Ohio Divorce

The judge can grant you a divorce in Ohio if you have been a resident of Ohio for at least six months before filing for divorce. The judge can also grant a divorce if your spouse files for divorce, and s/he has been a resident of Ohio for at least six months. It does not matter if your marriage or the cause of your divorce happened in Ohio or outside of Ohio.¹

¹ Ohio Rev. Code § 3105.03

Alimony, also called spousal support or maintenance, is financial support paid by or to your spouse and can be awarded on a temporary basis during the divorce and on a more permanent basis once a divorce is granted.¹ Alimony will stop if either party dies, unless the alimony order says otherwise. To decide the amount of alimony and for how long alimony will be paid, a judge will consider your and your spouse’s:

• income;
• earning capacity;
• age, physical, mental, and emotional condition;
• retirement benefits;
• length of marriage;
• ability to have a job outside of the home due to custody of a minor child from the marriage;
• standard of living during the marriage;
• education;
• assets and liabilities, including any court-ordered payments;
• contribution to the education, training, or increased earning capacity of the other spouse, including any contribution to helping the other get a professional degree;
• education, training, or job experience to get an appropriate job and the amount of time and money you (the spouse asking for support) would need to get the necessary education, training, or experience;
• tax consequences; and
• lost income or earning capacity because of marital responsibilities, such as staying at home or caring for minor children.²

Note: The judge can also consider any other factors that the judge thinks are important to make a decision.²

The judge will assume that both you and your spouse contributed the same amount to any marital income.³

¹ Ohio Rev. Code § 3105.18(B)
² Ohio Rev. Code § 3105.18(C)(1)
³ Ohio Rev. Code § 3105.18(C)(2)

While divorce laws vary by state, here are the basic steps that a person may have to follow to obtain a divorce:

• First, you or your spouse must meet the residency requirements of the state you want to file in.
• Second, you must have “grounds” (a legally acceptable reason) to end your marriage.
• Third, you must file divorce papers and have copies sent to your spouse. (To learn more about filing a summons, preparing a petition, and service of process, go to the Starting the Court Case page in our Preparing for Court - By Yourself section.)
• Fourth, if your spouse disagrees with anything in the divorce papers, then s/he will have the opportunity to file papers telling her/his side.  In his/her response, the other party may express his/her opinion challenging the divorce, asking that it be granted under different grounds or letting the judge know that s/he agrees to the divorce.  If your spouse contests the divorce, then you may have a series of court appearances to sort the issues out.  Also, if a certain period of time passes and your spouse does not sign the papers or file any papers of his/her own, you may be able to proceed with the divorce as an uncontested divorce anyway.  (Speak to a lawyer in your state about how long you have to wait to see if your spouse answers before you can continue with the divorce.)
• Fifth, if there are property, assets, a pension, debts, or anything else that you need divided, or if you need financial support from your spouse, then these issues may have to be dealt with during the divorce or else you may lose your chance to deal with these issues.  The issues may be worked out during settlement negotiations and incorporated into the divorce decree or in a series of court hearings during the divorce.  Custody and child support may also be decided as part of your divorce.

You can find more information about service of process in our Preparing for Court – By Yourself section, in the question called What is service of process and how do I accomplish it?