Ohio Divorce Law Firm

Full-service family law firm in Sheffield Village

The dissolution of your marriage is an emotional and stressful event. Compassionate divorce attorney Sam R. Bradley helps ease the legal strain of divorce so you can concentrate on the health and well-being of your family.

With over 30 years of experience in family law matters, Sam R. Bradley Attorney at Law in Sheffield Village takes your individual needs into account as the firm seeks the best possible results for you regarding:

Family law mediators who encourage cooperation

Mediation gives you and your spouse the opportunity to negotiate a divorce settlement in a more amicable setting by working with a trained facilitator. The mediation process fosters cooperation between partners and produces less stress and hostility than is usually associated with litigation. Mediation often reduces the time and costs of divorce, and puts the decisions in your hands. We can help you obtain the most equitable divorce settlement, fair child support agreement, and healthy child custody arrangement.

Family law litigators by your side

Sometimes litigation is necessary to resolve your family’s disputes. Having a strong litigator by your side can alleviate the uncertainty and stress of the arduous litigation process and help you obtain the most favorable trial outcome. Through tactical trial strategies and a dynamic courtroom presence, we successfully represent clients throughout the adversarial litigation process.

What’s the difference between legal separation and dissolution?

Ohio law provides three ways for a husband and wife to end or alter their marital relationship: legal separation, divorce, and dissolution of marriage. To obtain a dissolution or divorce, you must live in Ohio for at least six months before filing. The law does not require persons seeking a legal separation to live in Ohio for any particular length of time before filing. The terms visitation and companionship once used to describe parental rights, now describe the rights of non-parents. Parenting period allocation and parenting time now refer to the time parents spend with their children.

Legal separation is a civil lawsuit that does not legally end a marriage but allows the court to issue orders concerning property division, spousal support, allocation of parental rights and responsibilities, child support and parenting time allocation for any minor children. The parties remain married but live separately. When a court grants a legal separation, each party must follow the court’s specific orders.

A dissolution of marriage is an action where the parties mutually agree to terminate their marriage. Neither party has to prove grounds to end a marriage by dissolution. This action is filed after the husband and wife have signed a separation agreement regarding all property, spousal support, and any child-related issues. After jointly filing a Petition for Dissolution, the parties must wait at least 30 days before the court will hear their case. The case must be heard within 90 days of filing. At the hearing, the court will review the separation agreement, ask about the assets and liabilities and any parenting issues, and determine whether the parties understand and are satisfied with the settlement. If the court is satisfied that the parties agree and desire to end their marriage, the court will grant a dissolution and order the separation agreement into effect.

Contact a family law attorney you can trust

Call Sam R. Bradley Attorney at Law at 440-934-2011 or toll-free at 877-310-8144, or contact us online to schedule your appointment.