Why A Divorce Lawyer Is Important

In the beginning, divorce is an adversarial type of proceeding in which the parties are legally terminating their marriage.

If you have been served with divorce papers or you want to file for divorce, then a Cleveland divorce lawyer can help with all the legal issues.

It is important that you bring all of your financial papers showing what property you own, how you own it, and how much debt is owed.

Terminating a marriage by divorce can also involve:

Determining who a minor child will live with and where that minor child will live after the divorce
The parents’ involvement in decision making for the children
Who will pay and the amount of child support
The child’s medical insurance
Who gets to use the dependency exemption for taxes

At any time after the filing of a divorce in Cleveland, the parties may settle the case. This saves you money. Settling a divorce may require the parties to write a proposed order which the court will review and approve.

A divorce may be granted on the following grounds:

Either party had a husband or wife living at the time of the current marriage from which divorce is sought
Willful absence of the husband or wife for one year
Adultery
Extreme cruelty
Fraudulent contract
Any gross neglect of duty
Habitual drunkenness
Imprisonment of the husband in a state or federal correctional institution at the time of filing the divorce
A prior divorce outside Ohio by the husband or wife and procurement of a divorce outside this state, by a husband or wife, by virtue of which the party who procured it is obligations remain binding upon the other party
On the application of either party, when husband and wife have lived separate and apart without cohabitation and without interruption for one year
Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

If you and your spouse are in an adversarial divorce proceeding and cannot agree with each other, the process of getting to settlement or a final hearing could take one to two years and possibly even longer depending on the issues involved.

Settlement, reconciliation and agreement is always emphasized, if possible. It is typically in everyone’s best interest to work together.