A Cincinnati Attorney Providing Skilled Guidance Through The Divorce Process

Last updated on April 29, 2025

Terminating a marriage is a complicated and challenging process. It is a time of uncertainty and incredible change. An experienced family lawyer can help guide you through this process, protecting your interests while helping you begin a new chapter in your life.

Our attorney, Zachary D. Smith, is a board-certified family relations law specialist who is skilled at handling all types of divorce scenarios, including simple dissolutions to the most complex divorce proceedings. He has dedicated his firm, Zachary D. Smith, LLC, to helping clients in Cincinnati and the surrounding Ohio communities with their divorce, no matter how contentious or complex.

Resolving Divorce-Related Issues

Every divorce is unique. There are many different issues that have to be resolved as part of any divorce case. How those issues get resolved will depend on your goals, interests and desired outcome. These issues can include:

Child custody and support
Defining and dividing marital property
Determining the value of business interests
Spousal maintenance and support

It is important to prioritize your goals and identify the issues that are most important to you. We will work closely with you to help resolve your legal challenges and find solutions that protect your rights and interests.

What Can An Ohio Divorce Attorney Do For You?

Going through a divorce can be overwhelming. However, the right legal guidance can help you break down the steps, allowing you to focus on one thing at a time. When you have an experienced family law attorney on your side providing you with legal guidance and advice, your divorce will be more manageable and less stressful. Our Cincinnati divorce attorney will:

Listen to your story: Our process starts by making sure we understand your unique situation. This will allow us to provide customized legal guidance, tailored to your needs.

Help you identify your legal goals: We will assess your financial situation. We will work with you to clarify what you want to achieve, all with the goal of helping you create a fresh start.
Create a legal strategy: Based on your goals, we develop a clear plan to guide us through your divorce proceedings effectively.
File divorce documents: We will work with you to complete and file a complaint for divorce, or respond to a complaint for divorce.
Handle opposing counsel: We manage all communications with your spouse’s lawyer to protect your interests and emotional well-being.
Conduct discovery: The discovery process can be tedious. It is the process by which the parties will exchange financial information so that your financial issues can be decided on fair and accurate information. We will help you gather the necessary information and documents, including financial records, property details and more.
Investigate complex financial issues: Depending on what is revealed during the discovery process, we will delve into any intricate financial matters to make sure that assets are accurately assessed. We will also analyze information to make sure that there is no attempt to hide assets.
Employ experts: Whenever it becomes necessary, we will bring in professionals like forensic accountants to provide a detailed financial analysis. We also work with specialists who can evaluate custody concerns.
Conduct legal research: Every divorce is unique, which means that different case laws may apply to your scenario depending on the issues involved. We stay informed on relevant laws and current case law to support your case effectively.

We take a personalized approach to every case and develop customized legal strategies for our clients.

In settlement conferences and mediation, we aim to negotiate terms that align with your goals, striving for amicable solutions. If an agreement can’t be reached, we’re prepared to represent you in court, advocating fiercely for your rights. Our entire legal team is committed to providing you with professional guidance as you go through what we know is a challenging time.

What Are The Grounds For Divorce In Ohio?

When you give “grounds” for a divorce, you are stating the legal reason that the marriage should end. The vast majority of couples simply cite “incompatibility” as their grounds since that is the no-fault option that does not require proof of wrongdoing by anybody. Other grounds for divorce in Ohio include:

Gross neglect of duty
Living separately and apart for at least one year
Willful absence for one year or longer
Adultery
Extreme cruelty
Habitual drunkenness
Fraudulent contracts
Either party was already married
Imprisonment
Divorce previously granted in another state

Most of the time, filing for divorce due to grounds other than incompatibility does not offer a particular advantage.

Is It Possible To Keep A Divorce Private?

A divorce is a deeply personal experience. Understandably, many couples want to keep the details of their divorce as private as possible, especially when they want to guard their personal and professional reputations in their community.

In general, divorce records are public information – but it is sometimes possible to convince the court to put them under seal. This has been done in the past with prominent public figures. An Ohio family court judge may be willing to file your divorce under seal due to the following:

The desire to give victims of domestic violence privacy and protection
The need to protect any children involved from public identification
The involvement of proprietary business information in the split
The need to keep certain sensitive financial data out of the wrong hands

Couples can also guard their privacy by taking a collaborative approach to their divorce. This affords couples a confidential process that keeps private information under wraps, with only the final agreement being presented to the court for approval. If privacy is critical in your divorce, make sure that you mention your concerns to our attorneys.

Understanding The Difference Between Negotiation, Mediation, Collaborative Divorce And Trial

People going through a divorce need to be aware of their legal options – because not every divorce has to result in a lengthy series of court proceedings that end in a trial. When ending a marriage, you may proceed through:

Negotiation: Divorce negotiations allow spouses to discuss the terms of their divorce (asset and debt division, child custody, alimony, etc.) without additional help from a third party. Both parties can have full control over the discussions, allowing for a quick and cost-effective divorce. However, if negotiations break down because a mutually beneficial agreement cannot be reached, a third party may need to be involved. Otherwise, couples may have their divorce settled in court.
Mediation: Mediation is a legal process that allows couples to discuss divorce terms. Mediation aims to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with the help of a neutral third party called a mediator. The mediator does not make decisions for spouses. The mediator can help facilitate negotiations by suggesting compromises and identifying common ground so that a mutually beneficial agreement is reached without needing to go to trial.
Collaborative divorce: Unlike mediation, where there is a neutral third party to facilitate discussions, collaborative divorce allows each spouse to have their own attorney. These attorneys can act on behalf of their clients, acting in good faith to reach a mutually beneficial divorce agreement. Other professional parties may be involved in a collaborative divorce, such as a child specialist determining child custody or a financial professional assessing the value of assets.
Trial: The trial process is generally only necessary if spouses cannot come to a mutually beneficial divorce agreement. Couples may be required to appear before a judge in court, who can decide on the terms of a divorce. When a judge decides on a divorce order, couples have very little control over the outcome. As a result, a trial is often much more expensive than alternative dispute resolutions. While negotiations, mediation and collaborative divorce are less public divorce alternatives, a divorce that goes to trial may be open to the public.

Led by a trained family law mediator, attorney Zachary D. Smith, we can help explore alternatives to traditionally litigated divorce proceedings. Mediation is often less contentious than a divorce case argued in open court and enables you to decide things on your terms. Of course, if mediation is not the best option for you or you try it and it is not successful, we are ready to pursue all other avenues on your behalf.

Contact Us For The Legal Counsel You Need

We are here to help protect your interests while achieving a successful resolution to your family law issues. To schedule an initial consultation, call us at 513-275-5367. You may also contact us online, and we will respond to your message promptly.