Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

In Ohio, if this is an active case there will be a person in your case called the Guardian ad litem. The Guardian ad litem has the duty to represent the children and their best interest before the court. You should bring your concerns to the attention of the Guardian ad litem, supporting those concerns with as much proof in the way of documentation and information that you can.

If there is no guardian ad litem (perhaps because the case is not actively before the court as you are only obeying a court order that was issued at the end of the divorce case a long time ago) then you may want to file with the court a motion to change the visitation order.

You will want to state the reasons why you wish to do this in your motion to change the order, ask for a hearing on the subject, and then be prepared at the hearing to give evidence supporting your motion. That evidence can take the form of your testimony. It can also take the form of any documents that you have, or the testimony of other witnesses who can support what you are saying about your ex and his substance abuse problems, his controlling nature, the deleterious effect that the controlling nature is having on the children, and your children's wishes and nervousness about regular visitation.

If the court finds that it is in the best interest of the children to change the visitation agreement, then the court will likely make changes to ensure the safety of the children.

Very truly yours,

Eric E. Willison