In Ohio, alimony can be temporary or permanent, depending on the specific circumstances.
Temporary maintenance
Temporary alimony is alimony paid by one spouse to the other while the case is pending. It is intended to maintain the status quo while the case is being adjudicated.
Temporary alimony is alimony that is paid for a set period of time. In most cases, during a divorce, courts will order the higher-earning spouse to pay this type of alimony to the lower-earning spouse.
Permanent maintenance
Permanent alimony refers to alimony payments that must be made after a divorce is finalized. Typically, this is for a set period of time, often one year's alimony for every two to five years of marriage. In a case called Kunkle v. Kunkle, the court ruled that alimony payments should be temporary and with a clear end date when a lower-income spouse has the means, ability, or potential to support themselves.
The court may order lifetime alimony if the marriage lasted more than 25 years. In the same case mentioned above, Kunkle v. Kunkle, the court stated that alimony should be limited “except in cases where the marriage is long-standing, the spouses are advanced in age, or a stay-at-home spouse has little opportunity to engage in meaningful employment outside the home.”
This means that if one spouse is older, the marriage has been going on for a long time, or one of the spouses has taken on the role of househusband at the expense of his or her career opportunities, the court can award permanent maintenance.
However, even in long-term cases, the maintenance obligation ends with the death of one of the spouses or with the remarriage of the maintenance recipient, unless the court order expressly provides otherwise.
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