If you have an uncontested divorce and you’ve reached an agreement with your spouse, you have the opportunity to avoid going to court by hiring a private judge. The private judge will conduct your final hearing and approve your agreement at a location other than the courthouse. So it’s not necessary for you to go to the courthouse for your final divorce hearing.
In order to file a divorce in a court in Ohio, you have to be a resident of the state of Ohio for a year prior to the filing and for six months in the county in which you are going to file your divorce.
Under Ohio law, the judge is first required to determine what is your marital property what is your separate property. Marital property is generally any property that was obtained during the marriage, unless it is separate property. Separate property can be any property you brought into the marriage, or inheritance or gifts that you received. Once the judges determine the marital property, the judge is required to award your separate property to you and, using his or her discretion, divide the marital property equally or equitably, meaning fairly.