Terms of Use

Your use of the websites including subdomains on which these terms reside (collectively, the "Platform"), and the features at this Platform are subject to these Terms of Use, which we may update from time to time. Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using this Platform.

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY. IT SETS FORTH THE LEGALLY BINDING TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM, SUCH AS YOUR GRANTS AND WAIVERS OF RIGHTS, THE LIMITATIONS OF OUR LIABILITY AND YOUR INDEMNITY OF US.

Introduction and Overview

The Lorain County Domestic Relations Virtual Self-Help Center (the “Platform”) is a service provided, supported and maintained by Ohio Legal Help for use by potential litigants, litigants, court administrators, and court personnel in the Lorain County Domestic Relations Court. This Platform is intended for and applicable only for residents of the United States. By accessing this Platform in any way, including, without limitation, browsing this Platform, using any information, and/or submitting information to Ohio Legal Help, you agree to and are bound by the terms, conditions, policies, and notices contained on this page (the "Terms"), including, but not limited to, conducting this transaction electronically, disclaimers of warranties, damage and remedy exclusions and limitations, and a choice of Ohio law.

From time-to-time we may update this Platform and these Terms. Your use of this Platform after we post any changes to these Terms constitutes your agreement to those changes prospectively from the date of such changes. You agree to review these Terms periodically to ensure that you are familiar with the most recent version. Ohio Legal Help may, in its sole discretion, and at any time, discontinue this Platform or any part thereof, with or without notice, or may prevent your use of this Platform with or without notice to you. You agree that you do not have any rights in this Platform and that Ohio Legal Help will have no liability to you if this Platform is discontinued or your ability to access the Platform or any content you may have submitted on the Platform is terminated. You further agree that Ohio Legal Help will not be liable for any modification or suspension of the Platform.

These Terms of Use do not govern the relationship between Ohio Legal Help and the Lorain County Domestic Relations Court, that relationship is governed solely via a separate contract executed by Ohio Legal Help and the Court.

Ohio Legal Help Online Content

The Platform contains a variety of: (i) materials and other items relating to Ohio Legal Help and its products and services, and similar items from our licensors and other third parties, including all layout, information, articles, posts, text, data, files, images, scripts, designs, graphics, button icons, instructions, illustrations, photographs, pictures, advertising copy, URLs, technology, software, interactive features, the “look and feel” of the Service, and the compilation, assembly, and arrangement of the materials of the Service and any and all copyrightable material (including source and object code); (ii) trademarks, logos, trade names, trade dress, service marks, and trade identities of various parties, including those of Ohio Legal Help (collectively, “Trademarks”); and (iii) other forms of intellectual property (all of the foregoing, collectively “Content”).

The Content is owned or controlled by Ohio Legal Help and our licensors and certain other third parties. All rights, titles, and interest in and to the Content available via the Service is the property of Ohio Legal Help or our licensors or certain other third parties, and is protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademark, trade dress, patent and/or other intellectual property and other rights and laws to the fullest extent possible. Ohio Legal Help owns the copyright in the selection, compilation, assembly, arrangement, and enhancement of the Content on the Platform.

You agree not to download, display or use any Content located on the Platform for use in any publications, in public performances, on websites other than this Platform, for any other commercial purpose, in connection with products or services that are not those of Ohio Legal Help, in any other manner that is likely to cause confusion among consumers, that disparages or discredits Ohio Legal Help and/or its licensors, that dilutes the strength of Ohio Legal Help's or its licensor's property, or that otherwise infringes Ohio Legal Help's or its licensors' intellectual property rights. You further agree in no other way misuse Content or third-party content that appears on this Platform.

If you are a trademark or copyright owner and you believe that your trademark or copyright rights have been violated, please go to our Proprietary Rights Complaint Process and follow the instructions.

ChatBot /LiveChat Disclosure

Any information that you share with the ChatBot, LiveChat or LiveChat Agent is not confidential. Information that you share and related communications may be monitored, used, or disclosed for any government purpose or pursuant to applicable laws.  

Information Not Legal Advice

The information on this Platform, including, without limitation, information, and material provided through the ChatBot and LiveChat chat service and using automated documents, is not legal advice. Legal information is not the same as legal advice, which is the application of law to an individual's specific circumstances.

The information on this Platform is not a substitute for and does not replace the advice or representation of a licensed attorney. Although Ohio Legal Help goes to great lengths to make sure the information on the Platform is accurate and up to date, we make no claim as to the accuracy of this information and are not responsible for any consequences that may result from the use of this Platform.

We recommend that you consult with a licensed lawyer if you want assurance that the information on the Platform and your interpretation of it are appropriate for your particular situation. You can find information about finding an attorney on the Finding a Lawyer page on this site.

You should not and are not authorized to rely on this Platform as a source of legal advice. The use of this Platform does not create an attorney-client relationship between Ohio Legal Help and any user.

Online Feedback

Ohio Legal Help provides the opportunity for users to give online feedback so that you may comment on the materials that you find on the Platform. This feedback is always optional. The purpose of the feedback is to improve the Platform for other users.

You acknowledge and agree that if you submit any feedback to us, you hereby grant to us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, fully-paid, royalty-free, sub-licensable (through several tiers) and transferable license under any and all intellectual property rights that you own or control in relation to the feedback to use, reproduce, view, communicate to the public by any means, print, copy (whether onto hard disk or other media), edit, translate, perform and display (publicly or otherwise), distribute, redistribute, modify, adapt, make, sell, offer to sell, transmit, license, transfer, stream, broadcast, create derivative works from, and otherwise use and exploit the Feedback for any purpose.

Use of the Platform

You agree that you will not: (i) use the Platform for any political or commercial purpose (including, without limitation, for purposes of advertising, soliciting funds, collecting product prices, and selling products); (ii) use any meta tags or any other “hidden text” utilizing any Trademarks; (iii) engage in any activities through or in connection with the Platform that seek to attempt to or do harm any individuals or entities or are unlawful, offensive, obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, violent, threatening, harassing, or abusive, or that violate any right of any third party, or are otherwise objectionable to Ohio Legal Help; (iv) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, reverse assemble, or modify any Platform source or object code or any software or other products, services, or processes accessible through any portion of the Platform; (v) engage in any activity that interferes with a user’s access to the Platform or the proper operation of the Platform, or otherwise causes harm to the Platform, Ohio Legal Help, or other users of the Platform; (vi) interfere with or circumvent any security feature of the Platform or any feature that restricts or enforces limitations on use of or access to the Platform; (vii) attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Platform, other computer systems or networks connected to the Platform, through password mining or any other means; or (viii) otherwise violate these Terms.

Without limiting the restrictions above, you also agree that, in using the Platform, you: (i) will not monitor, gather, copy, or distribute the Content (except as may be a result of standard search engine activity or use of a standard browser) on the Platform by using any robot, rover, “bot”, spider, scraper, crawler, spyware, engine, device, software, extraction tool, or any other automatic device, utility, or manual process of any kind; (ii) will not frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any such Content (including any images, text, or page layout); (iii) will keep intact all Trademark, copyright, and other intellectual property notices contained in such Content; (iv) will not use such Content in a manner that suggests an unauthorized association with any of our or our licensors’ products, services, or brands; (v) will not make any modifications to such Content; (vi) will not copy, modify, reproduce, archive, sell, lease, rent, exchange, create derivative works from, publish by hard copy or electronic means, publicly perform, display, disseminate, distribute, broadcast, retransmit, circulate or transfer to any third party or on any third party application or website, or otherwise use or exploit such Content in any way for any purpose except with the prior written consent of an officer of Ohio Legal Help or, in the case of Content from a licensor, the owner of the Content; and (vii) will not insert any code or product to manipulate such Content in any way that adversely affects any user experience of the Platform.

Ohio Legal Help may immediately suspend or terminate the availability of the Platform and Content (and any elements and features of them), in whole or in part, for any reason, in Ohio Legal Help’s sole discretion, and without advance notice or liability.

The use of the Platform on a mobile device requires use of a mobile device and wireless mobile data service, which must be obtained from your wireless carrier, and may require internet access, which must be obtained from your service provider; you are responsible for obtaining and paying for such additional services and obtaining a suitable device, including without limitation all related usage charges. You may be required to send and receive, at your cost, electronic communications related to the Platform. If you do not have an unlimited wireless mobile data plan, you may incur additional charges from your wireless service provider in connection with your use of the Platform. You are solely responsible for obtaining any additional subscription or connectivity services or equipment necessary to access the Platform, including but not limited to payment of all third party fees, including fees for information sent to or through the Platform.

Artificial Intelligence 

Accessing or using the Platform via mechanical, programmatic, robotic, scripted or any other automated means is strictly prohibited. Unless otherwise agreed to by Ohio Legal Help in writing, use of the Platform is permitted only via individual users engaged in an active user session and may not be collected via automated or robotic methods. Regardless of the data delivery method, neither the Platform nor the Content may be used in conjunction with a generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) solution.  

Accounts, Security, Passwords

Certain areas of the Platform may require registration or may otherwise ask you to provide information to participate in certain features or access certain content. The decision to provide this information is purely optional; however, if you elect not to provide such information, you may not be able to access certain content or participate in certain features of the Platform.

If the Platform requires you to open an account, you must complete the specified registration process by providing us with current, complete, and accurate information as requested by the applicable online registration form. It is your responsibility to maintain the currency, completeness, and accuracy of your registration data and any loss caused by your failure to do so is your responsibility. After you have fully completed the registration form, you may be asked to choose a password and a username. It is entirely your responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of your password and account. Additionally, you are entirely responsible for any and all activities that occur under your account. You agree to notify Ohio Legal Help immediately of any unauthorized use of your account. You further agree not to email, post, or otherwise disseminate any user ID, password, or other information which provides you access to the Platform. Ohio Legal Help is not liable for any loss that you may incur as a result of someone else using your password or account, either with or without your knowledge. You may close your account at any time.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold Ohio Legal Help and the Lorain County Domestic Relations Court, its parents, subsidiaries, officers, employees, agents, and website contractors and each of their officers, employees and agents harmless from any claims, damages and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, related to your violation of these Terms, or any violations thereof by your dependents, or which otherwise arises from your use of the Platform.

Representations and Limitations of Liability

Ohio Legal Help makes no representations about the accuracy of the information on this Platform or the reliability of the features of this Platform, the Content, or any other Platform feature, and disclaims all liability in the event of any service failure. You acknowledge that any reliance on such material or systems will be at your own risk. Ohio Legal Help makes no representations regarding the amount of time that any Content will be preserved.

Ohio Legal Help does not endorse, verify, evaluate or guarantee any information provided by users and nothing shall be considered as an endorsement, verification or guarantee of any Content. You shall not create or distribute information, including but not limited to advertisements, press releases or other marketing materials, or include links to any sites which contain or suggest an endorsement by Ohio Legal Help without the prior review and written approval of Ohio Legal Help.

THIS PLATFORM (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL INFORMATION AND CONTENT CONTAINED HEREON) IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS, AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE MADE WITH RESPECT TO THIS PLATFORM OR ANY INFORMATION OR SOFTWARE THEREIN. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, SHALL OHIO LEGAL HELP BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PLATFORM, NOR SHALL OHIO LEGAL HELP BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER THAT RESULT FROM MISTAKES, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS, DELETION OF FILES, ERRORS, DEFECTS, DELAYS IN OPERATION OR TRANSMISSION, OR ANY FAILURE OF PERFORMANCE WHETHER OR NOT CAUSED BY EVENTS BEYOND OHIO LEGAL HELP'S REASONABLE CONTROL, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ACTS OF GOD, COMMUNICATIONS LINE FAILURE, THEFT, DESTRUCTION, OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO THIS PLATFORM'S RECORDS, PROGRAMS, OR SERVICES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO A NEGLIGENT ACT, WILL OHIO LEGAL HELP OR ITS AFFILIATES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OF ANY KIND THAT RESULTS FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THE PLATFORM, EVEN IF OHIO LEGAL HELP HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; AS A RESULT, THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

THE PLATFORM MAY CONTAIN FACTS, OPINIONS, VIEWS, STATEMENTS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THIRD PARTY INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS. OHIO LEGAL HELP DOES NOT REPRESENT OR ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY FACTS, OPINIONS, VIEWS, STATEMENTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS OR OTHER INFORMATION DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE PLATFORM. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ANY RELIANCE UPON ANY SUCH FACTS, OPINIONS, VIEWS, STATEMENTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. IN NO EVENT WILL OHIO LEGAL HELP OR ANY AFFILIATES BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE FOR LOSS OR INJURY, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY.

Export Control

Software and other materials from the Platform may be subject to United States Export Control. The United States Export Control laws prohibit the export of certain technical data and software to certain territories. No software from the Platform may be downloaded or exported in violation of any such laws. Ohio Legal Help does not authorize the exportation of any software or technical data from the Platform to any jurisdiction prohibited by the United States Export laws. In particular, but without limitation, the Platform may not be exported, re-exported, diverted, transferred, or disclosed (a) into any U.S. embargoed countries or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Person’s List or Entity List. You represent and warrant that: (i) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo, or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a "terrorist supporting" country; and (ii) you are not listed on any U.S. Government "watch list" of prohibited or restricted parties, including the Specially Designated Nationals list published by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury or the Denied Persons List published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. You also agree that you will not use the Platform for any purposes prohibited by United States law.

Each of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the United Nations Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods is hereby expressly excluded and will not apply to this Agreement.

Third Party Websites

This Platform may link to sites and platforms not maintained by or related to Ohio Legal Help. Links are provided as a service to users and are not sponsored by or affiliated with this Platform or Ohio Legal Help, and Ohio Legal Help makes no representations or warranties about the content, completeness, or accuracy of those third party sites. The information you submit at a third party site accessible from this Platform is subject to the terms of that site's privacy policy, and Ohio Legal Help has no control over how your information is collected, used, or otherwise handled.

Location Based Services

This Platform may use location-based services to locate you. If you choose to use the location-based services portion of this Platform, you consent to Ohio Legal Help and/or its third party provider accessing your approximate or exact location. You also grant Ohio Legal Help permission to use this information to improve its products or to provide services or technologies to you, as well as to provide advertising content in which Ohio Legal Help believes you may be interested. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

Text Messaging

If you consent to receive text messages on or through the Platform, you expressly consent to receive recurring autodialed and automated text messages from and on behalf of Ohio Legal Help at the telephone number(s) that you provide.  This includes text messages from via MyOLH, which includes reminders, legal information, next steps and feedback and outcomes surveys.

Consent to receive text messages from or on behalf of Ohio Legal Help is not a requirement or a condition of using the Platform. Message and data rates may apply. By opting in to receive text messages, you represent that you are the account holder for the telephone number(s) that you provide and you agree to ensure that the telephone number(s) you provide remains accurate and up-to-date at all times. You understand and agree that opting in to Ohio Legal Help’s text messaging program, you are providing your digital signature and providing your express written consent to receive recurring autodialed text messages from and on behalf of Ohio Legal Help at the telephone number(s) that you provide. To stop receiving Ohio Legal Help text messages, reply STOP to the phone number from which you received the text message (a confirmation message will be sent), or send an email requesting such opt-out to [email protected].

Ohio Legal Help does not guarantee the availability or performance of the text message service and you understand that transmission delays and message failures may occur. Not all carriers are covered and supported carriers may change from time to time. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Message frequency varies. Ohio Legal Help may suspend or terminate your receipt of Ohio Legal Help text messages at any time. Ohio Legal Help reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, all or any part of Ohio Legal Help text message services, with or without notice.

Translation

The Platform Content has been translated for your convenience using a translation process powered by Google Translate™ and then reviewed by a qualified human translator.

The translations are provided “as is” without warranties of any kind. Ohio Legal Help and the Court are not responsible for incomplete or inaccurate translations, nor is it liable for any damages or losses arising out of the user's use of these translations on the Platform.  

Miscellaneous

Both you and Ohio Legal Help acknowledge and agree that no partnership is formed and neither of you nor Ohio Legal Help has the power or the authority to obligate or bind the other.

These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of Ohio without regard to conflicts of laws principles. By using this site, you hereby agree that any and all disputes regarding these Terms will be subject to the courts located in Franklin County, Ohio. These Terms operate to the fullest extent permissible by law.

On certain areas of our Platform, you may be given the ability to provide us with personally identifiable information. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information about our information collection and use practices, which Policy applies to information you submit on this Platform, and you hereby agree to the terms of that Policy.

The failure of Ohio Legal Help to comply with these Terms because of an act of God, war, fire, riot, terrorism, earthquake, actions of federal, state or local governmental authorities or for any other reason beyond the reasonable control of Ohio Legal Help, shall not be deemed a breach of these Terms.

If Ohio Legal Help fails to act with respect to your breach or anyone else's breach on any occasion, Ohio Legal Help is not waiving its right to act with respect to future or similar breaches. If any provision of these Terms shall be unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these terms of use and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

These Terms constitute a binding agreement between you and Ohio Legal Help and is accepted by you upon your use of the Platform. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Ohio Legal Help regarding the use of the Platform. By using the Platform, you represent that you are capable of entering into a binding agreement and that you agree to be bound by these Terms.

You acknowledge and agree that your acceptance of these Terms and your use of the Platform constitutes your “electronic signature” indicating your desire to use the Platform. Your “electronic signature” indicates your acceptance of this Agreement, and your consent to receive communications about this Agreement electronically. If you wish to receive communications in another manner, you may contact us at [email protected] to change your communication preferences.

Effective Date: 4.13.19

Last Revision Date: 4.11.24