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Shared Parenting Ohio
Q. What is Ohio shared parenting?
Ohio shared parenting is similar to what other states refer to as joint custody, joint legal custody or joint physical custody. When an Ohio family court enters a Shared Parenting Decree and approves a Shared Parenting Plan, both parents have the legal status of being a “residential parent”.
Q. What is the difference between Ohio shared parenting and Ohio sole custody?
When an Ohio family court enters a Shared Parenting Decree and adopts a Shared Parenting Plan, both parents have the legal status of being a residential parent. When only one parent is the residential parent, the other parent may be awarded parenting time, but does not have the legal status of being a residential parent. In this example, the residential parent has what used to be called sole custody (now called the “residential parent and legal custodian of the child.)” The parent who has parenting time only may have less authority to participate in major decisions effecting the child.
Q. Do both parties have to request Shared Parenting for an Ohio family court to order Shared Parenting?
No. At least one party must file a motion requesting the Court enter a Shared Parenting Decree, and at least one party must file a Shared Parenting Plan for the Court’s approval. In addition, the court must review the Shared Parenting Plan and find that the plan is in the best interest of the children.
Q. If the Ohio family court awards Shared Parenting, does that mean that time with the child will be split 50/50?
No. The division of parenting time can be any division of parenting time that the parties propose and the Court approves. However, when determining an appropriate division of parenting time, it is important to consider the impact of the plan upon the child. A parenting plan that has the children in a different
home every night and living out of a suitcase is unlikely to be approved by a Court. A better approach is a shared parenting plan that maximizes time with each parent and provides stability and predictability for the children.
Q. If the Ohio family court awards Shared Parenting, does that automatically mean that neither party pays child support?
No. The same child support worksheet is used to calculate support for sole custody and shared parenting cases. However, if the parties agree to lower child support, and the court approves lower child support, and finds it to be in the best interest of the children, child support may be lower than ohio child support guidelines.
Q. How does the Ohio court decide whether shared parenting is in the best interest of the children?
Ohio law states when determining whether shared parenting is in the best interest of the children, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including, but not limited to, the factors stated in Ohio Revised Code section 3109.04(F)(1) (See Frequently Asked Questions - Best Interest of the Children), the factors stated in Ohio Revised Code section 3119.23 (factors relevant to granting a child support guidelines deviation), of the Revised Code, and all of the following factors:
- The ability of the parents to cooperate and make decisions jointly, with respect to the children;
- The ability of each parent to encourage the sharing of love, affection, and contact between the child and the other parent;
- Any history of, or potential for, child abuse, spouse abuse, other domestic violence, or parental kidnapping by either parent;
- The geographic proximity of the parents to each other, as the proximity relates to the practical considerations of shared parenting;
- The recommendation of the guardian ad litem of the child, if the child has a guardian ad litem.
Ohio law also states that when a Court is allocating parental rights and responsibilities for the care of children, the Court shall not give preference to a parent because of that parent’s financial status or condition.
Additional information about shared parenting from one of our blog posts:
Shared Parenting - what is that? Shared parenting does not have a single definition. For the legal definition, click here to view a page containing questions and answers about shared parenting in Ohio. For the statutory definition, you can find it in this statute.
For the real world definition of shared parenting, shared parenting is what you make of it. Shared parenting works as well or as poorly as the parents are willing to make it work. I know, I know, you’ve probably read a lot of touchy - feely articles about shared parenting designed to make you just burst into song. Just hang on for a few more minutes - I promise to make it worth your time.
When a couple splits up, their children almost always want them to get back together. Once they realize that can’t happen, the children just want their parents to get along. No matter how much the other parent gets on your nerves - you are stuck with them. They will always be the parent of your child. If you are going to have the legal right to have shared parenting of your child, you are going to have to work to minimize conflicts with the other parent.
There are websites designed to minimize conflicts and maximize accountability. One that I really think would be monumentally helpful to many families and is certainly cheaper than a lawyer is called Our Family Wizard. Click here to look at Our Family Wizard. The page I linked to lists some of the things people most commonly fight over in both shared parenting and sole custody cases. Currently, the site costs about $100 a year. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that families that co-parent well don’t really need the site, and families that are struggling with shared parenting don’t want that level of accountability. Although the expense of the site is often given as the reason not to use the site, but a whole year of membership is cheaper than one hour of a lawyer’s time. This site, and similar sites, allow a non-confrontational medium for exchanging schedules, documents, contact information, etc. It is my understanding that the site tracks communications between the parties, document and receipt exhange, etc. No more arguing about who told whom what, and when - it’s all right there preserved in perpetuity. This is a tool that takes he said/she said out of the equation. This has the effect of encouraging everyone to be on their best behavior. It’s something to think about.
Another often overlooked resource for shared parenting is mediation. Mediation is a non-binding meeting with the other parent and a person who is trained to facilitate communication. For example, if you can’t stand to talk to each other, you can talk to the mediator who will present your concerns to the other party. A mediator will make sure each party is treated respectfully and allowed an opportunity to speak. The mediator’s job is to help the parties reach an agreement. Your attorney can accompany you to mediation if you would like, but it is often more successful if attorneys are not present. Unfortunately, some parties experience resistance when they advise the mediator that they can only come to a final decision after consulting their attorney. This may be more likely to occur with mediation which is court ordered, rather than mediation which the parents seek out on their own, but practices vary from county to county and from mediator to mediator. In Columbus, I have been impressed with the work of Community Mediation Services of Central Ohio. To find Ohio mediation services in your county, click here.
The bottom line is that shared parenting is not about a title, it is not about ownership, and it is not about child support. Shared parenting is about co-parenting. This means treating the other parent as an important part of your child’s life.
Unfortunately, some parents are or become unwilling to co-parent. When that happens, you have five choices:
- Ignore the problem
- Try to work out the problems with the other parent through discussion, mediation or perhaps even counselling (if both parties are willing)
- Return to court to enforce the shared parenting plan that you have ( contempt of court ),
- Return to court to modify the shared parenting plan that you have
- Return to court to terminate shared parenting.
Once shared parenting is put in place, Ohio courts are generally in favor of maintaining shared parenting if at all possible. If shared parenting is to be substantially changed, (either to terminate shared parenting or to change the school placement parent), Ohio courts must first find that there has been a change in circumstances. If the court finds that there has been a change in circumstances since the time of the last parenting decree, in order to terminate shared parenting or change the school placement parent, a court must ALSO find that the benefit of the change outweighs the detriment of the change. For example, if the court is going to change the school placement parent and make the child change schools, then the court will first want to know that the benefit of changing the child’s school is going to outweigh the distress of changing schools.
Shared parenting used to be much more difficult for fathers who were not married to the mother of their child to obtain. Courts are progressively moving toward the idea that a fit parent has a right to be fully involved in their child’s life.