Last Updated: January 2026 Stepparent adoption represents one of the most meaningful ways to legally formalize the bond between a stepparent and stepchild in Ohio. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about the stepparent adoption process in 2026, including legal requirements, costs, timelines, and recent changes to Ohio adoption law. What is […]
It may happen in the heat of an argument, or after months of growing apart and talking about separation and divorce: your spouse asks you to leave the home you share (or tells you to). Whether the request comes as a shock, or is something you’d been dreading, you are probably wondering whether you have […]
Ohio’s child support guidelines have gotten a significant overhaul for the first time since 1992. This will affect every Ohio family with a child support order—new or modified—after the effective date of the updated guidelines: March 28, 2019. There are a lot of moving parts to the new law, far more than we can address […]
Transitions between parents and homes can be challenging for children, just ask any parent who has ever tried to drop a child off at preschool! The transition of moving from one parent’s home to the other’s for parenting time can be even more difficult, and often, the child will cry when having to leave one […]
For children, the holidays are filled with wonder and joy. If you look back on your own childhood, many of your favorite holiday memories are centered around family traditions: playing football with your cousins on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve at Grandma’s house, Aunt Daisy’s lemon meringue pie or Uncle Joe’s carrot cake that appeared on the family holiday table year after year.
Divorce or separation is one of the most stressful experiences you may ever go through, taking a toll on you financially, socially, and of course, emotionally. As you know, when you are under that kind of pressure, it is hard to be your “best self” for other people—including your kids. Unfortunately, when the divorce has you […]
No part of divorce or separation is easy, but perhaps one of the most difficult steps is breaking the news of your breakup to your children. You know you must do it, but how? Understand that it won’t be easy, for you or for them, but there are things you can do to avoid making it harder […]
Divorce and separation can make your life feel out of control. Even if the divorce was your idea, the process takes life as you know it and turns everything upside down. If you have children together, the process is even more fraught, because you need to keep interacting with your former significant other, manage custody and […]
Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates, LLC
4030 Massillon Road
Green, Ohio 44685
(330) 996-4099
(330) 643-0732
