Parenting Class
In Ohio you will have to attend a parenting class if there are minor children. This is a seminar which is conducted either by the Court itself or by a group under contract with the Court. The seminar is required by Ohio divorce law. The seminar may have a fee or it may be free, depending on the County.
The seminar is designed to provide helpful information, answer questions and encourage that the parents do what is best for the children. If a party does not attend the seminar the Court can refuse to grant them custody or limit their parenting time with the children until they have completed the seminar. Some counties even require that the seminar be completed before the dissolution or divorce is filed.
If a parent does not live in the county where the divorce or dissolution was filed, they may take the seminar where they live and provide a certificate of attendance to the Court. There are available seminars in other States should the parent live in another State. If a parent has previously attended the seminar, they are not usually required to retake the seminar.
Permission from the Court can be sought to not take the seminar if it is impossible to attend, such as military service which makes it impossible to go to a seminar.
