1 of 4
Senate Bill 174 – Opponent Testimony
Senate Bill 174 is not a child centered bill. The bill fails to address the core issues in Domestic
Relation Courts, as it continues to marginalize one parent, undermining the child’s best interests.
As you witnessed during both opposition and proponent testimony of the equal shared parenting
bills previously introduced, the witnesses were loud and clear that the domestic relations judges
should have less discretion .... not more!
It is very clear there are significant problems with Ohio’s Domestic Relations courts. The top
problems are:
1. Children of divorce are treated terribly by Ohio as courts routinely push one good parent
out of children’s lives. SB174 will not improve this as there is no requirement for
Counties to establish an equal parenting plan as the default.
2. Parents are incentivized to battle for custody of children for fear of being cast aside as
an every-other weekend visitor in their children’s lives. SB174 will not improve this as
there is no requirement for Counties to fix their lopsided standard parenting plans.
3. The standard parenting plans created in each individual Ohio county are arbitrary and
Court Orders vary based on the preference of the individual judge. SB-174 will not
improve this as it now grants even more discretion to Courts and makes appeals nearly
impossible.
4. County standard parenting plans do not follow the recommendations of decades of
studies that show equal shared parenting results in the best outcomes for children. SB-
174 will not improve this as there is no requirement for Counties to establish an equal
parenting plan as the default
5. Parents are forced to waste tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation instead
of using it for their children. SB-174 will actually make this worse as now courts can
order even more costly investigations even when parents had already brought an agreed
upon parenting plan to the Court. (SB-174 Pg 172)
6. False accusations are proven strategy to win custody SB-174 will actually make this
worse as now a parent merely has to claim “fear” to gain an advantage. It’s virtually
impossible to disprove someone’s claim of how they feel.
7. Temporary custody orders (which are filed before any hearings and investigation) get
grandfathered-in the final custody orders by claiming it might be destabilizing to change
the schedule set by the temporary orders. This is the only positive requirement that I’ve
2 of 4
seen in SB-174 as it precludes considering the temporary parenting order as a factor in
parenting orders.
8. Real instances of abuse are often overlooked and not given the seriousness they
deserve because they get lumped into the avalanche of cases in which false
accusations are a strategy. SB-174 will actually make this worse as now a parent merely
has to claim “fear” to gain an advantage. This will make the false accusation strategy
even more prevalent and prevent actual victims from receiving protection.
9. Many parents cannot even a<ord to go to Court and fight a hopeless battle of trying to
get equal shared parenting time because they’ve seen countless friends and family
members throw away tens of thousands of dollars trying to change a virtually pre-
determined outcome. SB-174 will actually make this worse as even if parents agree to a
parenting plan, the Court can impose its own plan (SB-174, Pg 163)
10. The current preponderance of evidence standard to assign custody is so low that two
judges hearing the same case very often would decide a case di<erently In SB-174,
Courts retain the ability to decide what they think is the "best" scenario for children with
no guidance on how to weigh and apply the best interest factors. The lowest standard of
preponderance of evidence continues to reign supreme.
There has to be a default starting point for child custody and parenting schedule. Not only does it make
zero sense for that starting point to be anything but equal but it is actively harming children by setting
that starting point at such a lopsided schedule.1 Can you imagine how absurd it would be to have a judge
involved with the children of every married parent to dictate that the children see one parent only every other
weekend? Then why do we treat children of divorced parents this poorly?
During the May 14, 2025 SB-174 proponent hearing, Senator Manning and Senator Cutrona were asking the
right questions:
Question: What are the most common parenting schedules in Ohio’s 88 counties?
Answer: Contrary to the vague non-answer of the proponents, it is well documented what the most common
local rules are in Ohio. When parents decide to get divorced, children do not decide to get divorced from one
parent. However, this is exactly the practice in the majority of Ohio’s counties. Currently, approximately 60%
of our counties use an outdated every-other weekend schedule pushing one parent out of the child’s life.2
1https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e28a95cdc8bed16729b93de/t/63221f76bd37fe2d23cc98d1/1663
180662380/Shared+Parenting+Myths+and+Facts.pdf
2 https://www.sharedparenting.org/ohio-parenting-time-report
seen in SB-174 as it precludes considering the temporary parenting order as a factor in
parenting orders.
8. Real instances of abuse are often overlooked and not given the seriousness they
deserve because they get lumped into the avalanche of cases in which false
accusations are a strategy. SB-174 will actually make this worse as now a parent merely
has to claim “fear” to gain an advantage. This will make the false accusation strategy
even more prevalent and prevent actual victims from receiving protection.
9. Many parents cannot even a<ord to go to Court and fight a hopeless battle of trying to
get equal shared parenting time because they’ve seen countless friends and family
members throw away tens of thousands of dollars trying to change a virtually pre-
determined outcome. SB-174 will actually make this worse as even if parents agree to a
parenting plan, the Court can impose its own plan (SB-174, Pg 163)
10. The current preponderance of evidence standard to assign custody is so low that two
judges hearing the same case very often would decide a case di<erently In SB-174,
Courts retain the ability to decide what they think is the "best" scenario for children with
no guidance on how to weigh and apply the best interest factors. The lowest standard of
preponderance of evidence continues to reign supreme.
There has to be a default starting point for child custody and parenting schedule. Not only does it make
zero sense for that starting point to be anything but equal but it is actively harming children by setting
that starting point at such a lopsided schedule.1 Can you imagine how absurd it would be to have a judge
involved with the children of every married parent to dictate that the children see one parent only every other
weekend? Then why do we treat children of divorced parents this poorly?
During the May 14, 2025 SB-174 proponent hearing, Senator Manning and Senator Cutrona were asking the
right questions:
Question: What are the most common parenting schedules in Ohio’s 88 counties?
Answer: Contrary to the vague non-answer of the proponents, it is well documented what the most common
local rules are in Ohio. When parents decide to get divorced, children do not decide to get divorced from one
parent. However, this is exactly the practice in the majority of Ohio’s counties. Currently, approximately 60%
of our counties use an outdated every-other weekend schedule pushing one parent out of the child’s life.2
1https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e28a95cdc8bed16729b93de/t/63221f76bd37fe2d23cc98d1/1663
180662380/Shared+Parenting+Myths+and+Facts.pdf
2 https://www.sharedparenting.org/ohio-parenting-time-report
3 of 4
Only one in six current Ohio parenting time orders provide at least 90 overnights annually with each parent3.
Less than 1% of Ohio parenting orders provide equal time.
Question: Why not make the standard schedule 50/50 and then deviate if needed?
Answer: Exactly! Despite the proponent’s responses: if parents desire a schedule other than 50/50, they can
still do that. Obviously in the extreme example discussed during the May 14th hearing, a Court would correctly
deviate from the 50/50 default schedule if a parent has not been in the child’s life for 10 years.
Question: Will SB-174 change the local parenting schedules to make them more equal?
Answer: Unless the bill requires equal parenting schedules, nothing will change. Unless there are defined
and specific weight requirements for applying best interest factors, nothing will change. How do we know
this? There was a document published way back in 2012 by the Supreme
Court of Ohio which specifically stated that the every other weekend
schedule is appropriate only when a child cannot spend more equal time
with parents due to work schedule, geography, a parent is unfit, or a child
is not bonded with both parents.4 Obviously, none of this is true for most parents getting
divorced. However, this is the very every-other-weekend schedule that has been imposed on children &
parents in most counties. Since there was no corresponding law codifying this Supreme Court of Ohio
schedule guidance, it has been ignored by Family Courts for 13 years and counting.
Please take 6 minutes of your time to watch the 2018 testimony accurately describing the need for shared
parenting. “2018 MN Civil Law hearing - Equal Shared Parenting Best for Kids - Molly K Olson”
Matt Gardner
Dayton, OH
3 2023 Ohio Child Support Guideline Advisory Council
https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/jfs.ohio.gov/Ocs/employers/2023-Child-Support-Guidelines-
Report.pdf Page 124
4 https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/Publications/JCS/parentingGuide.pdf Schedule 9 on Page 33 of
80
Only one in six current Ohio parenting time orders provide at least 90 overnights annually with each parent3.
Less than 1% of Ohio parenting orders provide equal time.
Question: Why not make the standard schedule 50/50 and then deviate if needed?
Answer: Exactly! Despite the proponent’s responses: if parents desire a schedule other than 50/50, they can
still do that. Obviously in the extreme example discussed during the May 14th hearing, a Court would correctly
deviate from the 50/50 default schedule if a parent has not been in the child’s life for 10 years.
Question: Will SB-174 change the local parenting schedules to make them more equal?
Answer: Unless the bill requires equal parenting schedules, nothing will change. Unless there are defined
and specific weight requirements for applying best interest factors, nothing will change. How do we know
this? There was a document published way back in 2012 by the Supreme
Court of Ohio which specifically stated that the every other weekend
schedule is appropriate only when a child cannot spend more equal time
with parents due to work schedule, geography, a parent is unfit, or a child
is not bonded with both parents.4 Obviously, none of this is true for most parents getting
divorced. However, this is the very every-other-weekend schedule that has been imposed on children &
parents in most counties. Since there was no corresponding law codifying this Supreme Court of Ohio
schedule guidance, it has been ignored by Family Courts for 13 years and counting.
Please take 6 minutes of your time to watch the 2018 testimony accurately describing the need for shared
parenting. “2018 MN Civil Law hearing - Equal Shared Parenting Best for Kids - Molly K Olson”
Matt Gardner
Dayton, OH
3 2023 Ohio Child Support Guideline Advisory Council
https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/jfs.ohio.gov/Ocs/employers/2023-Child-Support-Guidelines-
Report.pdf Page 124
4 https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/Publications/JCS/parentingGuide.pdf Schedule 9 on Page 33 of
80
4 of 4
Instruction of when an every other weekend schedule is appropriate from the 2012
Supreme Court of Ohio. Unfortunately, Family Courts have ignored when this is appropriate
and used it as the default in most cases.
Instruction of when an every other weekend schedule is appropriate from the 2012
Supreme Court of Ohio. Unfortunately, Family Courts have ignored when this is appropriate
and used it as the default in most cases.