Case facts:
State: Ohio
Married in Feb 2024 and filed for divorce in May 2024. She was violent towards me(CPO was filed and granted). Case went to trial because they wanted 32K as settlement but our excel numbers showed only 6k

  1. Married for 3.5 months
  2. No kids together
  3. Ex earns more than me
  4. Trial in Jan 2025

Divorce verdict:
Asked to pay around 32K to her. Magistrate considered the bank accounts only till May(If she has considered till Jan her balances were much more)
She violated mutual restraining order multiple times by transferring funds across accounts sometimes to friends - ignored by magistrate
Transferred marital funds to another country where her family stays on the day she received divorce papers - ignored by magistrate

We signed for a home together before getting married. Ernest money was 20K. We both paid half which she transferred back to her account the day she received divorce papers - ignored by magistrate
So the 32k = 10k (Ernest money deposit) + 5k (principal payment of my existing condo) +15k (my 401k from Jan 2024 to Jan 2025)

Her accounts and assets were totally ignored. My lawyer was very disappointed with the verdict too and said we can challenge but it will cost another 5k. I lost faith in the integrity of that court and decided to not go ahead but I feel magistrate was totally careless and I suspect foul play behind the scenes.

Why I suspect foul play? During the trial my ex and her lawyer argued that the end date of marriage should be November since I got the home then but we argued that it be in May since its a short term marriage and she filed counter then.

Guess what, magistrate awarded my 401k till Jan(since it grew the most in Dec and Jan).

I am very heartbroken by the verdict and I feel if I could something so that another person does not suffer the same way as I did I should do it. I can file a complaint against the magistrate for being biased but not sure if it will work or come back to haunt me.

Does anyone have experiences of such kind and tried to file a complaint against the judgement?