Divorce Facts

Spousal Maintenance:

Spousal Maintenance is the Colorado term for what is commonly known as Alimony or Spousal Support. It is a payment that can be ordered by the court requiring a high earning spouse to pay support to the low earning spouse. This can fall into several categories, being Temporary support, Rehabilitative Support and Permanent Support.

Temporary Maintenance is support given on temporary basis, usually at the beginning of a case. This support is available in circumstances deemed appropriate by the court. When the gross family income is $75,000 or less, Colorado Revised Statutes § 14-10-114, provides that temporary support can be ordered pursuant to a complicated formula. When income exceeds this threshold, the court will apply other factors.

Rehabilitative Maintenance is support intended to provide the spouse with support for an indefinite period so that he/she can improve their situation so as to provide for their reasonable needs. It is awarded when the court finds that the person seeking support lacks sufficient property to provide for their reasonable needs or cannot find appropriate employment to provide for these reasonable needs. It also applies when one spouse is the custodial parent of young children under circumstances where is inappropriate that he/she seek immediate appropriate employment. What are reasonable needs or appropriate employment opportunities will vary from case to case.

Permanent Maintenance is long term support, typically issued in long term marriages when one spouse has worked very little during the marriage and does not have sufficient assets to support herself or himself. In this case, many factors, including the factors of Rehabilitative Maintenance come into play.

Spousal Maintenance varies from case to case and may not be ordered at all or only for a short time depending on how the court determines the applicable factors.