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About Judge Beth A. Smith
Judge Beth A. Smith was first elected Judge of the Mahoning County Domestic Relations Court in November of 1996. She was re-elected to the bench in November 2002 and again in November 2008 without opposition. In November of 1988, Judge Smith became the first woman elected as a Judge in the history of Mahoning County when she was elected as a Judge of the Mahoning County Area Court, initially assigned to Sebring. Judge Smith graduated from South Range High School in 1974 and she obtained her B.A. Degree from The Ohio State University in 1978. She obtained her Law Degree from Ohio Northern University in 1983. The protection of children from the stresses of divorce and the enforcement of child support remain Judge Smith's top priorities.
Court
News
March 27 , 2009: New Guardians ad Litem Rules. Due to the Ohio Supreme Court's adoption of Superintendence Rule 48 (effective March 1, 2009), Judge Smith has filed a Journal Entry (on March 3, 2009) setting forth new rules regarding Guardians ad Litem. All attorneys wishing to continue to serve as Guardians ad Litem with the Court must now complete an Application/Resume and submit the same to the Court. Persons serving as Guardians must also comply with new training and continuing education requirements set forth in Rule 48. Please contact the Court's Director of Family Services, Luis Arroyo with any questions.
February 13 , 2009: Amendents to Local Rules of Court take effect February 17, 2009. Judge Smith is pleased to announce that the Amended Local Rules of Court which were published for comment back on December 23, 2008 have now been adopted and are effective February 17, 2009. The Court appreciates the comments that were made and believes that the amended rules will properly conform to the new provisions of Ohio law addressing private health insurance and cash medical support, reflect the new rules on Mediation and otherwise make the Court more efficient and litigant friendly. You can view or download the rules by clicking on the following links:
Local Rules: pdf version
Local Rules: Microsoft Word
January 2 , 2009: Minimum Wage and Dependency Exemption Increased. Please note that effective January 1, 2009, the minimum wage for Ohio workers increased from $7.00 per hour to $7.30 per hour. Also, the Federal Dependency Exemption (utilized in Worksheet Computations) iincreased from $3,500.00 to $3,650.00.
December 23, 2008: Notice of Proposed Amendments to Local Rules of Court. Judge Smith is publishing for comment significant amendments to the Local Rules of Court which are intended to conform to the new provisions of Ohio law addressing private health insurance and cash medical support, to adopt a new local rule addressing mediation, and to make other updates to promote the efficiency of the proceedings. You can view or download the rules by clicking on the following link to the Proposed Local Rules. The Planned effective date for the amendments is February 1, 2009 and comments are welcome until Friday, January 23, 2009.
November 12 , 2008: DR FORMS AND MANDATORY LANGUAGE UPDATED.The Court has revised the Mandatory Language it required for Domestic Relations Orders, has created several new forms and has modified the Court's Affidavit of Income, Expenses and Financial Disclosure to reflect the numerous changes required by House Bill 199 addressing the new concept of Cash Medical Support. Click on the following Memo from Judge Smith explaining the changes we have implemented effective immediately.
We are in the process of updating the Court Forms section of the Website, but in the meantime, you can click on the following forms to print or download them to your computers. (They are Microsoft Word Documents.)
Revised Mandatory Language for Domestic Relations Orders
Private Health Insurance (PHI) Questionnaire (pdf)
Revised Affidavit of Income, Expenses and Financial Disclosure
2008 USDA Cash Medical Support Schedule
2008 Poverty Guidelines
February 22 , 2008: COURT RECEIVES RECYLING AWARD. The Court is proud to announce that the Mahoning County Green Team and the Youngstown Litter Control and Recycling Programs awarded the Court an "Excellence in Recycling Award" in recognition of the the Court achieving the "highest standards of recycling which contributes to the quality of the environment in Mahoning County.
November 26 , 2007: The Notice to Employee to Provide Health Insurance has been altered to reflect the current address for the Mahoning County Child Support Enforcement Agency which is now 345 Oak Hill Avenue. The P.O. Box is the same. The revised forms are available on the Court Forms section of this Website in either Word or pdf formats.
October 27, 2007: NEW FORMS ON WEBSITE FOR REGISTERING FOREIGN CUSTODY AND SUPPORT ORDERS. The following Notices (available on the Court Forms section of this Website in either Word or pdf formats) must be signed by the Judge or a Magistrate and must accompany
Petitions to Register Foreign Custody and Support Orders.
Notice of Registration of Foreign Custody Order
Notice of Registration of Foreign Support Order
September 17, 2007: TOM DAWSON RETURNS TO DOMESTIC RELATIONS COURT AS FULL TIME MAGISTRATE
Judge Smith is pleased to welcome Tom Dawson
back to the Court as a Full Time Magistrate. Tom
has been a practicing attorney for nearly 20 years,
six of which were spent with the Court
from
1998 to 2004. Tom is a Certified Family Law Specialist.
To
November 4,
2006: JUDGE SMITH RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD
Judge Smith with Margaret Wuwert & Nancy Moore of the Children's
Right's Council
Judge Smith was recently the proud recipient of the
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Healer Award in Washington, D.C. at the 20th
annual Children's Rights Conference. The Children's Rights Council is an international
nonprofit organization devoted to the healthy development of children. The
award is presented to judges who promote mediation over litigation and promote
healing after the breakup of a relationship.
October 1 , 2006: LOCAL COURT RULES AND FORMS AMENDED: Following the period afforded for comments to the proposed amendments and revisions to the Local Rules of Court and many of the Court's standard forms, the same have been approved and are effective October 1, 2006. The principle goals of the changes have been to better protect the privacy of litigants and to improve the efficiency of the proceedings. As a result of the changes, the Social Security Numbers and Dates of Birth of parties will no longer appear on the captions of pleadings. Such information will only appear on the new "Family Information Sheet". To view or download the Amended Rules and Forms, click on the designated Links.
About Our Court
Full Time Magistrates and Staff Attorney: In 1997, Judge Smith became the first member of the Special Divisions of the Common Pleas Bench to employ Full Time Magistrates to expedite decision-making and to better serve the public. She also employed a Staff Attorney to insure that Court decisions are well supported and reflect the current state of the law. Click here to meet the Court's Magistrates and Staff Attorney.
Family Services Department: In March 1998, Judge Smith established a Family Services Department to make the Court family friendly.
Hope
House Visitation Center: In January 1999, Judge Smith joined with
the late Juvenile Judge James McNally to become an early planner and strong
supporter of the Hope House Visitation Center Project. The Court continues to
provide financial support for this important program. Due to
a 2007 grant, there are no costs associated with the use
of Hope House for Mahoning County residents.
For
Our Children: In April 2001, Judge Smith secured a $2,500.00 Grant
from the Ohio Supreme Court to establish an Educational Program for children
of families going through divorce.
Mediation: In October 2001, Judge Smith made Mediation mandatory for most families with parenting disputes, a program that has experienced great success and which earned Judge Smith recognition from The Vindicator as one of the Mahoning Valley's "People Who Made a Difference."
Pro-Se Divorce Program: Judge Smith has worked cooperatively with Northeast Ohio Legal Services to make no cost divorces available to qualifying persons with limited financial resources.
Domestic Violence: Petitions for Domestic Violence are given special priority by the Court, which works cooperatively with the VALU program of Northeast Ohio Legal Services to assist victims of domestic violence.
Mahoning
County Domestic Relations Court
120 Market St.
Youngstown, OH
44503
Phone: 330-740-2208
Fax: 330-740-2503
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