How Long Does Alimony Last in Colorado?

Alimony, often called spousal maintenance or spousal support in Colorado, refers to periodic payments made by a higher-earning spouse to a lower-earning spouse during and/or after a divorce or legal separation. The court has the authority to order permanent spousal maintenance payments or limit these payments to a specific time period. Read this article to learn more about how long you can receive alimony in Colorado.

Bottom Line

How long you can receive alimony payments depends largely on the length of your marriage, but courts will consider multiple other factors when making these determinations.

Why Do Courts Award Alimony?

Spousal maintenance exists to limit the disparate economic impacts of divorce by providing financial support to the lower-earning spouse. In some marriages, one spouse is the breadwinner while the other takes care of the home and children, especially if the children are very young. 

If you chose to forego a career to raise your kids, re-entering the workforce can be difficult. Spousal maintenance is meant to serve as an economic buffer while you develop the necessary job skills to support yourself.

Alimony Can be Temporary or Long-Term

Colorado courts can award two types of spousal maintenance: temporary maintenance during the divorce process or long-term maintenance after the divorce is final.

How Long Does Temporary Maintenance Last?

Temporary maintenance is sometimes called separation alimony. If one spouse cannot financially support themselves while the divorce is pending, a judge can order the higher-earning spouse to pay spousal maintenance on a temporary basis. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-10-114(4)

Temporary maintenance ends when the divorce is finalized. At that time, spousal support will kick in if it was awarded.

Can I Get Alimony For the Rest of My Life?

It’s possible, but rare. Lifelong alimony is typically only awarded in cases where a spouse cannot easily find employment due to advanced age, poor health, or when a couple was married for 20 years or longer:

“While the court may, in its discretion, award permanent maintenance, it is not required to do so.” In re Marriage of Fisher, 931 P.2d 558, 558 (Colo. App. 1996)

So How Long Can I Get Alimony?

Many people want to know: how long does alimony last in Colorado? State law sets forth advisory guidelines for spousal maintenance awards in marriages lasting at least three years but not longer than 20 years. 

If you were married for less than three years, the court may award maintenance if “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).

If you and your spouse have been married for three years, you could owe alimony for 11 months, or 31 percent of the marriage. That percentage increases the longer you’re married. For example, if you were married for five years, the law recommends alimony for 35 percent of that time.

State Law Caps How Long You Can Receive Alimony

You will generally not be required to pay maintenance for more than half the time you were married. Once you’ve been married for 12 and a half years, the maintenance term becomes 50 percent of the length of the marriage. If you were married for 20 years, you could receive alimony for 10 years.

If your marriage lasted longer than 20 years, the court can award maintenance for either a specific amount of time or indefinitely. However, the court may not legally award maintenance for a shorter duration than specified under the guidelines for a 20-year marriage without making specific findings to support a shorter term. C.R.S. § 14-10-114

What Else Does the Court Consider?

The length of your marriage is not the sole determining factor the court considers when determining how long to order maintenance payments. The court will take into account all relevant factors, including:

• the financial resources of both you and your spouse
• your lifestyle during the marriage
• the employment history, and employability, of both you and your spouse
• the age and health of you and your spouse
• contributions to the marriage, and
• whether your maintenance payments are deductible for federal tax purposes

How Does Alimony Work in Colorado? Call to Find Out.

A favorable spousal maintenance agreement can make all the difference when starting anew after a divorce. Our family law attorneys can help understand how alimony works in Colorado and help you safeguard your financial future. Call 303-688-0944 today to begin your case assessment.

How Long Does Alimony Last in Colorado?

If your marriage lasted longer than three years but not more than 20, you can use this table to determine how long the court may recommend spousal maintenance in your case:

Months of Marriage	Percentage	Guideline Term of Maintenance
36	31%	11 months
37	31.17%	12 months
38	31.33%	12 months
39	31.5%	12 months
40	31.67%	13 months
41	31.83%	13 months
42	32%	13 months
43	32.17%	14 months
44	32.33%	14 months
45	32.5%	15 months
46	32.67%	15 months
47	32.83%	15 months
48	33%	16 months
49	33.17%	16 months
50	33.33%	17 months
51	33.5%	17 months
52	33.67%	18 months
53	33.83%	18 months
54	34%	18 months
55	34.17%	19 months
56	34.33%	19 months
57	34.5%	20 months
58	34.67%	20 months
59	34.83%	21 months
60	35%	21 months
61	35.17%	21 months
62	35.33%	22 months
63	35.5%	22 months
64	35.67%	23 months
65	35.83%	23 months
66	36%	24 months
67	36.17%	24 months
68	36.33%	25 months
69	36.5%	25 months
70	36.67%	26 months
71	36.83%	26 months
72	37%	27 months
73	37.17%	27 months
74	37.33%	28 months
75	37.5%	28 months
76	37.67%	29 months
77	37.83%	29 months
78	38%	30 months
79	38.17%	30 months
80	38.33%	31 months
81	38.5%	31 months
82	38.67%	32 months
83	38.83%	32 months
84	39%	33 months
85	39.17%	33 months
86	39.33%	34 months
87	39.5%	34 months
88	39.67%	35 months
89	39.83%	35 months
90	40%	36 months
91	40.17%	37 months
92	40.33%	37 months
93	40.5%	38 months
94	40.67%	38 months
95	40.83%	39 months
96	41%	39 months
97	41.17%	40 months
98	41.33%	41 months
99	41.5%	41 months
100	41.67%	42 months
101	41.83%	42 months
102	42%	43 months
103	42.17%	43 months
104	42.33%	44 months
105	42.5%	45 months
106	42.67%	45 months
107	42.83%	46 months
108	43%	46 months
109	43.17%	47 months
110	43.33%	48 months
111	43.5%	48 months
112	43.67%	49 months
113	43.83%	50 months
114	44%	50 months
115	44.17%	51 months
116	44.33%	51 months
117	44.5%	52 months
118	44.67%	53 months
119	44.83%	53 months
120	45%	54 months
121	45.17%	55 months
122	45.33%	55 months
123	45.5%	56 months
124	45.67%	57 months
125	45.83%	57 months
126	46%	58 months
127	46.17%	59 months
128	46.33%	59 months
129	46.5%	60 months
130	46.67%	61 months
131	46.83%	61 months
132	47%	62 months
133	47.17%	63 months
134	47.33%	63 months
135	47.5%	64 months
136	47.67%	65 months
137	47.83%	66 months
138	48%	66 months
139	48.17%	67 months
140	48.33%	68 months
141	48.5%	68 months
142	48.67%	69 months
143	48.83%	70 months
144	49%	71 months
145	49.17%	71 months
146	49.33%	72 months
147	49.5%	73 months
148	49.67%	74 months
149	49.83%	74 months
150	50%	75 months
151	50%	76 months
152	50%	76 months
153	50%	77 months
154	50%	77 months
155	50%	78 months
156	50%	78 months
157	50%	79 months
158	50%	79 months
159	50%	80 months
160	50%	80 months
161	50%	81 months
162	50%	81 months
163	50%	82 months
164	50%	82 months
165	50%	83 months
166	50%	83 months
167	50%	84 months
168	50%	84 months
169	50%	85 months
170	50%	85 months
171	50%	86 months
172	50%	86 months
173	50%	87 months
174	50%	87 months
175	50%	88 months
176	50%	88 months
177	50%	89 months
178	50%	89 months
179	50%	90 months
180	50%	90 months
181	50%	91 months
182	50%	91 months
183	50%	92 months
184	50%	92 months
185	50%	93 months
186	50%	93 months
187	50%	94 months
188	50%	94 months
189	50%	95 months
190	50%	95 months
191	50%	96 months
192	50%	96 months
193	50%	97 months
194	50%	97 months
195	50%	98 months
196	50%	98 months
197	50%	99 months
198	50%	99 months
199	50%	100 months
200	50%	100 months
201	50%	101 months
202	50%	101 months
203	50%	102 months
204	50%	102 months
205	50%	103 months
206	50%	103 months
207	50%	104 months
208	50%	104 months
209	50%	105 months
210	50%	105 months
211	50%	106 months
212	50%	106 months
213	50%	107 months
214	50%	107 months
215	50%	108 months
216	50%	108 months
217	50%	109 months
218	50%	109 months
219	50%	110 months
220	50%	110 months
221	50%	111 months
222	50%	111 months
223	50%	112 months
224	50%	112 months
225	50%	113 months
226	50%	113 months
227	50%	114 months
228	50%	114 months
229	50%	115 months
230	50%	115 months
231	50%	116 months
232	50%	116 months
233	50%	117 months
234	50%	117 months
235	50%	118 months
236	50%	118 months
237	50%	119 months
238	50%	119 months
239	50%	120 months
240	50%	120 months