Legal Question in Family Law in Ohio

Joint custody modification

Ex-husband and I have a joint custody arrangement since 1987. Our son will be 17 next month with two more years of high school. Living arrangements were to be with father and I paid medical/dental coverage. However, son has lived with me since 1990 with the last 2.5 years in a military academy. Father and I shared equal cost of the school except for this last year, in which his father paid the majority.

Son wants to attend the local high school in his junior/senior years that would mean he would live with me. Would it be beneficial to have the joint custody arrangement changed to full custody? Should I request child support until son completes high school? Would I be able to receive back child support? Also, would I have to return to the county that the joint custody was heard? His father still resides in the county; however this past winter he was in Florida. His father is self-employed with 2 buildings of apartments. I work full time and go to school part time working toward a paralegal degree. What should I do?


Asked on 4/23/98, 1:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Schiff Self employed

wants to change custody arrangement--Ohio

Unless I am missing something here, it sounds like you and your ex-husband have been able to work out the essentials of the post marital arrangements concerning your son. If that is true, the first thing I would do is approach him with your proposals. You save a lot in time, money and grief if you can avoid usingthe courts to make these decisions.

Certainly after you work out whatever changes, the divorce document should be modified to reflect the new arrangements especially when it comes to custody and support. The place for these actions is usually the court that granted the decree.Since it has been a while since I have dealt directly with private child-support questions, I am not sure what the status of back support would be in this case. Is there a substantial question in your mind that you have been underpaid? If so, you might want to consult an attorney with the specifics before talking to your husband. Otherwise, if you and your ex agree you could consult an attorney to help file what is a done deal and probably save a ton of money.

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Answered on 5/14/98, 11:24 am


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