Victim of domestic abuse pays alimony to abuser?

Those of you who know me know that I take politics very personally. Well, I’m going to start out this political blog by getting very, very personal. Last Christmas Eve my step-father attacked and threatened my mother. She walked out, went door to door until she found someone who was home, and called the Police. She was lucky, I know, that he didn’t pursue her, that he didn’t fight the police when they came. She was lucky that she had a place to go, and family close by to help her move while he spent Christmas in jail. I thank God that the situation wasn’t as bad as it could have been, which is an odd thing to be thankful for. It was enough to get my mom out of a marriage to him.

This post isn’t about him, though, or his pattern of verbal abuse, or everything my mom did to help him and support him for the ten and a half years they were married. This post is about divorce, and more specifically, divorce laws in the state of Ohio. See, my mom is a hard worker. She’s worked very hard for the last eleven years at a company that pays decently and has excellent benefits. They’ve helped her pay for school and they have a great retirement plan. My soon-to-be ex-step-father has no retirement, has no education, and has no job. Can you see where this is going?

That’s right. His lawyers are requesting that he get alimony. And the kicker is that even though he pled guilty to domestic violence charges, and there are civil protection orders in place, in the state of Ohio, he’s entitled to it.

Oh, that’s after he gets HALF of my mom’s retirement.

Of course, my mom is going to fight this. Part of fighting this is knowing where to start. And part of fighting this is raising awareness.

So if you have any info that could help us, please share.

If you have a similar story, please share.

If you are upset and outraged that an abuser can legally demand alimony from their victim, please, please contact your state representatives.

In Ohio, http://www.house.state.oh.us/index.php?option=com_displaymembers&Itemid=52

The rest of the U.S. https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Thanks.