At the Rufo Law Firm, we want to make sure you are getting exactly the kind of legal representation you are looking for.
Below we've outlined common areas of cases and questions in Family Law, Criminal Law and Business Law. We hope these introductions will help address your initial questions.
For more information or to schedule an appointment to talk about your specific legal case or question, email Attorney Gregory J. Rufo at
grufolaw@yahoo.com or call us at 330-456-8389.
Family Law Dissolution A dissolution, or ?no fault? divorce, is the legal process of ending a marriage by which each party petitions the court to end the marital relationship. Each petition must include an attached Separation Agreement which outlines the division of all property, allocation of parental responsibility, child support and spousal support. Between 30 and 90 days after the filing of the petition and Separation Agreement, both parties will appear in court for a final hearing, at which the judge will inquire into the Separation Agreement and the intent of the parties. A dissolution will only be granted if both parties agree that the Separation Agreement is satisfactory. If the parties disagree with the terms of the Separation Agreement, a dissolution will be denied, and a divorce action should be initiated.
Divorce If the parties cannot agree on all the issues in the termination of the marriage, they will enter into a divorce proceeding, by which the legal separation of the spouses is determined by court judgment or decree. In Ohio, the souse filing for divorce must have been a resident of Ohio for at least six months and a resident of the county in which they file for at least ninety days prior to filing. A divorce can only be granted if the court finds that there are certain grounds for divorce. Grounds for divorce include adultery, imprisonment, willful desertion for a year, cruel and inhuman treatment, bigamy, fraud, neglect, incompatibility or living apart for a year. In terminating the marital relationship, the court must also decide the following issues: distribution of property and assets, division of marital debt and financial resources, spousal support, alimony, child support, and child custody
Property Distribution in Divorce
Divorce in Ohio is governed by ?equitable division,? meaning that each spouse retains his or her separate property acquired prior to or during the marriage. For property acquired jointly during the marriage there is an equitable division. That division is determined by a combination of factors, such as: the financial resources of each spouse, the desire to retain an asset intact, tax ramifications of the division, the cost of sale of any asset, the liquidity of the property, the duration of the marriage, and any division already determined under a valid separation agreement.
Spousal Support/Alimony
Alimony is a payment made to or for a former spouse under a divorce or a separation agreement. The purpose of alimony is to provide sustenance payments to the spouse who can demonstrate need. As such, spousal support payments vary depending on the court?s consideration of the following factors: whether the spouse seeking support is the custodian of a child whose circumstances make it appropriate for that spouse not to seek outside employment; the earning ability of both spouses; the income of both spouses; the division of marital property apportioned to each spouse; the ability of each spouse to meet his or her needs independently; the contribution of each spouse to the education, earning ability and career-building of the other spouse; age and health of each spouse; the assets and liabilities of each spouse; the standard of living during the marriage; any pension or retirement benefits of each spouse; the duration of the marriage; the tax consequences of the award; and any other relevant factor. Spousal support can be ordered for either the husband or the wife.
Child Custody and Parental Rights
Ohio law presumes that it is in the best interest of the child that both parents be given equal rights and responsibilities for the care of the child. Shared parenting or sole child custody may therefore be awarded according to the best interests of the child. The best interests of the child are determined by consideration of the preference of the child; the child?s adjustment to his or her home, school and community; the mental and physical health of all involved individuals; relationship of the child to parents and other significant family members; whether a parent has willfully denied visitation to the other parent; failure to make child support payments to any child; if a parent is living outside of Ohio; the ability of the parents to cooperate and make joint decisions; history of abuse; parent?s ability to encourage love and contact between the child and the other parent; the recommendation of any guardian ad litem, and any other relevant factors.
Child Support
Child support is the financial support paid by a parent to help support a child or children with whom that parent is not living. Child support can be entered into voluntarily or ordered by a court. Either or both parents may be ordered to pay child support. Child support payments are usually ordered in periodic payments. In addition to monetary payments, the court may order the non-custodial parent to provide support in additional ways such as requiring the parent to provide health care insurance for the child, payment of medical, dental or special education expenses. The court awards child support payments based on official state guidelines and a consideration of several factors including: special or unusual needs of a child; obligations for other minor or handicapped children; other court-ordered payments; extended visitation or extraordinary costs for visitation; disparity in income between the parents? households; benefits received from remarriage; amount of taxes paid by each parent; standard of living and circumstances of each parent and the standard or living the child would have enjoyed if the marriage had not been dissolved; physical and emotional needs of the child; the medical and educational needs of the child; the financial resources, needs and obligations of both parents; the age of the child; the responsibility of each parent for the support of others and any other relevant factor.