Experience
Deanna DiPetta has over 36 years of experience in divorce and dissolution, custody and visitation litigation, and adoption. Deanna brings a wealth of recognized experience to the firm’s domestic relations practice including a strong background in negotiating and litigating a broad spectrum of financial issues: dividing complex marital estates, investment properties, business interests, unusual investments, mineral rights, complicated retirement plans, and separate property issues. She has a broad and deep understanding regarding the complexities of domestic relations law including:
- Evaluating business and partnership interests for division in divorce
- Researching and analyzing records to identify misappropriated or hidden marital assets
- Drafting, interpreting and evaluating the enforceability of prenuptial agreements
- Crafting tailored temporary and permanent spousal and child support plans
- Allocating parental rights and responsibilities
- Resolving parental relocation challenges
- Settling custody matters requiring psychological expert testimony
- Addressing domestic violence matters
- Handling post-decree issues of enforcement and non-disclosed or omitted assets
Civic and Professional Involvement
- Judge4Yourself, member
- Ohio Supreme Court, Lawyer to Lawyer Program and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, mentor to young lawyers
- Violence Against Women Act Committee, member
- Cleveland Museum of Art, the Women’s Council, member
- Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA), former member of Certified Grievance Committee, former member of the Board
- Legal Aid Society, Pro Bono Clinics – volunteer
- The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society – volunteer
- Hospice of the Western Reserve – volunteer
- Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court, Rules Committee, former member
Accomplishments
- Ohio Super Lawyers, 2017-2024
- Best Lawyers of America, US News & World Report
- Certified Mediator, completed 40-hour mediation course sponsored by the Center for Principled Family Advocacy
- Former Professor of Domestic Relations Law at Notre Dame College
- Estate Planning Institute – co-authored and lectured on “Planning for the Possibility of Divorce” and “Estate Planning and Asset Management Issues”
- Makes frequent television appearances to discuss family law-related issues
Representative Cases
- Giuliano vs. Giuliano, Cuyahoga Common Pleas No. DR-12-343002 (involving complex pension issues, tried to completion)
- Bell vs. Bell, Cuyahoga Common Pleas No. DR-05-304231 (involving complex custody litigation surrounding a severely disabled child)
- Berger vs. Berger, Geauga Common Pleas No. 12D000254 (involving complex litigation regarding a family business with separate components, tried to completion)
Bar Admissions
- All Ohio State Courts
- United States Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
Education
- Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, J.D., 1986