Nearly 20-Year Divorce Fight Lands Ohio Couple In Hot Water

A recent story in the Cincinnati Enquirer discussed the now infamous Ohio divorce case of Christo and Sharlene Lassiter. The two were married back in 1986 and had 10 relatively happy years together. Since then, the couple has spent 17 years bogged down in a never-ending divorce battle, a process that has lasted nearly twice as long as the marriage itself.

How can this be you might be asking? It turns out the two are both law professors and know enough about court procedure and Ohio family law to drag a case out. Experts that were interviewed about the case say that Cincinnati family law attorneys know the case by heart. Some judges have come out against the couple, lambasting them for making a mockery of the legal profession and arguing that the two ought to be ashamed of their behavior.

Ohio family law experts who were interviewed for the story almost all agreed that a typical divorce where there were no children could be wrapped up in several months. A contentious case with child custody and visitation issues might take up to a year. The Lassiters took more than five years to sign their divorce papers and have since spent another 12 years arguing over various components of their divorce, filing at least 28 separate actions against one another during that time.

According to the Enquirer article, the divorce file between the parties contains nearly 1,400 separate entries, more than 1,000 more than a typical divorce file would have. Almost everything that could go wrong in the divorce has gone wrong. The Lassiters have called the police on one another multiple times and both parties have had and then lost custody of their two children. Each believes the other is out for revenge and the two have used the court system as a tool to exact this revenge for nearly two decades.

Judges in the area have shown that they are over the fight, appearing to show little sympathy for either party. Judges have said, “both parties have behaved in an appalling manner.” In a Court of Appeals case, one judge said that Mrs. Lassiter showed “unrelenting hostility” towards her former husband and “flatly refused to obey court orders.” Another judge wrote that because both parties are law professors they ought to know better than to behave in a way that is not only harmful to their case, but also incredibly damaging to their children. A judge from Cincinnati wrote that the State Bar should admonish the pair and noted that it was frightening to imagine law students learning from their horrible example.

Though a case as contentious and long lasting as the Lassiter’s is thankfully rare, it serves as a good example of the problems Ohio couples should strive to avoid. Try and keep hurt feelings and vendettas out of your divorce. Making the matter about retribution only costs everyone in the long run, especially your children, and does little to help your case.

Source: “Court calls law profs' 17-year divorce fight 'appalling',” by Kimball Perry, Cincinnati.com.

See Our Related Blog Posts:

Do People Actually Fight Over Reward Program Points During Divorce? You Better Believe It

Morality Clause In Texas Divorce Case Stops Lesbian Couple From Cohabitating

Lawmakers In Iowa Try To End No Fault Divorce

Though no one thinks high divorce rates are a good thing, there can be very real benefits to allowing some couples to end bad marriages. Legislators in Iowa are apparently concerned about the high divorce rate in that state and what some say are increasingly “promiscuous” young women and are taking action to bring the number down. Lawmakers are considering doing away with the option of a no-fault divorce in cases where there are children.

Iowa House File 338 would require that couples with children prove one of five conditions before a divorce could be approved by a judge: adultery, physical or sexual abuse, imprisonment, the absence of a spouse for more than a year or that the couple has lived apart for more than two years. Though the bill appears headed for trouble in the legislature, the main sponsor says he has no intention of giving up on it and will bring the measure back during the next session to ensure it is not forgotten about.

Many in the family law world have come out vehemently against the legislation. Experts have said not only is the measure an example of government meddling in family issues, but it is also a dangerous proposal that could put women and children in harm’s way.

Currently, all 50 states have no-fault divorce laws in place, including here in Ohio. These methods of seeking a divorce were introduced in the 1960s and 1970s and made it possible for one party to get a divorce without the burden of having to prove bad behavior occurred. Before the no-fault divorce was possible, people who wanted to end a marriage had to either reach an agreement with their spouse or throw them under the bus. Rather than strengthen marriages, the Iowa legislation seems destined to make divorce a much more combative and intense process.

In fact, a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University found that in states that passed no-fault divorce laws, domestic violence dropped between 25 and 50 percent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. There was also a 10 percent drop in a woman’s risk of being murdered by her spouse and the rate of female suicide fell by 20 percent.

The Iowa proposal would mean that women who want a divorce from an abusive spouse would have to prove the terrible violence in a court of law. For those women without the money to afford an experienced family law attorney, this would mean that they might have no escape from a violent home. The last thing an abused woman needs is another barrier preventing her from leaving a dangerous situation.

There’s also no good reason to suspect that no-fault divorce laws are to blame for high divorce rates seen around the country or in Iowa in particular. A study conducted in California showed that after the state passed its no-fault divorce law in 1970 the divorce rate jumped temporarily, but quickly fell back to its old level and eventually even declined.

If you find yourself facing the prospect of complicated divorce and have questions about your rights and options, contact an experienced Ohio family law attorney who can help guide you through the difficult process. Count on the expertise of Twinsburg family law attorney Carol L. Stephan.

Source: “Iowa GOP Lawmakers Try To Curtail Divorce, Worry It Makes Young Women More 'Promiscuous',” by Will Wrigley, published at HuffingtonPost.com.

See Our Related Blog Posts:

North Carolina General Assembly Tries To Slow Down Divorce Process

How to Establish Parental Rights for Unmarried Fathers in Ohio