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Current Issues in Family Law |
Domestic Violence does not automatically foreclose a parent from visitation, custody or shared parenting. The Court must still assess what is in the best interest of a child weighing safety issues with the rights of parents and a child regarding the parent child relationship.
A parent making false allegations regarding domestic violence could also hinder a custody case, and could result in the loss of custody and/or visitation. When there is domestic violence, the Juvenile Court has limited resources regarding supervised visits, and rarely is supervised visitation or the termination of visitation a final order of the Court. In Hamilton County, the Court can refer a parent to the Children's Home for up to six visits of supervision. The Court will be provided notes of the visits and can use that as part of their basis of their decision regarding visits. The cost of is $200 an hour, but depending on the parents income, parents could qualify for a scholarship. Often when supervised visits is requested, the requesting parent will need to supervise or find a third party willing to do the supervision. This may not be viable long term option. However, the First District Court of Appeals recently ruled that in limited circumstances, the Court could terminate visitation. The Court stated that "a noncustodial parent’s right of visitation with his or her children is a natural right and should be denied only under extraordinary circumstances. Extraordinary circumstances include unfitness of the noncustodial parent or a showing that visitation with the child would cause harm. Guliano v. Guliano, 11th Dist. Trumbull No. 2010-T-0031, 2011-Ohio-6853, ¶ 54. “If there is clear and convincing evidence that visitation presents a significant risk of serious emotional or physical harm to the child, or a showing of some justification for preventing visitation, the court may deny visitation.” Linde v. Linde, 1st Dist. Hamilton No. C-940944, 1996 WL 97563, *5 (Mar. 6, 1996)." Crystal Baker v. Anthony Edwards C190686. When deciding custody and visitation issues when there is domestic violence, the Court will make a determination of what is in the best interest of the child. The Ohio Supreme Court has provided guidance on what the Court should be considering.
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The Ohio Supreme Court has approved a new rule that provides guidelines and standards for courts and mental health professionals who evaluate child custody cases.
Effective Sept. 1, 2022, Rule 91 in the Rules of Superintendence for Ohio establishes requirements for custody evaluators, while providing accountability and uniformity of practice necessary to safeguard the well-being of children and families within the state’s 88 counties. A custody evaluator is an objective, impartial, qualified mental health professional appointed by the court to perform a child custody evaluation. Prior to its approval, there had been no statute or statewide court rules to specifically govern the specialty practice of child custody evaluation. Specifics of Rule 91 address how custody evaluations should be conducted and what is to be expected of an evaluator. The standardization of these experts includes necessities, such as education and licensure requirements, initial training and continuing education, evaluation components, and evaluator responsibilities and ethical considerations. From a court perspective, the rule creates judicial system requirements including how evaluators are appointed. To ensure accountability and transparency, a complaint and removal process must be created by the local court as well as provisions regarding custody evaluation reports and the ability to access them. Kinship Care Versus Foster Care
Differences in requirements for Kinship Vs. Foster Care Kinship caregivers are able to apply to become foster parents and complete the homestudy process. Kinship Foster Care Kinship caregivers undergo a “home assessment” and “approval” process. Foster parents undergo a more detailed “homestudy” and “licensure” process. As part of the home assessment process, at least one home visit is conducted prior to approval – basic safety issues are checked and the kinship caregiver’s willingness and ability to care for the child are explored. As part of the foster care licensure process, the following requirements are completed:
There are no training requirements for kinship caregivers. Kinship Caregivers are able to attend trainings after the approval process, if they want to learn more about caring for the special needs of their kin child. Foster caregivers are required to complete 36 hours of preservice training prior to licensure. They are required to complete 40-60 hours every two years to maintain their license, depending on the type of license they hold. It can take 30 days or more for the completion of the approval process. In emergency situations children can be placed with a relative quickly prior to the official approval process as long as there are no safely concerns. The foster care licensure process generally takes 3-6 months depending on agency workload and training schedules. The kinship caregiver may need to pay for required Ohio BCI and FBI background checks (about $50 total) – otherwise, there are no costs for being assessed and approved as a kinship caregiver Applicants are sometimes required to pay for their BCI and FBI background checks, fire inspection, well water test, and the amount their doctor requires (if any) to complete the medical statement for all household members. Kinship caregivers may be eligible for Ohio Works First “child-only” monthly benefits for the child. Child-only benefits are approximately $300 a month for the first child and reduced amounts for each additional child. EG. 1 child is $297, 2 children is $406, 3 children is $497, etc. Foster parents receive a daily per diem rate for each foster child placed in the home. Daily rates vary by county and agency based on the age and special needs of the child. Children who are in the custody of a PCSA and placed in a kinship home receive Medicaid. Children who receive OWF child-only benefits are also eligible for Medicaid. Children who are in the custody of a PCSA and placed in licensed foster homes receive Medicaid. A kinship home is assessed and approved for a specific child. If a kinship caregiver is approved for one child, and another child is placed at a later date, the PCSA is required to complete another home assessment that takes the new child into consideration. Foster parents receive a license to accept placement of a range of children. After the initial licensure of a foster parent, the licensing agency is required to recertify the home every two years and complete amendments whenever there is a significant change, such as a relocation or new household member.
Each Ohio county has a child protective services agency that addresses allegations of child abuse, neglect and dependency. These agencies are charged with investigating the allegations and determining their veracity. What rights do I have if a caseworker comes to my home? Unless the caseworker has a court order, you do not have to allow the caseworker into your house, permit her to talk to your children, sign releases for any of your personal information or consent to any evaluations or tests. You also have a right to have an attorney present when you talk to a caseworker. What happens if, based on the caseworker’s visit, the agency decides that my children are being neglected or abused? In such a case, the agency may either ask you to work a voluntary case plan, or may file a complaint for a shelter care hearing in juvenile court asking the state to intervene on behalf of your children. What happens if a complaint is filed against me? A hearing must be held within 72 hours after a complaint is filed. This first hearing is a called a shelter care hearing. At this hearing, the agency must prove to the court that your children should not be returned home. A Motion for Removal from Shelter Care may be filed in response. A party to the case, including a parent, legal custodian, guardian ad litem, agency or prosecutor can request a removal from shelter care hearing if (1) the child was removed from the care of a parent or legal custodian and put into placement in foster care or with a relative or other individual, AND (2) either of the following occurred: (a) they were not served or given notice of that initial Shelter Care hearing, or (2) there is a change in the situation of the child or the parent/legal custodian that would give rise to a request for the parent or legal custodian to request the child be released from shelter care and returned to them or a parent or legal custodian. If your children are found to be abused, neglected or dependent, the court will schedule a dispositional hearing where a case plan will be adopted and the temporary placement of your children will be determined. Bringing your disputes before a mediator can offer several benefits for divorcing couples. In mediation, divorcing couples may resolve any issues they would otherwise litigate, including property division, shared parenting arrangements, parenting schedules and more.
Traditional Hallmarks of Mediation are: voluntary participation, self-determination, full disclosure, and informed decision-making. Lowering conflict levels Mediation takes place in a low-key setting where the mediator facilitates constructive discussion and keeps the focus on achieving resolution. This can help communication between soon-to-be exes who may feel overwhelmed with negative emotion. In contrast to courtroom litigation, which for many people tends to escalate the conflict level, mediation can help the parties compromise. Cost-effectiveness Another benefit is the relatively low cost of this process, especially compared to a full-scale courtroom battle. Some Courts offer mediation and may be eligible low-income parties may qualify for sliding fee or no-cost services. Agreement binding with court approval Once the parties reach an agreement, their attorneys review it and present it to the court. The agreement becomes binding once the judge approves it. After that point, a party wanting to change any provision will have to formally petition the court. At any point before court approval, the parties can choose to stop mediation and go back to court. Mediation when there is Domestic or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Usually there is a screening to identify IPV and whether mediation is appropriate. When IPV has occurred, a party might be unable or unwilling to adhere to ground rules, respect the needs and interests of the other party, fully disclose relevant information, explore options, share decision-making, and commit to honoring agreements. The decisions of the parties should be the product of their own separate deliberation and judgment. When IPV is an issue, one or both parties might be subject to undue pressure, duress, threats, manipulation, or intimidation. Learn more by speaking with your attorney Your attorney can and should advise you throughout the mediation process. The mediator may not provide legal advice, so you need your lawyer to discuss the potential ramifications of any decisions you contemplate. Domestic Violence and High Conflict Cases pose additional challenges for Courts when making a determination regarding custody and visitation.
The Courts do not favor one parent over another and Domestic Violence between parents does not necessarily foreclose a parent from obtaining custody or shared parenting. The Courts will be focused on the Best Interest of the Children, based on R.C. 3109.04, which will include addressing safety issues. The Ohio Supreme Court addressed these issues in Domestic Violence & Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities. Even if the domestic violence only occurs between parents, children are negatively impacted. Witnessing domestic violence can lead children to develop an array of age-dependent negative effects. Research in this area has focused on the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional effects of domestic violence. Children who witness violence in the home and children who are abused may display many similar psychologic effects. These children are at greater risk for internalized behaviors such as anxiety and depression, and for externalized behaviors such as fighting, bullying, lying, or cheating. They also are more disobedient at home and at school, and are more likely to have social competence problems, such as poor school performance and difficulty in relationships with others. Child witnesses display inappropriate attitudes about violence as a means of resolving conflict and indicate a greater willingness to use violence themselves. The Courts recognize the importance of having both parents involved in their children’s upbringing, but it still must be found to be in the Children’s Best Interest. Traditionally, the Court would not grant Shared Parenting in High Conflict cases, but the trend has been to try and reduce the conflict between parents and not reduce parent involvement. In some cases, when parents seem unable or unwilling to co-parent, the Court will attempt to limit the parents contact to reduce conflict between the parents. In an effort to do that, one option has been to utilize parallel parenting. Parallel parenting is a technique in which divorced parents who wish to avoid contact do so by limiting their interactions. This solution works for high-conflict divorces, where parents may need some time to cool down before making amends or seeing and speaking to each other on a regular basis. This parenting style allows both parents to be involved in their child’s life without having to be involved in their ex-spouse’s life. Parallel parenting can be a way to let the dust settle before transitioning to a more interactive parenting style that allows for cooperation and communication. However, for some couples co-parenting isn’t and won’t ever be an option. Parallel Parenting can be effective utilizations supports such as:
In Ohio a shared parenting plan is governed by statute, R.C. Section 3109.04. This applies to both married and unmarried parents. The statute does not favor either parent but makes a determination based on what is in the best interest of the children. By law, the Shared Parenting Plan (SPP), must specify the visitation and holiday schedule, address religious upbringing, schools and child support. Parents are often required to include a clause that the parties must attend mediation prior to filing in court to modify the terms of the agreement. A good shared parenting plan will attempt to address issues that parents will face as the changing needs of the children. It can be hard to know what the needs will be, but the Plan should recognize that the child is going to want to spend less time with parents and more with their peer group. Often it is best to see your parenting time not as the time you spend with your child, but rather, the time you are responsible for your child, including transportation to and from school, extracurricular activities and ensuring the child is completing their schoolwork. Shared Parenting allows both parents to have an equal say in decision making. However, this can be difficult if parents are unable to communicate effectively and there is a high level of conflict. In the past, Courts were reluctant to award shared parenting when the couples could not co-parent, but there has been a recent trend to allow parents to Parallel Parent. Parallel parenting is an arrangement in which parents can co-parent by means of disengaging from each other and having limited direct contact. Though to point out, it’s really not co-parenting. Parallel Parenting often means that each parent is responsible for certain decisions since the parents have shown they cannot work together to come up with a decision and to force the parents to try and work together can have a detrimental on the child. For example, one parent may be permitted to make all medical decisions, while the other parent makes all educational decisions. The benefit is that decisions can be made in a more timely matter and reduces unnecessary conflict. In a Shared Parenting Plan, both parties have equal access to information regarding the child. However, some parents also equate Shared Parenting to equal time. This is not necessary the case, and may not be reasonable depending on where parents live in relationship to school and the parents work schedule. What happens if you want to change the terms of the agreement. Most likely you will first need to attend mediation to see if the parents can workout their disagreement. This is always the best solution, as parents will remain some control and are in the best position to know what is in their children’s best interest. If the parents cannot work out an agreement, then the parent asking to modify the Shared Parenting agreement will need to show the court there has been a change of circumstances before proceeding on the Motion to Modify. Once the Court has found there has been a change of circumstance, the Court will move to determine the best interest of the children. However, if a parent is asking to terminate the Shared Parenting Agreement, a finding of change of circumstance is not required and the court will make a decision based only on the best interest of the children. This was recently clarified by the Ohio Supreme Court in October 2020. Do you need an attorney? Probably not for Mediation, but once the matter is before the Court, parties should consider legal representation. NTo continue the discussion regarding custody and unmarried parents, often, there is a misconception that in Ohio, Mothers have superior rights over Father’s when it comes to Custody and Visitation. Mothers have sole custody until a Court determines otherwise. However, once a Father has established paternity and filed for Custody and/or parenting time, the Court does not favor one parent over another, but makes a decision based purely on the best interest of the child.
If Father files an action in Juvenile Court for visitation or Custody, Father still has no rights until there is a Court order giving him some right, even if a Father is paying child support. Child support establishes paternity, but no other rights beyond that. This can make it appear that Mothers have superior rights, but not the case once in court. Although a Mother does not have to allow visitation until ordered by the Court, an unreasonable denial of visitation could be used against the Mother. I have seen Mothers who have refused “reasonable” visitation lose custody if there was not a real safety concern, not just a difference in parenting styles or other personal issues between parents. Even domestic violence between the parents does not necessarily mean that a Court will limit Father’s contact with the child. The Court will make a determination based on what is the best interest of the child. The Court cannot consider who makes more money or has a nicer home. The Court will look at the bond parents and siblings. If a Father had not seen a child for most of the child’s life, that will be considered, but the court will want to know, why wasn’t father active in the child’s life. If Mother was the reason, this could be used against Mother. If Father just started paying child support and is trying to avoid that, the court will consider that as well. On the same note, if a parent is in arrears with child support, that is a factor, though rarely in regards to visits but as to Custody. If a parent is asking to modify a prior award of custody, the party asking for custody will need to show a change of circumstance. This is because once the court has made a decision, it is meant to be permanent in nature and should not be disturbed unless a change of circumstance showing that it is no longer in the best interest to maintain the current custody arrangement. This change of circumstance is not a change that the non-custodial parent has made. Meaning, it doesn’t matter if the non-custodial parent has turned their life around. Do parents need an attorney in custody matters? It depends. If the parties can work it out, and are willing to mediate, than they can probably resolve the matter without an attorney. However, if the matter is going to trial, legal representation would be advisable. Most pro se litigants struggle with how to get evidence before the court. This is governed by the Rules of Evidence, Local Rules of the Court, and applicable statute. The Magistrate or Judge is not going to want a parade of friends and family testifying as to the character of the parties, but will only want to hear from witnesses who have first handle knowledge about the issues before the court. Professional witnesses who are unbiased and neutral will have more value than friends and family. What the Magistrate is looking for is clear and convincing evidence of what is in the best interest off the children. You get one chance at a trial. You don’t like the Decision, you can object and/or appeal, but you will not have an opportunity to get in new evidence or redo the trail. The higher Court is only looking at the transcripts and evidence that was admitted to make their determination on whether to uphold the decision or not. This can also add additional expense, as the objecting party will need to pay for transcripts of the proceedings. And at the end of the day, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that there is a safety risk, the Court often falls back on the Local Courts Standard Order of Parenting Time. In Hamilton County that is every other weekend and one day during the week for the nonresidential parent, alternating holidays and extended parenting time between two and four weeks. When it comes down to it, unless evidence is presented to the contrary, it is in the best interest of children to have both parents active in their life. What happens when parents are not married when a child is born. Many parents are uncertain regarding custody and visitation rights.
Some Mother’s are not aware that even if Father is on the birth certificate, Father has no rights, but does have the obligation to pay child support. Meaning Father doesn’t have any visitation or decision making rights, unless he seeks it from the Juvenile Court. However, a Court could use a Mother’s refusal to allow “reasonable visitation” against Mother in a legal proceeding, if there is no basis for denying visit. To seek Custody and Visitation, a Father needs to file a Petition in Juvenile Court. Usually this is done in the County that the child is living, or the county of an existing child support order. When Father files for Custody, he can seek either Shared Parenting or Sole Custody, or he can ask for visitation only. You do not need an attorney to file the Petition, however, you will need an address to serve Mother with the Petition. What to Expect in Court Once the Petition for Custody or Visitation filed, the court will set an initial pretrial conference to serve necessary parties, and to allow parties and their attorneys to attend. The Court will determine if the necessary parties have been served, whether paternity has been established, and to address temporary orders of visitation. Depending on the situation, and if there are safety concerns, the Court may order a custody investigation through the Court, which both parties will be required to participate in. If it appears the parties may be able to work out an agreement, the Court may order the parties to participate in mediation. The parties may also ask the Court to appoint a Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) for the child(ren). The Court will order the requesting parent to pay a deposit to the Court for the GAL, but the cost of the GAL usually exceed the deposit. The GAL is appointed to make a recommendation to the Court of what is in the best interest of the children. If the parties cannot work out an agreement, the matter will be set for a trial. It could be six months before the parties get to this stage. At this stage, legal representation is encouraged. Rules of Evidence often prevent an unrepresented parent from being able to get the appropriate information before the Court. The Court is looking for what is in the best interest of the child, but most often, the Court wants both parents to be actively engaged in the child’s life. Often the Court will default to a standard parenting order if the parents cannot work out an appropriate schedule. This will not only include regular visitation, but holidays and extended parenting time during school breaks and holidays. At the end of the day, it is always better for the parents to attempt to work out an agreement instead of allowing the Court to impose their own agreement on the parties. |
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