Columbus Divorce Law Blog

When Ohio adults fight over who will be the best guardian for a child, they can often overlook what would be the best situation for the child. Many times, the child custody dispute becomes a battle of which adult can gain the upper hand. The sister of slain rapper Nipsey Hussle is fighting for child custody over his 10-year-old daughter against the girl's mother.

Samantha Smith has sought custody of the girl since Hussle was killed in late March. Smith feels the girl's mother, Tanisha Foster, will not give her daughter the attention and care she requires. Since 2013, Foster and Hussle shared custody of the girl, with Foster keeping her during the week and Hussle keeping her over the weekends. According to Smith, the girl was in Hussle's care most of the time near the time of his death. Smith also claims she helped keep the girl anytime she was needed so the girl would be comfortable with her as guardian.

Ohio foster and adoptive parents know dealing with the state's Office for Children and Families can be complicated at times. Child custody matters involving this state agency can become particularly involved to the point of frustration. Several adults in another state are awaiting a child custody decision that is about to be made in family court.

The dispute revolves around a 4-year-old girl whose mother is in prison. The mother gave birth just before she was sentenced and the girl was placed in a foster home, where she has been ever since. Her foster parents want to adopt her, but the girl's aunt, whom she has never met, has come forward and claims she was never notified by child services she had a niece. She says the girl's mother told her only last summer she had given birth to a child in 2015. The mother has no legal rights to the child anymore but never named her sister as a potential guardian, though the sister says the mother is mentally challenged.

When an Ohio marriage ends, it seems one of the most difficult tasks is the dividing of assets. While some couples with significant assets choose to have a prenuptial agreement in place before they marry, some do not, and attempts to reach a settlement during a divorce can become a real headache. Since their divorce, Limp Bizkit lead vocalist, Fred Durst, and ex-wife, Kseniya Beryazina, have thus far chosen to follow the stipulations set forth in their prenup.

Durst filed for divorce in September 2018, just before their seventh anniversary, but the reason was not given in a recent report. Because of their prenup, he was able to keep for himself the money he has accumulated from his music and his other entrepreneurial enterprises, as well as his pension plan and a motorcycle. Beryazina had financial assets coming into the marriage that she will be keeping, along with some jewelry, artwork and a BMW.

When an Ohio marriage ends both parties have final decisions to make as a couple, especially if children are involved. When they cannot agree on those decisions as they head to divorce court, the judge often gives emphatic direction that will settle the matters at hand. A doctor who has continually defied a ruling made by the judge in his divorce case has been ordered to spend 30 days of jail time.

The doctor was instructed two years ago to purchase a life insurance policy that would pay $500,000 to his ex-wife and their children in the event of his death. Not only did he refuse to obtain a policy in that amount, he let a $300,000 policy that he did have lapse because he did not feel he needed to keep it, as it was not of the amount the judge ordered. He also told the court because of his age and the condition of his health, he was not able to get a policy in the amount of the order. However, he could not produce proof of his attempts and subsequent refusals. It was suggested he might have been able to get an additional $200,000 had he kept his original policy but there seemed to be no effort on his part to do even that much.