Pursuant to an Ohio divorce, a court may order that one party to the proceedings pay the other spousal support. As previously discussed on this family law blog, spousal support is money given to one ex-spouse to the other. It may be mandated permanently or it may be ordered for a shorter duration of time.
When spousal support is ordered it is based on the best information available at the time the parties go through their divorce. However, as Dublin residents know, life happens and a person’s circumstances can go through major changes in a matter of days. For example, the loss of a job or a sudden and unexpected health crisis may leave a presumably stable individual without enough money to meet their own needs.
These types of circumstances may justify the modification of a spousal support order. Generally, a person may not seek to change their obligation if the change in circumstances they experienced was of their own doing. That is to say, a person cannot quit their job and then claim that they cannot pay spousal support since their loss of income was their own doing.
The circumstances under which a request to modify spousal support may be viewed very narrowly by the courts of the state. Not every request to change or lower spousal support payments will be honored.
Finding success in one’s request to lessen or modify their spousal support obligation can take time and effort to build a solid case. For this reason the help of family law attorneys can be of great benefit to those who financially are unable to keep up with the spousal support payments to which they are bound.