A dissolution, also known as an uncontested divorce, is when both parties agree to all issues of custody, parenting time, property division, debt, and support. The vast majority of divorces in the United States resolve by agreement. In fact, most divorcing couples never see the inside of a courtroom.

A dissolution requires the filing of a Petition for Dissolution, a financial disclosure, parenting plan (if applicable), and a settlement agreement. The parenting plan is a full and complete agreement of the parties' rights and responsibilities with respect to minor children, if applicable. The settlement agreement is the document that sets forth the parties' agreement on all issues. At the conclusion of the divorce, the parenting plan and settlement agreement become enforceable court orders.

Our fee is $697 and you will also be responsible for your county’s filing fee. We charge only $697 to advise you and draft all of the necessary documents.

You will only be charged more if you request additional services, or if the court requires a hearing in your case. Additional services include the drafting of deeds, qualified orders, or an update to your will.

Each county has a fee for filing your divorce. The fee is ordinarily between $300 and $400. You will pay this fee to us and we will pay the court clerk at the time of hiring us.

Once you complete our intake process, our attorneys draft your documents within a few business days. We will file your dissolution immediately after you and your spouse sign the petition and separation agreement. Ohio law requires the court to hold a brief hearing no sooner than 30 days and no later than 90 days after your petition is filed. This applies whether or not you have minor children. Many courts schedule the hearing within 30 to 60 days of filing, though timing varies by county. The court will ordinarily sign your decree at the hearing or within a few days afterward.

Ohio law requires both spouses to appear before the court at a final hearing held 30 to 90 days after filing. This can happen through a video call depending on the county. At the hearing, each spouse acknowledges under oath that they voluntarily entered into the separation agreement and parenting plan (if applicable), that they are satisfied with its terms, and that they want the marriage dissolved. The court's role in a dissolution is to review your separation agreement and parenting plan and find that it is fair to both parties and, if you have children, in their best interest. The hearing is ordinarily short (often 15 minutes or less). Again, many Ohio courts now permit the parties to appear by video, and your attorney will advise you about your county's practice.

Once your attorney drafts all of the required documents, you will be able to sign your documents remotely, via Zoom or similar, before a Notary Public. You may also choose to sign before any notary (e.g. your bank, your office, or a nearby office supply store).

Once all of the documents are signed and filed with the court, your hearing will be scheduled, and the final decree can be submitted to the judge for his or her signature.

Most Ohio courts require parents of minor children to attend a divorce education or parenting class. The goal of the program is to help parents avoid many of the emotional and behavioral pitfalls often associated with divorce. More information about your county's program can be found here.

Getting a divorce impacts your access to your children, your money, and all of your property. For this reason, we recommend the advice and assistance of an experienced attorney. That is where we come in! Using our approach, you will understand all aspects of your separation agreement and parenting plan (if applicable), ensuring that you get exactly what you want out of your dissolution (all at a low cost)

Ohio's domestic relations courts require the filing of a Petition for Dissolution, a financial disclosure, a separation agreement, and a parenting plan. The separation agreement is the document that sets forth the parties' agreement on all issues. The parenting plan is a full and complete agreement of the parties' rights and responsibilities with respect to minor children. At the conclusion of the dissolution, the separation agreement and parenting plan become enforceable court orders.

We perform a conflict check as a first step before we are hired. We, as attorneys, have ethical obligations to our clients, former clients, and prospective clients to decline any representation that would compromise their interests. So, before we are hired, we check a database to ensure that no conflict of interest exists that would prevent our representation of you. In some cases, when a conflict of interest is found, it can be waived by written agreement.

All of our clients sign a representation agreement that defines the services we will be providing to our clients. In our dissolution cases, our clients sign our Limited Representation Agreement, which sets forth the services we do and do not provide for our low base fee. It is very important that all of our clients read and understand the representation agreement, and all are encouraged to ask our attorneys any questions they may have about the agreement.

More specifically, our Limited Representation Agreement states, among other things, that our representation of you is limited to our dissolution service. This means we will advise you, draft, and file all documents necessary to file your dissolution. However, our service does not include finding your spouse, negotiating with your spouse or their attorney, requesting documents or investigating your spouse's finances, and other services that we provide our clients as part of litigation.

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information. These measures include, but are not limited to, site-wide industry-standard security certificates, as well as server-level firewalls and disk write protection.

All information entered into our forms will be treated as confidential. We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect our or others' rights, property, or safety.

We will not provide any of your information to other parties for the purposes of marketing or advertising.

Ohio courts require that we submit documents that are complete. Filling out the Intake Questionnaire will require you to answer questions, complete detailed responses regarding assets, debts, insurance, children, etc., as well as upload appropriate documentation for you and your spouse. Completing this form will require you to communicate with your spouse to provide us with the necessary information in order to be able to draft the required documents after you have completed the Intake Questionnaire.

For example, we may ask for identifying information for both spouses. If you own a home, we will need a copy of the property deed. The Intake Questionnaire is lengthy, as the courts require a lot of information to draft your documents. Upon retaining our services, a checklist of information will be provided to assist and help prepare for completing the Intake Questionnaire as quickly and smoothly as possible. Should you not know all the required items while filling out the form, you will be able to save your progress and come back later to fill in the missing parts.

A dissolution requires that you and your spouse reach an agreement regarding custody, parenting time, property division, debt division, and support issues. If you and your spouse disagree about one or more of those broad categories, then a dissolution is not possible.

In a dissolution involving children, most parties have a functional relationship and are able to communicate. Normally, the parties agree to shared parenting and a flexible parenting time schedule. Where communication is impossible, a dissolution may not be possible.

A dissolution requires transparency by you and your spouse for property division and debt division. If your spouse refuses to inform you about their assets, a dissolution is likely not in your best interest. You cannot make an informed decision about settlement of your divorce without all necessary information. Additionally, your attorney will not be able to advise you about your rights and best interests without transparency.

There are two claims for support that can be made in a divorce: child support and spousal support (sometimes called alimony). An agreement must be reached with your spouse on these issues.

In Ohio, the child support guidelines provide a formula for calculating a child support obligation based on the parties' income, health insurance premiums for the children, and work-related childcare expenses for the children. You and your spouse must agree upon either 1) the child support amount required by the guidelines or 2) any other amount you agree upon. However, a deviation from the guidelines must be explained in your separation agreement, and the court must find that the deviation is in your children's best interest.

Regarding spousal support, there is no statutory formula. If you or your spouse require spousal support, you must agree upon 1) the monthly amount, 2) the term, and 3) whether the court will retain jurisdiction to modify the amount or term in the future.

In a contested divorce, the court would set the amount after weighing statutory factors, including the incomes, earning abilities, and reasonable monthly living expenses of both parties. So, the agreed-upon spousal support amount should be based on your and your spouse's incomes and monthly expenses after the divorce.

In summary, all issues in your divorce must be agreed upon for you to proceed with a dissolution. This requires that you know where your spouse is located and that you are able to communicate with them. If you have questions about this, give us a call.