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Court News Ohio
Gender-Specific
Terms Replaced in Ohio Supreme Court Rules, Forms
By Bret Crow
March 14, 2016
Gender-neutral terms within Ohio Supreme Court rules and forms will
become effective March 15 after adoption by Ohio Supreme Court
justices. The changes were necessary in light of the June 26, 2015
decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, Case No.
14-556.
The Ohio Supreme Court issued an order on June 26 to provide some
guidance to Ohio’s courts governing references to familial relationship
terms found in the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio and
related forms and the Uniform Domestic Relations Forms found in the
Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure.
The terms husband, wife, father, mother, parent, spouse and others were
to “be construed as gender neutral where appropriate” and to remain in
effect until the rules and forms were “amended to reflect the changes
contained in this Order.”
Ohio Supreme Court rules and forms that address marriage and the
related topics of divorce, child support, guardianships, adoption,
domestic relations, and domestic violence have been amended to remove
gender-specific terms.
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