SPOUSAL SUPPORT – (ALIMONY)

CINCINNATI, HAMILTON, CLERMONT,  AND WARREN COUNTIES

Spousal Support is the one issue in a divorce or collaborative case that causes the most problems for the parties and the attorneys. For the parties, put simply, “everyone wants it, and no one wants to pay it”. For the attorney’s, problems arise due to the fact that Ohio does not have a formula for calculating spousal support.

There are two components to spousal support in Ohio. They are, the amount of support to be paid and the duration of the support. Ohio Courts are governed by Ohio Revised Code Section 3105.08 for all issues regarding spousal support. Please navigate to the sub menu – Current Spousal Support Law, for the complete text of the statue.

The code lists the factors the Court has to consider in making an award of spousal support. In addition to specific areas the Court must consider, Section (n) of the Code states that the Court can consider, “Any other factor that the Court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable”. With such a vague and ambiguous factor, an attorney that does not have experience in the County Court that is deciding the issue will be at a disadvantage in trying to evaluate your case. In our experience, there is a wide disparity between Hamilton, Clermont, and Warren Counties in how the Courts decide spousal support issues.

Ohio is considering a bill that would institute spousal support guidelines. The two main factors in the proposed guidelines are the duration of the marriage and the disparity in the income of the parties. If enacted these guidelines would reduce the disparity of awards between the Courts, but would also limited the Courts ability to fashion remedies to a specific case. Please navigate to the sub menu – Proposed Spousal Support Law to review the proposed law, or click here for the proposed statue in PDF: Proposed Spousal Support Law

Before you retain an attorney in a family law case, in Hamilton, Clermont or Warren Counties, take the time to call our office. We will sit down at a free consultation and go over all of the spousal support factors in your case, as well as, answering any other questions you may have.