Those who are going through a divorce in Cleveland often are uncertain about how the court may rule on alimony payments. When you work with an alimony lawyer, they will explain to you the rules the court will review to determine if one spouse should pay alimony and how much alimony will be paid. Generally, the idea is the court wants to provide that any economic hardship caused by divorce in Cleveland will be shared equally by the spouses.
Factors to Discuss With Your Alimony Attorney
The primary factor in determining alimony is the length of the marriage. In nearly all cases, the courts will refrain from ordering alimony payments in Cleveland if the marriage has not lasted at least five years. Some of the other factors that will be considered include:
- Health of partners – the courts will take into consideration the age and health of both partners filing for divorce. This is to ensure if one partner is unable to work due to health or age, they are not burdened financially after a divorce.
- Minor children – if one spouse is unable to work outside the home because they have custody of a minor child from the marriage, this will also be considered by the courts when deciding about alimony in Cleveland divorce cases.
- Spousal income – all types of income will be included in determining alimony in Cleveland divorce cases including retirement income, wages and earnings from investments. The calculation will be made for both spouses as well as the potential for future earnings.
- Standard of living – another important factor will be the standard of living the spouses enjoyed prior to divorce. The general idea behind this is that the courts prefer to not see divorced couples be worse off financially after a Cleveland divorce.
These are only some of the factors a court will take into consideration when making an alimony determination in family courts in Cleveland. Your alimony lawyer can provide you with the full 14-point factors the court will review.
Cleveland Alimony Attorney and Payments Over Time
The divorce courts in Cleveland will order alimony payments either as a lump sum payment or may order them over time. Depending on the order, alimony may be paid all at one time or the court may order payments to Cleveland divorcees over time. In some cases, after a divorce, a spouse may collect alimony payments until the time of their death while in other cases, the courts may order payments for a specific period. Should a spouse fail to make alimony payments in Cleveland, your alimony lawyer may be able to help enforce the order.
Cleveland Alimony Lawyer Discusses Modification of Orders
In most cases, once an alimony payment is ordered by the courts there will be little opportunity for modification. However, there are specific cases where one partner may request the alimony order be modified. One example is if the paying spouse has a significant increase or decrease in wages. In these cases, your Cleveland alimony attorney can file a request for modification of an alimony order. Another case where the order may be modified is if the original divorce decree states the order will be reviewed later.
Couples who are seeking a divorce in Cleveland should be aware of the tax ramifications of alimony payments. The receiving spouse will face taxes on alimony income while the paying spouse will be entitled to a tax credit for payments they made to their spouse.
Locations
RaslanPla and Company, LLC, is staffed by divorce attorneys in Cleveland, Ohio. We also offer our services to those in the following areas:
- Akron, OH
- Cincinnati, OH
- Youngstown, OH
- Toledo, OH
Contact a skilled alimony lawyer at Raslan Pla and Company, LLC at (216) 928-1500 or toll free at (877) 928-1501. We may also be reached by emailing our offices at info@raslanpla.com.