Spousal support — sometimes still called alimony — isn't awarded automatically in every Ohio divorce. Whether it's appropriate, and how much, depends on a range of factors specific to each marriage.
1. What Spousal Support Is (and Isn't)
Spousal support is a court-ordered payment from one former spouse to the other, meant to address an economic disparity created or highlighted by the divorce. It's separate from the division of marital property and from child support, which serves a different purpose.
2. Factors Ohio Courts Consider
Ohio law directs courts to weigh factors including each spouse's income and earning ability, the duration of the marriage, each spouse's age and health, the standard of living established during the marriage, and contributions one spouse may have made to the other's education or career, among others.
3. Temporary vs. Long-Term Spousal Support
Support can be ordered temporarily while a divorce is pending, and separately as part of the final divorce decree. Final awards can be for a set term, indefinite, or structured to end or change upon certain events like remarriage or retirement.
4. How Long Spousal Support Typically Lasts
There's no fixed formula in Ohio, but longer marriages more often result in longer support terms. Courts have broad discretion to tailor the length and amount to the specific circumstances of the marriage.
5. Tax Treatment
Spousal support's tax treatment changed for divorces finalized after 2018 under federal law — it's generally no longer deductible by the paying spouse or taxable to the receiving spouse. This is worth discussing with both your attorney and a tax professional.
6. Modifying or Terminating Spousal Support
Whether a support order can later be modified depends on how the original decree was written — some orders explicitly retain jurisdiction to modify, others don't. Support often terminates automatically upon the receiving spouse's remarriage or either party's death.
7. Working With an Attorney on Spousal Support
Because spousal support is so fact-specific, it's one of the areas where experienced advocacy can make a real difference — both in whether support is awarded and in how the terms are structured.
If you have questions about spousal support in Youngstown, Salem, Lisbon, Columbiana, or Canfield, Ohio, Stowers Law Office LLC is available to discuss your situation.