In re V.B., 2018 Ohio 2375

V.B., born 2009, has microcephaly and developmental delays requiring frequent medical care; parents lived together for five years but later separated.
Father filed a juvenile-court petition seeking sole custody; matter referred to a magistrate and proceeded to a three-day trial.
Neither parent filed the pleading or motion required by R.C. 3109.04(G) to seek shared parenting, though both submitted unsigned proposed shared-parenting plans; GAL recommended shared parenting in her report.
Magistrate ruled she lacked authority to award shared parenting absent a proper pleading and instead allocated parental rights to mother while ordering substantial visitation for father.
Father objected; juvenile court reviewed the record, overruled objections, adopted the magistrate’s decision, and father appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether court could adopt shared-parenting plan absent a pleading under R.C. 3109.04(G)	Father: court retained common-law discretion to award shared parenting despite no formal motion	State/Juvenile court: statute requires a pleading/motion; absent it court must allocate to one parent	Court: Statute controls; without a filed pleading, shared parenting was not before the court — no error in refusing shared parenting
Whether court failed to give proper weight to GAL's recommendations	Father: court ignored GAL's concerns and should have followed GAL's recommendation for shared parenting and other concerns	Juvenile court: considered GAL's report but weighed best-interest factors itself and could credit or discount GAL testimony	Court: Trial court applied R.C. 3109.04(F) best-interest factors, was entitled to weigh GAL testimony, and did not abuse discretion

In re Poling, 64 Ohio St.3d 211 (Ohio 1992) (juvenile courts exercise custody jurisdiction under R.C. framework, not common law)
Miller v. Miller, 37 Ohio St.3d 71 (Ohio 1988) (custody determinations reviewed for abuse of discretion)