Knowledgeable Legal Guidance In Alimony And Spousal Support Requests

Alimony, or spousal support, is not a part of every divorce but can be requested by either spouse under Ohio state law. Alimony is a separate issue from property division and child support and may be issued on a temporary or permanent basis, depending on the court’s decision. Spousal support is most often issued when one spouse was the primary income earner during a marriage. This type of support is not considered punitive, rather reasonable and appropriate to help pay expenses such as mortgages, food, clothing and medical needs after the marriage ends. In addition, in appropriate cases, spousal support will be ordered to enable both spouses to maintain their predivorce lifestyle and standard of living to the extent possible.

At The Law Office of John Heilbrun, Cincinnati spousal support lawyer John Heilbrun has extensive experience on both sides of the spousal support issues. He is prepared to help determine if you may expect to receive alimony or to protect you against unfair rulings.

Important Factors In Determining Spousal Support

Spousal support is determined by the court only after property division issues have been determined. Once the division of marital property and debts have been determined, the court will consider alimony based on factors such as:

• The length of the marriage
• The age and health of both parties
• The standard of living established during the marriage
• The education level of both parties
• The income and earning capacity of both parties

Other factors may include contributions the receiving party made toward the education or career advancement of the paying spouse, work limitations based on child custody or parenting agreements, and the viability of the receiving party to seek additional education in order to join the workforce.

The term of the spousal support obligation may be a specified period of time, or it may be indefinite.

Modifying Or Terminating Alimony

If you want to be able to modify alimony to reflect changing circumstances for you or your spouse, that needs to be written into the agreement or ordered by the court. If your decree does include the authorization of the court to change or terminate spousal support, typical circumstances include:

• A substantial involuntary reduction in the income of the paying spouse
• A substantial involuntary decrease in the income of the receiving spouse
• The remarriage or cohabitation of the receiving spouse
• The disability of the paying spouse
• The death of either spouse

Read more about How Earning Ability Can Affect Alimony.

Cincinnati alimony attorney John Heilbrun can help you under these circumstances to ensure you do not continue paying spousal support when it is no longer necessary or assist you in opposing a request by your former spouse to decrease or eliminate their spousal support obligations.