De Facto Termination of Marriage Date in Ohio | Columbus Divorce Lawyers

Shortening the term of your marriage during a divorce could have major consequences on the final asset and liability divisions of the marriage. In Ohio courts, there is a presumption that the term of marriage is from the date of marriage until the final hearing. Nonetheless, if that presumed date is inequitable, the court may select another date that the court considers more equitable.

There are a host of factors that courts take into consideration in determining a de-facto termination of marriage date. Below are some of the factors that the court takes into consideration:

Termination prior to the final hearing still may apply even though one party provides support for at least part of the separation;
The parties separated on less-than-friendly terms;
Testimony indicates the marriage was over a year prior to the date of separation;
One party cohabitates with another shortly after separation;
The parties never engaged in intimate relations as husband and wife after separation (regardless if on a few occasions, the party returns to the marital residence);
The retention of legal counsel intervenes in the parties' marriage;
The parties cease living together and maintain separate residences;
The date the divorce complaint was filed;
The parties' discussions of possible termination of their marriage prior to actual separation;
No financial entanglement;
No meaningful attempts at reconciliation;
Separate business activities;
Both parties are involved in extramarital relationships;
The parties take separate vacations with other sexual partners;
The parties have not served as a social hosts for the other;
The parties have not attended social, business, or school events as a couple since the time of separation;
The parties cease contributing to each other for each other's benefits as partners would do in a joint undertaking; and
The totality of the circumstances and equitable considerations.