The Ohio Supreme Court has extended the public comment period on 23 proposed standardized forms designed to help litigants not represented by an attorney to meaningfully participate in many family-law related proceedings in domestic relations and juvenile courts such as divorces, dissolutions, legal separations, and parenting plans.

The standardized forms also would assist courts and court personnel who are legally limited in the assistance they can provide and attorneys by making practices in all courts more uniform.

The court extended the public comment period on the proposed forms based on a recommendation from the Ohio State Bar Association. The public comment period will now close December 14.

Key information, relevant instructions, and tips have been embedded in the forms using plain English as much as possible to assist self-represented litigants in pursuing their cases in court.

Once adopted in final form, the forms will be posted on the Supreme Court’s website in a format to be completed online or printed out for completion by hand.

To access the proposed forms, click here. Comments on the proposed forms should be submitted in writing to: Stephanie Graubner Nelson, Policy and Research Counsel, Children, Families, and the Courts Section, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 South Front Street, Sixth Floor, Columbus, OH 43215, or stephanie.nelson@sc.ohio.gov.

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