Ohio Spousal Support Calculator
In The Beginning
In the late 1990’s Ohio Spousal
Support Calculator was largely a program that calculated
the tax consequences of spousal support payments. Why the limited
functionality? Because there were no guidelines for calculating spousal
support as there had been, since 1987, for calculating child support.
However, the spousal support statute required consideration of the tax
consequences related to the payment and receipt of spousal support
payments. Regardless, family law practitioners told us they needed a
tool for calculating spousal support that was based on statutory
language suggesting the application of equitable principles in awarding
support and dividing property. They also wanted a software tool that
didn’t cost an arm and a leg to purchase and upkeep.
Enter the 2004 Ohio Spousal
Support Calculator. It was designed to do more than
analyze the tax consequences of specific spousal support amounts. In
addition, it balanced the parties’ income and expenses and arrived at a
amount that approximated income equality after the exchange of support
and payment of taxes. In addition to “balancing the books” so to speak,
it also illustrated statutory principles related to a party’s ability to
pay and a party’s. That’s the story of the Ohio Spousal
Support Calculator through 2011.
What's New In 2012?
We think the changes in
the 2012 version are as significant and substantial as the ones we made
back in 2004. First, there’s a new user interface.
See
some screen illustrations by clicking on this link.
We studied the interfaces of the industry giants, such as Intuit and
Microsoft, and emulated those features and functions that we recognized
to be improvements. Input screens no longer seek to exactly duplicate
the paper forms and schedules. Instead they are designed to expedite and
streamline data entry. The result is immediately apparent in terms of
looks, and mouse and keyboard accuracy. Furthermore, while maintaining
compatibility with older versions of Windows, i.e.,
Windows XP, the new interface is able to take advantage of the
latest developments in user-friendliness based on extensive studies
performed by the leaders in software development.
The second big change is
related to the availability of tax information. As alluded to above, the
spousal support statute (RC 3105.18) provides that the tax consequences
to the obligor and the recipient of spousal support payments must be
considered. In that context, it is often necessary for you to understand
how particular tax issues are resolved. Toward that end, the relevant
Internal Revenue Service forms, instructions and other publications are
now all instantly available at the touch of a button. Moreover, they are
viewable simultaneously with the input screens. Note that the
“simultaneous” nature of this function depends on the monitor size and
screen resolution of your computer as well as the installation of the
appropriate free Adobe Internet Explorer plug in.
Click here for screen illustrations.
The third major addition
to the program is online video help and instructions. This is big. We’ve
included over two hours of expert advice on program operation and the
law. Like the IRS instructions, the video appears next to the form
you’re working on. It’s unbelievably helpful. The only thing missing is
the CLE credits and you can get those too if you register for the
associated instructional video. For
further details about the CLE, click here.
Register by using the CLE Registration button on the right side top of
any web page. Note that the video help function is dependent on having
installed a compatible version of Microsoft’s Windows Media Player
as the video files are provided in a WMV file format. Again, the
“simultaneous” nature of this function depends on the monitor size and
screen resolution of your computer.
Finally, while previous
versions of Ohio Spousal Support Calculator
calculated income equalization over a range of spousal support amounts,
this new version (while still doing the same thing) is also able to
pinpoint spousal support to within hundredths of a percent taking into
consideration all forms of income, the exchange of spousal support and
child support, and tax consequences.
If you practice family
law you simply must try this out because we’re offering Ohio Spousal
Support Calculator at a price you can’t refuse.
Over the years, we’ve
received countless requests for a spousal support calculator like our
popular child support calculator. Our Revised Ohio Child Support
Guidelines program is the de-facto standard for performing child
support calculations and is
used by over 100 Ohio Courts and Agencies including Domestic Relations
Courts, Juvenile Courts, Probate Courts, Child Support Enforcement
Agencies, Departments of Human Services, Departments of Job & Family
Services, Prosecutor’s Offices, Appellate Courts, Law Libraries, Law
Schools, Paralegal Schools and Universities.
What Does It Do?
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator
(MA) is an essential tool for calculating
child support and spousal support in Ohio. MA can be considered a
pretrial/trial preparation tool based on its ability to extensively
analyze the marital estate - marital assets, debt, income, expenses and
taxes. But
the big change incorporated into Ohio Spousal Support Calculator
is not about finances or taxes—it’s about spousal support.
Spousal Support/Alimony
Ohio Revised Code 3105.18(B) lists eleven
factors a trial court must consider in determining the amount of spousal
support. Following these guidelines, Ohio Spousal Support
Calculator
suggests a range of spousal support amounts that is not simply the
result of a tax analysis or income equalization formula. Ohio
Spousal Support Calculator makes its "suggestions" via a set of
forms or reports that are discussed below. If you'd like to see Ohio Spousal
Support Calculator for yourself, download the
free demo on our Demos & Downloads page.
1. Income, Taxes, Support & Expenses
This form contains a side-by-side summary of
the parties’ taxable and nontaxable income along with personal and
living expenses that are subdivided into essential and nonessential
expenses. Both before-tax and after-tax information is provided
consistent with the currently-set amount of spousal support. We think
you’ll find the side-by-side format of this form well-organized and
quite easy to understand. The manual which is included as a PDF file on
our Demos & Downloads page has a facsimile of this form.
2. Support v. Lifestyle
This form is essentially a table that
summarizes the information contained in the Income, Taxes, Support &
Expenses form through a range of 28 different values of spousal support.
We call it the Lifestyle form because it provides an excellent and
instructive comparison of the parties’ ability to meet essential and
non-essential living expenses at different levels of spousal support.
Whether you accept the premise that a person’s lifestyle is defined, to
a great extent, by their spending habits, you’ll find this form to be
one of
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator’s most telling reports. The
manual which is included as a PDF file on our Demos & Downloads page has
a facsimile of this form.
3. Report—Statutory Considerations
This report must be seen to be appreciated.
Unfortunately, it’s too long to be duplicated on this brief web page.
Composed in a style that is more akin to a well-reasoned legal brief
than an accounting spreadsheet, it begins by calculating the difference
between the parties' respective total incomes. These income figures are
then adjusted for payment of federal, state and local income taxes so
that a more realistic starting point is achieved for evaluating and
comparing after-tax income and each party’s ability to meet their
personal and living expenses.
Using income equalization as a starting
point,
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator tests each party’s income
against their essential and nonessential expenses. The obvious purpose
being to determine the extent to which a party can meet living expenses
at various levels of spousal support. While distinguishing between
essential and nonessential living expenses may seem arbitrary or
artificial, in cases where spendable income doesn’t meet living
expenses, it’s helpful to know which expenses are nonessential. Because
division of the family unit necessarily involves supporting two
households on the same income that previously supported one,
categorizing expenses as essential or nonessential takes on increased
importance.
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator
doesn’t stop there, however. It makes additional observations about many
of the Revised Code’s eleven statutory considerations. It even compares
each party’s total income to the per capita income for that party’s
county of residence based on information compiled by the U.S. Bureau of
Economic Analysis from 2002 census information.
If you’d like to see a sample of this form,
you can visit the Demos & Downloads page of our web site, scroll to
Spousal Support Calculator and click on the PDF link captioned
"Sample Report."
4. Set Spousal Support
Once Ohio Spousal Support Calculator
evaluates the ability of the parties to pay their expenses, it suggests
a spousal support amount that resembles after-tax equality. In any real
life situation, however, there are a potential range of acceptable
spousal support amounts and this form lets you deviate from any formulas
or algorithms and set your own amount to be used in the tax calculations
and expense comparisons. In the final analysis it’s not the program in
control, but rather you in control of the program.
Child Support
Until now, we’ve been focusing on spousal
support, but don’t forget, Ohio Spousal Support Calculator
integrates a complete child support guidelines function. Note however
that this is not a substitute for Revised Ohio Child Support
Guidelines which is a separate program.
Tax Issues
All of the calculations performed by
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator are after-tax figures. That
means the tax consequences involved in the exchange of spousal support
are already incorporated into forms such as the
Lifestyle
form. Ohio Spousal Support Calculator does more than just
give you the after-tax figures however. From the Tax Issues section of
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator you can view or print a
breakdown of tax information related to who should take the dependency
exemptions and how it affects both parties. When it’s best to split the
dependency exemptions, Ohio Spousal Support Calculator
lets you know in this section.
Finally, Ohio Spousal Support
Calculator
prints side-by-side tax returns for both parties so you don’t need
to blindly accept figures but can review the calculations every step of
the way. We think it’s awesome and you will too.
In Conclusion
Each of the forms and reports contained in
Ohio Spousal Support Calculator is capable of being exported to
your word processor for quick and easy inclusion pleadings, briefs and
the like. And we're only touching the tip of the iceberg. There's a
whole lot more that Ohio Spousal Support Calculator can
do, but ...
Don’t Take Our Word For It—Seeing Is Believing
You'll be denying yourself an excellent tool
for saving time and increasing the quality of your work product if you
don't try our
free demo. Your clients will thank you for it.