Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Colorado Alimony

Alimony is periodic payments one spouse makes to another after their marriage has ended. However, Colorado’s statutes don’t call it “alimony.”

Colorado breaks it down into two types of payments:

• Spousal Maintenance, where the court sets the terms, amount, and duration of payments after the parties have failed to agree in mediation, and
• Contractual Spousal Support, where the ex-spouses mediate the terms, amount, and duration of the payments. Contractual support can either be modifiable or non-modifiable.

Non-modifiable contractual support is when both parties agree to restrict the court’s power to change their agreed-upon terms.

Alimony helps provide financial stability to a former spouse who might otherwise struggle to support themselves outside of the marriage.

Sometimes one spouse stops pursuing higher education or a career so they can take care of children or work to support a spouse as they attend college. Alimony — or spousal maintenance — can help that spouse make ends meet as they take steps to re-enter the workforce.

Alimony does not exist to punish either spouse. Colorado is a no-fault state where grounds for divorce are concerned. This means the court does not consider misconduct by either spouse when it awards support or property.

In Colorado, duration of marriage affects how long you may receive maintenance more than it affects eligibility. However, the maintenance guidelines chart in Colorado Revised Statute 14-10-114 (3) (b) begins at 36 months, or three years.

The statute notes that the court has discretion to grant maintenance in marriages lasting less than three years:

“The court may award maintenance in short-term marriages, including marriages of less than three years in duration, when, given the circumstances of the parties, the distribution of marital property is insufficient to achieve an equitable result.”

—  C.R.S 14-10-114 (3)(h)

Have You Been Married Less Than Three Years?

You can still seek statutory maintenance from the court if you have a compelling reason that convinces the judge. For example, if you have made considerable sacrifice, such as:

• postponing school or a job to care for a child or other family member
• moving across several states for the sake of the marriage
• taking on extra work to help your spouse pay for education or pay down debt

In short, the court may award you alimony if you can show that you’ve made sacrifices in the marriage that leave you at an economic disadvantage.

Note: Total duration of the marriage starts at the wedding date. It ends once the final decree of dissolution of marriage has been signed by each spouse. If you separated after 29 months, but you didn’t “finalize” the divorce until eight months later, the marriage lasted 37 months.

It’s important to understand that statutory maintenance is never a given. Colorado judges have a lot of discretion in these matters. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to retain an experienced family law attorney.

Once a judge decides maintenance is warranted, he or she must determine how long one spouse should receive support. The duration of the marriage usually determines the duration of maintenance payments.

Colo. Rev. Stat. 14-10-114 (3)(b)(II)(B) provides a helpful chart the court may use as a starting point for determining the duration of maintenance.

The chart begins with marriages lasting at least 36 months. Next, it determines the amount of monthly payments based on a percentage of the marriage’s total duration.

Example: For a marriage that lasted 36 months, the percentage is 31 percent, which comes to 11 months of alimony payments – if the court considers only the duration of the marriage.

Example: A marriage of 60 months, or five years, would warrant a payment period of 21 months. That is 35 percent of the duration of the marriage.

The percentage goes up slightly as more months are added to the total duration of the marriage.

For spouses married least 20 years, the statute calls for an alimony duration of at least ten years and possibly an indefinite term.

Other Factors

The chart is a starting point for the court. The judge will also consider other factors when determining maintenance payments, including:

• The total financial resources of the receiving spouse, and his or her ability to independently support themselves;
• the total financial resources of the paying spouse, and his or her ability to also meet their own needs;
• the lifestyle both spouses were accustomed to during the marriage;
• whether the receiving spouse can be awarded more marital property to decrease his or her need for maintenance;
• each spouse’s income, employment, or employability, and whether one party has limited employment options due to the care of a minor child or other circumstances;
• the overall earning history of the higher-income spouse;
• whether one spouse received temporary maintenance prior to final orders, including the amount and duration of the payments;
• the age and health of both spouses, including the healthcare and insurance needs of each;
• each spouse’s contributions to the other’s career or educational advancement. This includes the payment of debts, student loans, and contributing to the enhancement of personal or real property;
• any other factor the court decides to consider.

If you would like to know what your alimony payments might look like, try our free Colorado Alimony Calculator.

Eligibility for and duration of statutory maintenance is based on financial need and how long the spouses were married. Generally, people must be married for at least three years in order for the court to consider awarding alimony. However, the judge will consider some shorter-term marriages in certain circumstances. For instance, if one spouse made significant sacrifices for the marriage that puts them at a financial disadvantage after the divorce.

The amount of each monthly maintenance payment is based on a number of factors, such as:

• each spouse’s ability to meet their own needs after the divorce
• the lifestyle enjoyed during the marriage
• if the recipient spouse stays home with minor children
• whether the recipient spouse receives any marital property
• past earning history of each party
• length of the marriage
• if temporary maintenance was paid
• each spouse’s age and health
• any other factors the court deems relevant

As the statute says:

“After considering the provisions of this section and making the required findings of fact, the court shall award maintenance only if it finds that the spouse seeking maintenance lacks sufficient property, including marital property apportioned to him or her, to provide for his or her reasonable needs and is unable to support himself or herself through appropriate employment or is the custodian of a child whose condition or circumstances make it inappropriate for the spouse to be required to seek employment outside the home.”

—   C.R.S 14-10-114 (3)(b)(II)(B)(d)

Use our free Colorado Alimony Calculator to find out what your alimony payments might be after divorce.

Alimony income is money paid from one spouse to the other after a divorce. This money helps support the receiving spouse until he or she is able to support themselves.

As of January 1, 2019, the spouse paying alimony can no longer deduct the amount of payments from taxable income, and the spouse receiving alimony does not report it as taxable income.

Whether you expect to pay alimony or receive it, an experienced lawyer can make sure you get a fair outcome.

A family law attorney has represented dozens or even hundreds of clients just like yourself in divorce mediation. A big part of it concerns alimony, or contractual spousal support. During negotiations with your former spouse and their counsel, your attorney can push back against inaccurate or unfair assumptions that might lead to a disadvantageous outcome for you.

An attorney has a deep understanding of how alimony works in Colorado. They know what factors you can leverage to your advantage.

What About Statutory Maintenance? 

If mediation fails, a court will determine who should pay maintenance, and how much. Once it gets to this point, the judge has complete discretion over the matter. However, your attorney can still present detailed facts to pain a better picture about your situation as the judge makes a decision.

Once a judge decides maintenance is warranted, he or she must determine how long the payments should last. The duration of the marriage usually determines the duration of maintenance payments.

Colo. Rev. Stat. 14-10-114 (3)(b)(II)(B) provides a helpful chart the court may use as a starting point, for determining the duration of maintenance.

The chart begins with marriages lasting at least 36 months. Next, it determines the amount of monthly payments based on a percentage of the marriage’s total duration.

Example: For a marriage that lasted 36 months, the percentage is 31 percent, which comes to 11 months.

If the court considered only the duration of the marriage, you would be expected to pay alimony (maintenance) for 11 months.

Example: A marriage of 60 months, or five years, would warrant a payment period of 21 months, or just under two years. That is 35 percent of the duration of the marriage.

The percentage goes up slightly as more months are added to the total duration of the marriage.

A marriage lasting at least 20 years can warrant an indefinite term, or at least 120 months (10 years).

Other Factors 

Like I said, the chart is a starting point. The court will also consider other factors when determining the amount and duration of maintenance payments. These can include:

• The total financial resources of the receiving spouse, and his or her ability to independently support themselves;
• The total financial resources of the paying spouse, and his or her ability to meet their independent needs;
• The lifestyle both spouses were accustomed to during their marriage;
• Whether the receiving spouse can be awarded more marital property to decrease his or her need for maintenance;
• Each spouse’s income, employment, or employability, and whether one party has limited employment options due to the care of a minor child or other circumstances;
• The overall earning history of the higher-income spouse;
• Whether one spouse received temporary maintenance prior to final orders, including the amount and duration of payments;
• The age and health of both spouses, including the healthcare and insurance needs of each;
• Each spouse’s contributions to the other’s career or educational advancement. This includes the payment of debts, student loans, and contributing to the enhancement of personal or real property;
• Any other factor the court decides to consider.

If you would like to know how much alimony you could end up paying, or receiving, and for how long, try our free Colorado Alimony Calculator.

If you must pay attorney fees to an ex-spouse already receiving alimony, then it is for one of two reasons:

1. To equalize a financial disparity between you and your former spouse, or
2. To protect your former spouse from your frivolous or improper conduct

Let’s take a closer look at each:

The first reason prevents the higher-earning spouse from legally bullying the other. Litigating a spousal maintenance case can be expensive. There are costs related to retaining counsel, and filing motions for discovery.

The court would observe that both parties had an opportunity to resolve spousal support in mediation. If the court believes one spouse was being unreasonably obstinate, it has the discretion to award attorneys fees to the other party. Under Colorado Revised Statute 14-10-119, the court can say, “One party chose to pick this fight, therefore, they should pay for it.”

The second reason deters unethical litigation. Suppose one former spouse has greater financial resources than the other. They can use this advantage to file motions or bring actions that stall progress and increase the other’s economic burden. Colo. Rev. Stat. 13-17-102 allows courts to assess attorney fees to limit such behavior.

It says:

“ … in any civil action of any nature commenced or appealed in any court of record in this state, the court shall award, by way of judgment or separate order, reasonable attorney fees against any attorney or party who has brought or defended a civil action, either in whole or in part, that the court determines lacked substantial justification.”

—   C.R.S. 13-17-102

However, the lower-earning party can be as equally obstinate. In those cases, if the lower-earning spouse has unreasonably rejected good-faith spousal support proposals, the court can award attorney’s fees to the higher earner.

Attorney fees vary based on a wide variety of factors in a divorce case. Alimony or statutory maintenance is one part of the entire divorce.

In Colorado, the average hourly fee for such an attorney is from $250 to $450 per hour. It is more expensive if the attorney must argue your maintenance case in court.

Since 2019, the spouse who pays alimony can no longer deduct the amount paid from their taxable income. The receiving spouse no longer must claim alimony/maintenance as taxable income.

Prior to 2019, the party paying the alimony was taxed only on the income they kept after they paid alimony. The party receiving the alimony money was required to report the money as part of their taxable income. The 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act shifted the tax burden back to the alimony payor.

It would seem the spouse receiving alimony gets a ‘win’ here, but … not quite. Let’s take a closer look.

Ozzie and Harriett 

Before the 2018 Tax Bill: Ozzie and Harriett divorced in the summer of 2018. Ozzie makes $72,000 per year and pays Harriett $900 per month ($10,800 per year) in spousal maintenance. He gets to deduct those payments and claim a taxable income of $61,200, which might lower his tax bill.

Harriett must add the extra $10,800 she receives in alimony each year to her annual taxable income of $36,000.

After the 2018 Tax Bill: Now let’s say Ozzie and Harriett stuck it out another year and divorced in late 2019. Ozzie still pays alimony each month, but now he must report his entire $72,000 adjusted gross income as taxable — even though he never sees a portion of it. Harriett is not required to report received alimony as taxable income. It’s free money — but also less money. Here’s why:

Colorado adjusted its spousal maintenance guidelines to account for the changes in the federal tax code. The old formula still mostly applies; however, now the total monthly amount is reduced. For spouses who had a combined income of $10,000 or more per month, the reduction is 25 percent. For those whose combined monthly earnings are less than $10,000, it is 20 percent.

Ozzie and Harriett’s combined income fell just under that $10,000/month threshold. This means the $900 per month she would have received under the old code is now reduced to $720.

To account for the change in the tax code, the state of Colorado amended the equation it uses to calculate alimony.

The best way to avoid paying alimony is to work out an arrangement in mediation.

If you believe you might have to pay some amount of alimony or statutory maintenance, you may be able to negotiate out of it. For instance, you may be able to offer the other spouse more property in exchange for alimony payments. But ask yourself:

•   How much would you be willing to give up to avoid paying alimony?
•   How much do you have to bargain with, in terms of marital property?

If you can’t get your former spouse to forego alimony, you can negotiate out of court for easier terms. An experienced family law attorney can be a great help with this.

Avoiding Statutory Maintenance

If the matter goes to court, you can try to negate statutory factors that would require you to pay maintenance. That’s easier said than done, since you cannot alter basic facts the court will consider, such as:

•   Each spouse’s income, employability, and education, or
•   The length of your marriage

If you can argue those things, do it. Get an attorney who can present your facts in a clear and compelling manner to convince the judge. The judge has a lot of discretion.

Stopping or Reducing Alimony

If you’ve already been paying alimony or maintenance, perhaps you can modify it. However, you should make a good-faith effort to abide by the court’s orders before filing your motion.

Colorado law allows — but does not require — courts to modify alimony/statutory maintenance orders. In order for the court to consider a modification, you must be able to present a “substantial and continuing” change in your circumstances. You must also show that your new situation makes the original maintenance terms unfair. (Colorado Revised Statute 14-10-122)

This condition applies if your income has decreased, and especially if you have lost your job.