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spousal support in ohio
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How Does A Court Decide Spousal Support in Ohio?

How does a court decide spousal support?  The court considers a list of factors set forth in Ohio Revised Code 3105.18 (R.C. 3015.18):

  1. The income of the parties, from all sources, including but not limited to, income from property divided, disbursed, or distributed under Ohio Revised Code 3015.171;
  2. The relative earning abilities of the parties;
  3. The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the parties;
  4. The retirement benefits of the parties;
  5. The duration of the marriage;
  6. The extent to which it would be inappropriate for a party, because that party will be custodian of a minor child of the marriage, to seek employment outside the home;
  7. The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage;
  8. The relative extent of education of the parties;
  9. The relative assets and liabilities of the parties, including but not limited to any court-ordered payments by the parties;
  10. The contribution of each party to the education, training, or earning ability of the other party, including, but not limited to, any party’s contribution to the acquisition of a professional degree of the other party;
  11. The time and expense necessary for the spouse who is seeking spousal support to acquire education, training, or job experience so that the spouse will be qualified to obtain appropriate employment, provided the education, training, or job experience, and employment is, in fact, sought;
  12. The tax consequences for each party, of an award of spousal support;
  13. The lost income production capacity of either party that resulted from that party’s marital responsibilities;
  14. Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable.

Ohio law assumes that marriage is an equal partnership:

“In determining whether spousal support is reasonable and in determining the amount and terms of payment of spousal support, each party shall be considered to have contributed equally to the production of marital income.”

This means that, while one spouse may have earned the income outside the home, the other spouse will be presumed to be an equal partner in that effort by caring for the children, cleaning the home, and preparing meals.  Certainly, the income-earning spouse was able to concentrate more on earning money with such responsibilities taken on by the other spouse.

 

Attorney Daniel Gigiano.  Experienced.  Knowledgeable.  Aggressive.

If you need the services of an experienced divorce attorney, contact Attorney Daniel Gigiano at 330-336-3330 for a free initial 30 minute consultation.

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