Parental Relocation in Ohio Custody Cases - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

Parental Relocation in Ohio Custody Cases

A proposed move does not automatically end an Ohio custody order or authorize a new parenting schedule. Relocation raises several separate questions: what notice must be filed, whether the existing order restricts the move, whether the child’s schedule needs revision, and which court has authority if another state is involved. Review those questions before treating …

Filing for Divorce in Montgomery County: First Steps - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

Filing for Divorce in Montgomery County: First Steps

Starting a divorce in Montgomery County involves more than submitting a complaint. First confirm Ohio residency and the proper county, choose the correct forms, identify any immediate relief needed, and arrange legally valid service. A nearby courthouse is not necessarily the correct court for every family. This guide covers opening the case. The firm’s Dayton …

What to Do When Parenting Time Keeps Getting Missed - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

What to Do When Parenting Time Keeps Getting Missed

When court-ordered parenting time is repeatedly missed, start with the exact order and the reason the time did not occur. An ambiguous holiday provision, an agreed cancellation, and a refusal to follow a clear exchange requirement are different problems. Enforcement asks the court to address noncompliance with an existing order; it does not automatically replace …

Dissolution vs Divorce in Ohio: The Practical Difference - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

Dissolution vs Divorce in Ohio: The Practical Difference

Both divorce and dissolution can legally end a marriage in Ohio. The central difference is when the spouses must reach agreement. Dissolution requires a complete agreement submitted with a joint petition; divorce allows one spouse to file while issues remain disputed and lets the court resolve what the parties cannot settle. The right question is …

Child Support Modification in Ohio: What Has to Change - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

Child Support Modification in Ohio: What Has to Change

A raise, layoff, or increase in childcare costs does not automatically rewrite an Ohio child support order. A parent must use the appropriate review or court process, and the existing obligation remains in effect unless it is changed through that process. A review can produce an increase, a decrease, or no change. The first question …

Contested Divorce in Montgomery County: Key Stages - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

Contested Divorce in Montgomery County: Key Stages

A contested divorce means one or more issues remain disputed. It does not mean every issue must be tried, or that the case follows a fixed number of months. After filing, the work generally moves through service and responses, interim arrangements, information exchange, settlement efforts, and a hearing on anything unresolved. This guide addresses the …

When Child Custody Orders Can Be Changed in Ohio - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

When Child Custody Orders Can Be Changed in Ohio

An Ohio custody order can be changed, but the legal test depends on what the requested change actually does. Replacing the residential parent, adjusting terms of a shared-parenting plan, and ending shared parenting are not governed by one interchangeable rule. A parenting-time dispute or child-support change may require a different request altogether. Begin with the …

Uncontested Divorce in Dayton: When It Works and When It Does Not - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

Uncontested Divorce in Dayton: When It Works and When It Does Not

An uncontested divorce is a divorce case that proceeds without issues being contested at the final hearing. It may result from a negotiated settlement, or a case may proceed without the other spouse participating after proper service. Those situations are not equivalent: nonparticipation is not a signed agreement to the requested terms. Ohio dissolution is …

Parenting Time Schedules in Ohio: Common Problems and Fixes - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

Parenting Time Schedules in Ohio: Common Problems and Fixes

A workable parenting-time schedule answers who has the child, when the exchange happens, and what controls when two parts of the calendar conflict. In Ohio, a local standard schedule can provide a starting point, but the order entered in your case is the document to follow. Shared parenting does not automatically mean alternating weeks or …

What Costs to Plan for in a Dayton Divorce - Dean Hines Lawyer featured image

What Costs to Plan for in a Dayton Divorce

A divorce budget has more than one component: money paid to the court, fees for legal work, possible professional expenses, and the cost of running separate households. A filing deposit is not the total price of a divorce, and an attorney’s initial deposit is not necessarily a fixed fee. The most useful estimate identifies the …