FAMILY LAW

Before Marriage. Premarriage counseling can have important benefits. If the prospective bride and groom are both 18 or older, premarriage counseling is not mandatory. If either of the parties is under 18, Ohio law requires that the couple have premarriage counseling. Conferences with an experienced counelor can help prepare the couple to cope with the problems which arise in any marriage.

Marriage as a Three-Way Contract. When a couple exchange marriage vows they make mutual promises which constitute a binding contract. Under the law, the state is automatically a party to the contract. The state is a party because of the importance of the family, the relative inequality of power of the members of the family within the family structure, and because the ordinary methods used to enforce contracts do not work with a marriage contract.

Who May Marry. Under Ohio law unmarried men 18 or older and unmarried women 16 or older are competent (have the legal capacity) to enter into the marriage contract. If a person is under 18, the consent of his or her parents, guardian, or custodian must be obtained. Parental consent is unnecessary where the parent whose consent would be required: lives in a foreign country; has neglected or abandoned the minor who wishes to marry; is an inmate in a mental or penal institution; or has been deprived of custody of the minor by a court which had jurisdiction to make such a decision.

If a party to a marriage is already married, he or she is incompetent to enter into another marriage. A married person who knowingly enters into another marriage is a bigamist. Bigamy is a crime and the purported subsequent marriage is invalid.

The Marriage License. A marriage cannot be completed without a license obtained by making an application in the probate court.

Divorce. In Ohio, there are 11 separate grounds on which a divorce may be granted. These are: either party had a spouse living at the time of the marriage from which the divorce is sought (bigamy); willful absence of the adverse party for one year or more; adultery; incompatibility, unless denied by a spouse; extreme cruelty; fraudulent marriage contract; gross neglect of duty; habitual drunkenness; imprisonment of the adverse party in a penitentiary; procuring a divorce outside Ohio, for example, a “quickie” Mexican divorce by which the adverse party is relieved of the marriage obligations but the person remaining in Ohio is not; and living separate or apart, continuously and without cohabitation, for one year.

Dissolution of marriage is a substantial departure from the traditional concept of divorce. In essence, it is a divorce by agreement of the parties with the approval of a court. The parties do not have to allege or prove any grounds for divorce. The husband and wife must enter into a separation agreement providing, among other things, for a division of property and, if they have minor children, for child custody and support, and for visitation rights.

Annulment declares that a marriage was illegal in the first place. The grounds for annulment in Ohio are: (1) the party seeking the annulment was underage at the time of the marriage; (2) a former marriage of either party was and still is valid (bigamy); (3) either party was mentally incompetent; (4) the consent of either party to the marriage was obtained by fraud; (5) the consent of either party was obtained by force; and (6) even though the marriage was otherwise valid, the parties never consummated the marriage (engaged in sexual relations as husband and wife).

Legal Separation. When a court grants a legal separation, a couple remains legally married, but most aspects of the marital relationship are terminated. In this action, the court will settle all property rights existing between the couple, address custody issues, and may resolve all other issues relating to the marriage, including spousal support and child support issues.

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