Ohio Divorce Parenting Class
You must go to an Ohio Divorce Parenting Class if you have minor children of the marriage. This is a seminar which is conducted either by the Court itself or by a group under contract with the Court. The seminar is required by Ohio divorce law. The seminar may have a fee or it may be free, depending on the County.
The Ohio Divorce Parenting Class is designed to provide helpful information, answer questions and encourage that the parents do what is best for the children.
If a party does not attend the seminar the Court can refuse to grant them custody or limit their parenting time with the children until they have completed the seminar. Some counties even require that the class be completed before the dissolution of marriage or divorce is filed.
You make take the Ohio Divorce Parenting Class with your spouse or you may take it at a different time than your spouse. You may request that you and your spouse are not scheduled together.
There are usually different times for the seminars. Be prompt in arriving because if you are late you will not be allowed inside. Do not take children to the class.
What if I or my spouse live somewhere else?
If a parent does not live in the county where the divorce or dissolution was filed, they may take the Ohio Divorce Parenting Class where they live. They provide a certificate of attendance to the Court. There are available seminars in other States should the parent live in another State.
If a parent has previously attended the seminar, they are not usually required to retake the seminar.
Permission from the Court can be sought to not take the seminar if it is impossible to attend, such as military service which makes it impossible to go to a seminar.