Montgomery County Divorce & Family Law Attorneys

Reviewed by Stephanie Green · Managing Partner & Co-Founder · Last updated May 27, 2026

Gavvl Law represents Dayton and Montgomery County families in divorce, dissolution, custody and shared parenting, child support, paternity, and civil protection orders. Choose flat-fee, limited-scope help or full representation, and start with a $25 consultation — backed by our verified Montgomery County court guide.

What clients say

Ohio families have given Gavvl Law 95+ five-star Google reviews across its Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland offices.

How we can help in Montgomery County

Ending a Marriage

  • Divorce

    Domestic Relations Court Filing fees vary — confirm with the Clerk

    Best for: You and your spouse don't agree on everything — custody, money, property, debt, or support.

    View guide
  • Dissolution

    Domestic Relations Court Filing fees vary — confirm with the Clerk

    Best for: You and your spouse agree on every issue — property, debts, support, and parenting — before filing.

    View guide

Parents & Children

  • Custody

    Domestic Relations or Juvenile Court Filing fees vary — confirm with the Clerk

    Best for: You need a court order saying who the children live with and how parenting time is divided.

    View guide
  • Child Support

    Domestic Relations or Juvenile Court Filing fees vary — confirm with the Clerk

    Best for: You need a first child-support order, or a IV-D case opened with the county CSEA for your child support matters.

    View guide

What it costs — two ways to hire us

Limited scope, flat fee — Published flat fees

You hire us for a defined piece of the work — drafting and filing paperwork, a single hearing, a specific motion — at a fixed, published price. The court's filing fee is paid to the Clerk of Courts separately. Every flat fee is on our price list before you call. What each flat fee covers.

Full representation — $3,500 retainer to start

An attorney manages the whole case — strategy, filings, hearings, negotiation. The retainer is known before you sign and is a deposit against work, not the total cost; the total depends on how contested your case becomes. You watch every dollar of it in real time. How full representation is billed.

Is there financing? Yes.

On limited-scope services of $2,000 or more, Gavvl Direct — our in-house plan — takes 60% down and the balance in three monthly payments, with no interest and no credit check. Affirm, Klarna, and PayPal Pay Later are available on every limited-scope service. See every financing option.

From first call to retained, — and every step after

  1. Consultation — A 30-minute phone call, $25. You talk with Stephanie Green, Elizabeth Warren, or Niva Elgin about what's happening and what Ohio law actually does with it. Before you hang up you'll know whether you need a lawyer at all — and if you do, you leave with a written quote: the service we recommend, the price, your financing options, and your next steps.
  2. Choose — Pick the level of help. Pay, or set up financing. Limited-scope flat fee or full representation — you choose, with real numbers in front of you. Pay online, or secure a Gavvl Direct payment plan or third-party financing in a few minutes. Nothing is billed until you decide.
  3. Sign — Your agreement arrives by email. Review the client agreement and sign it electronically — from your phone if you like. While you do, your attorney reviews your intake.
  4. Get started — Your first attorney call goes on the calendar. Limited scope: your attorney's first call is scheduled from your intake. Full representation: a paralegal reaches out the same or next business day to open your file and gather what's needed, then schedules your first attorney call — and if something is urgent, you speak with the attorney first.

It's easier than ever to retain an excellent attorney.

How you'll stay updated — you never have to wonder

Every client gets GavvLink™, our client portal, on day one. Your whole case — messages, calendar, billing, status — lives in one place, and your team is a message away.

  • Reach your attorney directly. Message, text, email, or call. Request a callback or book time on their calendar yourself — no waiting to hear back.
  • Case calendar with reminders. Every hearing, deadline, and milestone, with a reminder before each one.
  • Case status updates. See where your case stands and what happens next, updated as it moves.
  • Payments and billing in real time. Every entry on your account as it posts, plus links to make a payment or add funds.
  • Your case team, one message away. Full-representation clients message their paralegal and case manager the same way — and they answer.
  • 24/7 receptionists and direct lines. Something urgent after hours? A live receptionist answers around the clock and reaches your team. You also have your attorney's direct line — and a way to reach the managing partners. We return calls and messages promptly.

Can I do this without an attorney?

sometimes, yes. Ohio lets you represent yourself, and for a genuinely agreed dissolution or a simple motion, some people do. The Montgomery County forms and local rules are linked in the questions below, and our free tools will draft a parenting plan or estimate child support before you spend anything.

Here's what the online-divorce platforms leave out: most Ohio counties require their own forms and language on top of the statewide ones, and a rejected filing is the most common reason people call us after trying it alone. A $25, 30-minute call tells you whether you can do this yourself — and if you can, we'll say so.

Schedule Your $25 Consultation

The Montgomery County family-law guide

Verified June 20, 2026

Download our free Montgomery County family-law guide (PDF) — a plain-language walkthrough of which court hears each matter, the current filing fees, the required parenting class, and e-filing — checked against the county's own court rules and fee schedules.

Download the Montgomery County family-law guide (PDF)

Talk to a Montgomery County family-law attorney

Sources we checked

  • Montgomery County Domestic Relations Court — Local Rules & Parent Education (drcourt.mcohio.org)
  • Montgomery County Clerk of Courts — Filing Costs & Fees (montgomerycountyclerkoh.gov)
  • Montgomery County Juvenile Court — Filing Fees & Forms
  • Ohio Supreme Court — Standard Domestic Relations forms

What we confirmed for 2026

  • 2026 Domestic Relations filing fees confirmed: divorce; dissolution; legal separation.
  • Most post-decree motions carry a filing fee, and a 3% convenience fee applies to e-filing and credit-card payments.
  • Attorneys must e-file; self-represented filers cannot e-file and instead submit every document to the court's Compliance Office, which reviews each self-represented filing before it reaches the Clerk.
  • Both parents must complete the mandatory "Helping Children Succeed After Divorce" class, offered through Sinclair Community College.
  • Never-married parents file custody, parenting time, and support in the Juvenile Court — confirm its current filing fee with that court, as the amount isn't published in a fixed schedule.

Montgomery County family-law courts

Domestic Relations Court

Divorce, dissolution, legal separation, and spousal support for married spouses

Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division
301 West Third Street, 2nd & 3rd Floor, Dayton, OH 45422
Dayton, OH 45422
Phone: (937) 225-4063
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (closed for lunch 12:00–1:15 p.m.)

Visit the Domestic Relations Court website

Domestic Relations Court e-filing portal

Juvenile Court

Custody, parenting time, child support, and paternity for unmarried parents

Montgomery County Juvenile Court
380 West Second Street, Dayton, OH 45422
Dayton, OH 45422
Phone: (937) 496-7908
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Visit the Juvenile Court website

Judges, magistrates, and filing fees change, so we do not publish them here. The current information is posted by the county: Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division publishes its judges, magistrates, and local rules, and the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts publishes the current filing fees and deposits. Confirm both before you file.

Why Montgomery County is different

Self-filers go through the Compliance Office

Attorneys must e-file in Montgomery County, but self-represented people cannot. Instead you take every document to the Domestic Relations Compliance Office, which reviews each self-represented filing before it is filed with the Clerk (Local Rule 1.3). Build in time for that review when you plan your filing. (Montgomery County Domestic Relations Court)

Updated standard parenting-time order in 2026

The court's Standard Order of Parenting Time (about 90 overnights) applies to orders effective January 1, 2026 (Local Rule 5.8). Ask the court whether the updated schedule applies to your case. (Montgomery County Domestic Relations Court)

Who you'll work with in Montgomery County

Montgomery County filings are handled by Gavvl Law's Dayton team. We serve all 88 Ohio counties, consultations run by phone or video so you never have to leave work early, and flat-fee pricing is set out before you sign anything.

  • Stephanie Green — Managing Partner & Co-Founder. Co-founded Gavvl Law and leads the team covering Dayton and Greater Cincinnati family-law matters, including Montgomery County filings.
  • Samantha Berkhofer — Of Counsel Attorney. Handles Dayton-area divorce, dissolution, and custody matters for Montgomery County families.
  • Eric Sommer — Of Counsel Attorney. Works with Dayton-area clients on family-law filings, from support modifications to contested divorce.

Gavvl Law attorneys handle Montgomery County cases in this county's courts, on this county's paperwork.

Meet the full Gavvl Law team

Talk to a Montgomery County family-law attorney

Free local resources in Montgomery County

  • Montgomery County DR Court — Ohio Legal Help Self-Help Portal — Free step-by-step interviews and fillable forms for Montgomery County divorce, dissolution, legal separation, annulment, custody, support, and protection-order cases at mcdrc.ohiolegalhelp.org.
  • Montgomery County DR Court Navigator & Legal Clinic — The Court Navigator (Room 222, (937) 496-7766) and the free virtual Legal Clinic with the Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project (2nd Tuesday and 3rd Thursday monthly) help self-represented parties understand procedures and complete forms.
  • Montgomery County Juvenile Court Citizen Services — Free pro se assistance for custody, parenting time, child support, paternity, contempt, and grandparent filings at (937) 224-3977, citizen.services@mcjcohio.org — walk-in Monday/Tuesday, by appointment Wednesday–Friday.
  • Montgomery County CSEA — The county IV-D child-support agency at (937) 225-4600, 1111 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd., opens cases, runs wage withholding, distributes payments, and enforces orders.

Frequently asked questions

What does a divorce actually cost in Montgomery County?

You can price this before you ever call. Our flat fees are public: divorce drafting from $1,440; dissolution at $2,015 — $2,645 with children; custody from $1,440; support filings from $1,095 — payment plans on everything. Each flat fee covers a defined limited-scope service, and the court's own filing fee is separate. Confirm the current fee schedule with the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts before filing.

Which court will my case actually be in?

It depends on your situation. Married spouses file divorce, dissolution, or legal separation at Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division. Never-married parents handle custody, parenting time, and support at Montgomery County Juvenile Court. Filing the wrong form — or in the wrong court — costs weeks; getting that right the first time is part of our job.

How do grandparents get custody or visitation in Montgomery County?

Grandparents don't have automatic standing in Ohio, but there are real paths — each with its own paperwork. A companionship/visitation motion is available when the parents divorce, separate, or a parent dies, filed into the existing case. A nonparent custody complaint applies when the child's parents can't provide care — in Montgomery County, typically at Montgomery County Juvenile Court. And a grandparent power of attorney or caretaker authorization can cover school and medical decisions without a custody case. Which path fits is exactly what a $25 consultation sorts out.

What local rule here surprises people most?

Every Ohio county layers its own local rules, packets, and deadlines on top of the state forms — the "why it's different" notes on this page are Montgomery County's. Details like these are invisible until they cost you a hearing date; we build them in from day one.

Do we really need lawyers if we already agree?

Maybe not — and we'll say so at a $25 consultation. But an agreement only counts if it survives on paper, in the exact packet this court expects, without bouncing back for corrections. Precision drafting for agreeing couples is most of what we do here: a flat-fee dissolution, done once, done right.

Is there a parenting class we'll have to take?

In nearly every Ohio county, yes — parents in a divorce, dissolution, or custody case must complete a parenting seminar before the final decree. We confirm Montgomery County's current requirement and calendar it on day one so your decree never waits on a certificate.

Can everything be handled without coming to an office?

Mostly, yes. Montgomery County accepts electronic filing through its court e-filing portal (not every case type is eligible — confirm with the Clerk). On our side, nothing requires an office visit: consultations happen by phone, and your documents, messages, and billing live in the secure client portal.

How fast can this be over?

It depends on the path. An Ohio dissolution — both spouses in full agreement — is generally finalized within about 30 to 90 days of filing, because the law sets the final hearing in that window. A contested divorce takes longer, often several months to more than a year. Which lane your case lands in is mostly decided before you file — it's the single most valuable thing to get advice on early.

Who will actually handle my case?

Your consultation is with Stephanie Green, Elizabeth Warren, or Niva Elgin — and your case is assigned to the Gavvl Law attorney who handles Montgomery County's courts. Same published prices, wherever you are in Ohio.

Related guides

Attorney-written guides on the Ohio family law questions Montgomery County families ask most.

  • How to File for Divorce in Ohio: A Step-by-Step Guide — Filing for divorce in Ohio follows a defined path: confirm residency, choose your grounds, file the complaint, serve your spouse, and work toward temporary orders and a final decree. Here is how each step works.
  • Divorce vs. Dissolution in Ohio: Which Path Is Right for You? — Divorce and dissolution both end an Ohio marriage, but they work very differently. Dissolution is a no-fault, agreed process; divorce is a lawsuit for couples who can't agree. Here's how to choose.
  • What Happens If I Move Out Before the Divorce? (Ohio Myths vs. Reality) — Moving out of the marital home does not forfeit your share of the house, your retirement, or your right to parent your children. It can affect the date the court uses to divide property, and it can affect custody indirectly if you become less involved. This guide separates the myths from what Ohio law actually does, and explains why temporary orders solve most of it.
  • How Much Does a Divorce Cost in Ohio? — The cost of an Ohio divorce ranges widely depending on conflict and complexity. Here's what drives the price — court fees, attorney fees, experts — and how to keep it manageable.
  • Dividing Property in an Ohio Divorce — Ohio divides marital property equitably — meaning fairly, not always equally. The first step is classifying every asset and debt. Here's how the process works.
  • Who Gets the House in an Ohio Divorce? — The marital home is often a couple's biggest asset and most emotional decision. Ohio divides its equity equitably — through a buyout, a sale, or a deferred sale. Here's how.

Call (844) 694-2885 or email support@gavvl.com.