Financial Plans for Children and Dependent Spouses
When your family structure is changing, it is important to make provisions for the financial support of your children and, in some cases, for your spouse.
The family law attorneys of Brinkman & Associates in Cincinnati, Ohio, help establish, modify and enforce child support and spousal support (alimony) arrangements.
Child support is calculated by a worksheet, but there is a lot of room for interpretation of exactly what numbers should go into the formula. We care enough to dig deeply into the issues in order to obtain a positive result for our clients. Determining income is one example.
What Is Income?
There are many provisions in the Ohio Revised Code devoted to defining what income is. Your pay stub is not the only way to define income.
Income includes your earning potential. If you are a physician, but you are currently working at a lower income job, the court can impute income to you. Based on your earning potential, it might be more appropriate and in the best interests of your children to use an income of $200,000 instead of the $20,000 in wages you are currently earning.
What Is Reasonable?
Is it reasonable to expect someone to pay $8,000 in child care expenses when that person's income is only $10,000 per year? The same argument can be made for health care expenses.
Additionally, the schedule that helps parents determine child support tops out at a certain level. Parents whose combined gross income exceeds $150,000 need attorneys to help them determine an appropriate level of child support, since this is done on a case by case basis.
Does the court have to follow the formula? No. We will explore options for deviating from the child support guidelines for reasons such as sharing of the child-related expenses, parenting time allocation, other court-ordered payments, extraordinary medical expenses or parenting time travel expenses.
What About Spousal Support?
According to Ohio law, spousal support may be awarded whenever it is appropriate and reasonable. Because the law gives divorcing couples and their attorneys so little guidance, spousal support disputes often end up in court.
The length of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, and the age, education level and work history of the two parties, and one party's contribution to the other's education and career can all be considered in determining spousal support. Because this issue is so tricky, the experience and ability of your lawyer can be very important in exploring options and reasonableness in the complex area of spousal support.
For effective representation in issues involving child support and spousal support, please contact our firm. Call us toll free at 866-761-7660 to arrange your initial consultation.
