Ohio Spousal Support Calculation
CLE Course Information Page
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Obtain your mandatory CLE credits at home or the office.
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Pay one-third to one-half what CLE hours normally cost.
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Arm yourself with all the financial
information necessary to advance your client's position.
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Review the most recent Ohio case law related to spousal
support.
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Become an expert user of Ohio
Spousal Support Calculator.
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Train yourself and your staff to prepare spousal support computations in the most
cost-effective manner possible.
An up-to-date, detailed explanation of Ohio's spousal support
calculation narrated
by Ernest F. Zore attorney and
programmer of Puritas Springs Software's Ohio Spousal Support
Calculator (MA_2010) and Revised Ohio Child Support
Guidelines (WROCSG).
This instructional web video takes you through a sample spousal support
calculation with special attention to recent relevant Ohio cases.
You'll also receive many helpful suggestions for using
MA_2010.
Whether you're new to MA_2010 or a veteran, this video has something for
you.
You can view this web video at your convenience from your home or
office using any computer with an internet connection.
Author & Narrator
Ernest F. Zore is an Ohio attorney who received his Bachelor of Science in 1975
from Cleveland State University, and his Juris Doctor in 1978 from
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He was a practicing attorney from 1978
through 1998, and he started Puritas Springs Software in 1986. Puritas Springs
Software is a software publishing company specializing in the development of
legal software. Mr. Zore is the owner of over 100 copyrights on legal and tax
software products (including Puritas Springs Software’s
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator and Revised Ohio Child Support Guidelines). He has previously
lectured for CLE programs sponsored by the Parma Bar Association, and the Ohio
Trial Lawyers Association. He is also the author and narrator of the
companion child support CLE course.
This video is primarily designed as an entry level course for attorneys,
magistrates, and judges interested in gaining additional insight into
making spousal support calculations and using Ohio
Spousal Support Calculator.
Background
Calculating spousal support can be complicated when compared to the
child support calculation. For one thing, there's no statutory
worksheet for performing the calculation, only a list of 14 factors
to consider. To fill the void, domestic relations court magistrates
and judges sometimes resort to formulas they developed personally or use
software that they get for free but costs you a bundle.
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator is a
powerful tool for advancing your client's case. It arms you with
information that is necessary and critical for performing income
equalization analysis, calculating the tax consequences of spousal
support payments, and assessing spousal support awards from an ability-to-pay and needs-based
perspective. In short, it's everything you'll need to support your
arguments.
Are the reports designed to be presented to the court? Not really,
although they can be. They're for your personal use in double-checking the court's
calculation and for validating or countering opposing counsel or the
court's calculus when you think it's gone astray.
Topics Covered
Statutes, case law, and computer software operation organized according to the
specific spousal support considerations codified in
§3105.18 of the Ohio Revised Code. The
spousal support software used in the video (Ohio
Spousal Support Calculator (MA_2010))
is published by Puritas
Springs Software, a company which has specialized in child support
and spousal support software since 1994. Revised Ohio
Child Support Guidelines is used by over 100 Ohio courts, law libraries and
agencies (i.e., Ohio Department of Job
and Family Services, Prosecutor’s Offices, Child Support Enforcement Agencies,
Domestic Relations Courts, Probate Courts, and Juvenile Courts).
Background – A brief
history of alimony; overview of applicable statutory and case law;
introduction to MA startup and operation.
General Information –
Tour of the General Information Worksheet; starting a case file;
ramifications of entries in certain fields of the worksheet.
Income – Review of
relevant 3105.18(C)(1) factors, recent case law, and income types:
wages (importance of considering FICA and Medicare withholding), other taxable
income, and non-taxable income.
Expenses
– Review of relevant 3105.18(C)(1) factors, recent case law,
assessing essential and non-essential living expenses in light of
standard of living and ability to pay considerations.
Child Support
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Calculating child support; impact of child support payments on the
alimony calculation; review of several specific line items.
Spousal Support – Review of
the four spousal support reports; forcing an analysis for specific
levels of spousal support; the lifestyle report.
Property & Debt – Using
the Property & Debt table for drag-and-drop analysis of property
divisions; Munroe appreciation calculator.
Tax Issues – Review of
the reports available for assessing: who should take child
dependency exemptions; what level of spousal support yields the
least combined tax liability; complete state and federal tax analysis at specific
levels of spousal support.
Miscellaneous - The relationship between child
support and spousal support - circular references; MA's
Update button;
Printed Materials
The
materials listed below are provided to participants in the form of downloadable
pdf files. The item marked with an asterisk (*) is a MAB file that
can be downloaded and opened in MA_2010.
- Alternative Minimum Tax Table
- Spousal Support Cases
- MA_2010 CLE
Sample MAB File - Do not left-click on this link. Instead,
right-click on it and select Save from the menu. The default
location for MAB files is C:\Puritas\MA_2010\Files. After you save
the file to your computer, change the name from CLE_Sample_MAB to
CLE_Sample.MAB (in other words, change the second underscore to a
period). After following these instructions, you should be able to
open the file from MA_2010.
- MA_2010 Complete
Printout of MAB File
- ORC 3105.171 Equitable division of marital
and separate property
- ORC 3105.18 Awarding spousal support
- Wolfe vs. Wolfe, 46 Ohio St.2d 399
(Ohio 1976)
- Kunkle v. Kunkle, 51 Ohio St.3d 64
(Ohio 1990)
- Law Office Computing,
Volume 2010, No. 1 (reprint) - See the article on page one titled
"The Phone Call."
Continuing Legal Education Information
OH Attorneys: This course has been approved by the Supreme
Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 3.00 total CLE credit hours
instruction.
Important. This course qualifies as a self-study activity and
participants are limited to six hours per reporting period as provided in Rule
X, Section 4(A)(4) and Regulation 409.2.
Easy Ways to Register!
Click here to complete our registration form,
or call Puritas Springs Software at (330) 278-3252.
The cost of this CLE-approved instructional video is only $119.99!
Compare this to the usual cost of an hour of approved CLE from other sources.