weather while behind the wheel. Sometimes, the “problem driver” is not you, but the negligent motorist next to you on the road. While you cannot control the weather or everyone else around you, it is important to be aware of how the reckless actions of drivers around you can cause an accident. These may include:

Failure to Perform Required Maintenance

Before the winter season begins, drivers are responsible for making sure their cars are prepared for the winter weather. Testing a car's battery is an important step to take, since battery power decreases as the temperature drops, making it fairly common to have a dead battery in the middle of winter. Tire pressure also drops in low temperatures, and checking tires regularly can keep motorists from experiencing a blown-out tire or sliding on the streets. Not using wiper fluid that is rated for 30 degrees below zero to avoid frozen liquid on the windshield can impair a driver’s ability to see clearly.

Being Unprepared Before Getting Behind the Wheel

Unfortunately, driving in the winter can be a more complex process than driving during warmer weather. With snow and ice building up on a car’s windshield, all drivers should perform a quick check before getting on the road. Warming up the car for a few minutes before driving is a good way to make sure that everything is in proper working order. Drivers who do not take the time to remove dirt, snow, and ice from mirrors, windows, and assistive-driving features like rear back-up cameras can put themselves and others at risk. Many motorists may forget to clear the cameras but still rely on them for parking, which places them in a dangerous situation since they cannot see their surroundings. 

When a woman gives birth to a child, she is obviously the biological mother of that child. She does not need to take any additional steps to become the child's legal parent. When a married couple has a child, the husband is automatically assumed to be the father. However, when an unmarried couple has a child, the father will need to take certain steps to declare himself as the child’s legal parent. There are several ways you can establish paternity in Ohio. Read on to learn more and the benefits it can provide for both the father and his child.

The Importance of Establishing Parentage of a Baby

In the state of Ohio, there are several individuals who can bring an action to establish paternity. The child’s mother or father can establish paternity, or the Child Support Enforcement Agency or a representative of the child can do so. Once paternity has been formally established, the mother will be able to start collecting child support. Establishing paternity is also necessary for the child to receive health insurance coverage, social security or veteran’s benefits, or an inheritance from the father. Most importantly, establishing the legal relationship between a father and his child can encourage the father to become more involved in his child’s upbringing.

Dividing marital property and assets can be one of the most contentious parts of divorce proceedings. Some divorcing couples can agree on how to divide their assets, while others argue over every decision made during the property division process. Seeing the life that you built with your former spouse be split up between the two of you can be difficult. Deciding who gets to keep the marital home can be a tough task, both emotionally and financially. It is often assumed that one spouse will take the house while the other party finds another place to live. This may be one of the most common arrangements, but there are various ways that an experienced divorce attorney can work with both spouses to find a solution that benefits everyone.

What Are My Options?

There are three basic ways that the marital home can be evenly “divided” between spouses in an Ohio divorce. These decisions can vary depending on the spouses’ emotional connection to the home, their financial investment in the house, and whether or not they wish to raise their children there. The means by which the house will be divided can be determined by the divorcing couple, with the help of their attorneys, to ensure that the arrangement is fair for both sides. The arrangements may include:

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is illegal in every state. If a motorist chooses to get behind the wheel after consuming a few drinks, he or she endangers the lives of everyone on the road. In Ohio, this offense is referred to as operating a vehicle impaired (OVI). If you are over 21 years of age, and your blood alcohol content (BAC) is .08 percent or higher, you are considered to be impaired. The penalties for this offense can vary from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the circumstances. It is imperative to know the consequences and your rights regarding such charges if you ever find yourself arrested for OVI.  

Ohio OVI Laws

Ohio law removed the requirement that a vehicle must be “motorized” in order for the operator to be charged with OVI. It is now a crime in Ohio to operate almost any type of vehicle while impaired. This includes not only motor vehicles such as cars, trucks, or motorcycles, but also bicycles, scooters, and even horse-drawn carriages. In addition, under Ohio law, it is a criminal offense to refuse to submit to field sobriety testing once arrested for OVI.

You may be surprised to learn that the Holmes-Rahe Stress Inventory considers divorce the second-most stressful life event that a person can experience. Disagreements regarding property division, child custody, child support, and spousal support can be especially burdensome. If you are planning to divorce, you should know that there are ways you can mitigate the stress and complication of ending your marriage. Avoiding the following mistakes is one of the easiest ways to do so.

Financial Short-Sightedness

Understandably, many people getting divorced are more focused on the personal effects of the split rather than the financial implications. However, divorce will have a major impact on your finances, making it crucial to be educated about your options. Avoid the mistake of only considering the short-term consequences of your financial decisions during divorce. For example, many people wish to retain the family home because of its personal significance to them. However, keeping a home which has an expensive mortgage or requires high maintenance costs may be too much for a recently-divorced person to manage on their own.  

Retaliatory Actions Against Your Spouse

It is safe to assume that most divorces involve a certain degree of hostility. Many divorces are the result of an affair, lies about finances, drug/alcohol addictions, or simply the breakdown of a relationship. It is completely understandable for those in the middle of a divorce to experience a wide range of emotions. However, taking retaliatory action against your spouse will only create further complications. Purposely doing things to upset or harm your spouse can affect decisions about property division, child custody, and many other aspects of your divorce.

When an injury-causing accident happens, there is often more than one reason the accident occurred. For example, a car accident may be caused by a combination of poor weather, intoxicated driving, and a traffic violation like speeding. 

When an injured person brings a personal injury lawsuit against another party, the court must consider all of the factors that led up to the accident, and many personal injury cases involve more than one party who acted negligently. In some cases, the person bringing the personal injury claim was in some way partly to blame for the accident. In situations like these, comparative negligence laws dictate the amount of damages a partially at-fault claimant can pursue.

Ohio Comparative Negligence Laws

Comparative negligence, sometimes called comparative fault, is a legal concept that dictates how damages are reduced when a claimant’s negligence contributed to their accident. Different states have different laws regarding comparative negligence. In some states, a claimant cannot pursue any damages through a personal injury lawsuit if he or she was even slightly at fault for the injury-causing accident. Fortunately, Ohio courts follow a shared negligence model called “modified comparative fault.” In Ohio, a claimant is still allowed to pursue compensation for their damages as long as they are less than 51 percent at fault for the accident. Put another way, the claimant can still bring a personal injury lawsuit as long as they were not more at fault than the defendant.

The decision to end a marriage is not easy, especially if the couple was married for a long time. One of the factors that concerns many people about getting a divorce is the financial aspect. The thought of how to divide assets or the loss of one whole income can be daunting. In some cases, one spouse may have earned significantly less than the other spouse did or even gave up his or her career to raise a child. In many states, such as Ohio, an award of “alimony” or now called “spousal support” may allow the spouse with the lower income to maintain his or her standard of living after the divorce. But, what happens to those support payments if one of the ex-spouses remarries?  

Determining Spousal Support in Ohio

In the state of Ohio, the court may order temporary spousal support during the divorce proceedings since some divorces can take a long time. Permanent spousal support payments may then be ordered once the divorce is final. While some states have guidelines for calculating the amount and duration of spousal support payments, Ohio divorce law leaves these decisions up to the court’s discretion. A judge must consider several factors when deciding whether or not to award spousal support payments.

Some of the issues the court will review include: