Canton Family Law Blog

A national survey conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum suggests that law enforcement agencies from across the nation, including Ohio, are encountering more domestic violence because of the faltering economy. The survey is part of an ongoing inquiry by the Police Executive Research Forum into the effects of economic conditions on law enforcement agencies throughout the United States.

According to the survey, more than half of the law enforcement agencies that responded to the survey reported that the poor economy might be a factor contributing to a rise in domestic violence and overall domestic conflict. This equates to a 40 percent increase in law enforcement agencies reporting such a correlation between the failing economy and rising rates of spousal abuse since a similar survey was conducted in 2010.

In Ohio, unmarried couples often face challenges that would not distinguish them from married or recently divorced spouses. These issues can include child custody battles, shared parenting or child support. However, these couples may be interested to note that a certain lifestyle--living together before marriage--does not appear to have an effect on a couple's likelihood to divorce.

A new study on marriage calls into questions the traditional notion that couples that cohabitate before marriage are likely to have less successful marriages than those that do not. According to the co-director of the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, one reason living together prior to marriage appears to be less significant is that more and more people are doing it.

A Columbus, Ohio, judge recently granted a divorce to a same-sex couple that married in New York last year. The two men married in September 2011. Shortly after marrying one another, the couple decided to seek a divorce. In a strange turn of events, an Ohio judge honored the men's request despite the fact that Ohio does not recognize gay marriage.

In recent years a number of states have decided to allow gay marriage. In 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made same-sex marriage legal throughout New York. In Ohio, however, not only are same-sex marriages and civil unions not legal, but in 2004 the state passed an amendment that officially banned same-sex marriage and civil unions.

A Franklin County magistrate recently ruled that an Ohio mother is required to share custody of her 8-year-old daughter with her former partner. The mother has fought the efforts of her former girlfriend to share custody of the 8-year-old girl for several years. The woman, who is the biological mother of the child, told reporters she intends to appeal the ruling and seek sole custody of the girl.

The woman conceived the girl via artificial insemination while she was in a committed relationship with the now former girlfriend. The couple lived together at the time of the child's birth in 2003. Both women refer to the young girl as their daughter and feel that they are entitled to parental rights.