Makowski Law Offices
Pamela Walker Makowski, Attorney at Law
P.O. Box 6312
Columbus, OH 43206
216-780-0105
614-245-0223 (facsimile)
- thoughtful, caring legal advice during life's most stressful times.
The separation agreement is the heart of the divorce decree. It sets forth how things will be divided, who gets what, what gets sold and even plans for dividing assets later, if appropriate. This is probably one of the most important documents you will enter into in your life. Once it is adopted by the Court, it is practically impossible to undo it. Therefore, you need to approach it thoughtfully and you should at the very least have an experienced divorce lawyer review it with you.
The options, under Ohio law, are pretty much unlimited. You can have one spouse or the other keep the house and assume the mortgage. If you have multiple properties, you can divide them out and offset any imbalance with other assets. For example, if the home has $50,000 in equity and the vacation cabin has $20,000 in equity, the spouse getting the cabin should get another $30,000 in asset, perhaps a retirement account. These are not always apples to apples arrangements, but if one of the spouses wants to keep the house (and can afford it) then this is a way to do it. If you have children nearly ready to graduate, you could agree that one spouse stays in the house until the graduation, and then you sell it. Or the same for another big life event. Or you can sell the house by listing in and asking the Court to reserve jurisdiction in case there are any issues that arise with the sale. Or you can agree to continue to own it as co-tenants and manage it together, but if you do, make sure that you have everything spelled out, including what happens if one of you want out of the situation. Again, a home is a large asset and usually the largest asset other than retirement accounts, so you should consult with an experienced attorney to fully understand which of these is right for your situation.
Most retirement accounts can be divided by either a QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) or DOPO (Division of Property Order) or other similar order. This makes the division of the account itself a non-taxable event, although once divided the same rules about cashing it out apply to both spouses. The same is true with non-vested property, such as stock options or state retirement. Social Security benefits cannot be divided at this time, but they are to be considered under Ohio law and that means that they play a role in the division of assets. Again, this is something that an experienced divorce lawyer can guide you through.
There are provisions under the law for keeping your separate property. A lot of that is addressed in the section under divorce. However, it is important to note that the separate property needs to be accounted for in the separation agreement. This can be a simple matter, but it does need to be addressed.
Again, careful planning can avoid that problem. You can put in place what is called a self executing decree, but you would need to include details, like the property legal description. Otherwise, you can always file for contempt, which involves having a court hearing in order to have the Court order compliance or threaten to invoke a penalty. Most contempt motions can ask for attorneys fees to cover the expense of your enforcement of the separation agreement or divorce decree, so it is well worth consulting with an experienced attorney regarding this.
Legal advice can only come from an attorney who is familiar with the area of law and familiar with your particular situation. A number of attorneys, including me, do not charge for the initial consultation. The information contained here is not legal advice, and is provided just to make you aware that you do have options. Please consult with an experienced attorney before making these significant, potentiall life-changing decisions.
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Everything here is just legal information and not legal advice. You should treat it as such. You should consult with a lawyer before applying this information to a specific situation. Of course, I hope that you will contact me, which you can do so by calling me at 216-780-0105 or emailing me by clicking here.
A word of warning (or, actually, many words of warning):
All of this information has been provided just to make you aware of the various options under Ohio law. This is legal information, not legal advice. An attorney-client relationship is not established just because you are reading this or even just because you contact me. Also, I am not responsible for content of material you may find by following the links not am I endorsing those sites since I do not control those other websites. I am providing these links just to give you access to more information. Do not send me confidential information until an attorney client relationship is established. When you contact me, we can set up a time to talk more in depth, at which point your information will be confidential.
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The information contained herein is intended to provide broad, general information about the law. Before applying this information to a specific legal problem, you are urged to seek advice from an attorney.