ALIMONY IN COLORADO: HOW SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE WORKS
Colorado law calls alimony "spousal maintenance." It is money one spouse pays the other during or after a divorce, legal separation, or declaration of invalidity so that both can meet reasonable needs.
For cases filed on or after January 1, 2014, Colorado uses advisory guidelines to help judges set the amount and length of maintenance. The guidelines are a starting point, not a guarantee. This guide explains how C.R.S. § 14-10-114 and C.R.S. § 14-10-122 work in practice.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Who Can Receive Maintenance
- How the Guideline Amount Is Calculated
- How Long Maintenance Lasts
- Factors That Can Change the Result
- Temporary Maintenance During the Case
- Maintenance and Taxes
- Changing or Ending Maintenance
- Common Myths About Colorado Alimony
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources
WHO CAN RECEIVE MAINTENANCE
Either spouse may ask for maintenance. Before deciding, the court must make findings about each party's gross income, the marital property each receives, each party's financial resources, the reasonable financial need established during the marriage, and whether the award would be deductible for federal income tax purposes.
The court may award maintenance only if the spouse requesting it lacks enough property, including the marital property awarded to them, to meet reasonable needs and cannot support themselves through appropriate employment. Maintenance may also be awarded to a spouse caring for a child whose condition or circumstances make outside employment inappropriate.
Maintenance is awarded without regard to marital misconduct, so infidelity by itself does not decide the issue. Since August 6, 2025, however, courts may consider whether a spouse engaged in domestic violence, coercive control, economic abuse, litigation abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, or unlawful sexual behavior against the other spouse (Senate Bill 25-116).
HOW THE GUIDELINE AMOUNT IS CALCULATED
The guideline formula applies when the marriage lasted at least three years and the parties' combined annual adjusted gross income is $240,000 or less. Above that level, the court sets the amount using the statutory factors and may still consider the guideline term.
The Formula
- Take 40% of the parties' combined monthly adjusted gross income.
- Subtract the lower earner's monthly adjusted gross income. If the result is negative, guideline maintenance is zero.
- If maintenance is not deductible for the payor or taxable to the recipient (true of most current orders), multiply the result by 80% when combined monthly income is $10,000 or less, or by 75% when it is more than $10,000 and up to $20,000.
What Counts as Income
"Adjusted gross income" starts with gross income and subtracts preexisting court-ordered child support and maintenance a party actually pays, plus an adjustment for other children the party must support. Gross income is broad and includes wages, salaries, bonuses, commissions, self-employment income, Social Security benefits, and more.
If a party is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court uses potential income. That rule does not apply to a party who is physically or mentally incapacitated, is caring for a joint child under 24 months old, or is incarcerated under a sentence of 180 days or more.
Example
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Spouse A monthly adjusted gross income | $7,000 |
| Spouse B monthly adjusted gross income | $2,000 |
| 40% of combined income ($9,000) | $3,600 |
| Minus lower earner's income | $1,600 |
| Nondeductible adjustment (80%, combined income under $10,000) | $1,280 per month |
This is only the advisory figure. The judge must still apply the threshold test and the factors described below.
HOW LONG MAINTENANCE LASTS
The guideline term depends on the length of the marriage, counted in whole months from the first day of the month after the wedding until the decree. For marriages of 3 to 20 years, a statutory table sets the advisory term. Selected values are below.
| Length of Marriage | Guideline Term |
|---|---|
| 36 months (3 years) | 11 months |
| 60 months (5 years) | 21 months |
| 84 months (7 years) | 33 months |
| 120 months (10 years) | 54 months |
| 150 months (12.5 years) | 75 months |
| 180 months (15 years) | 90 months |
| 240 months (20 years) | 120 months |
For marriages longer than 20 years, the court may order maintenance for a set term or for an indefinite term. It may not set a term shorter than the 20-year guideline term without specific findings supporting the reduction.
For marriages shorter than three years, the guidelines do not apply, but the court may still award maintenance when the property division alone cannot achieve a fair result.
FACTORS THAT CAN CHANGE THE RESULT
The guidelines do not create a presumptive amount or term. The court has discretion to set what is fair and equitable and must explain its reasons. Factors the court must consider include:
- Each spouse's financial resources, including income from separate or marital property, and each spouse's ability to meet their own needs.
- The lifestyle during the marriage and the length of the marriage.
- How marital property is divided, including whether extra property could reduce the need for maintenance.
- Each party's income, employment, and employability, including training needed and childcare responsibilities.
- Historic income, including overtime or second jobs.
- The age and health of both parties, including significant health-care costs.
- Significant contributions to the marriage or to the other spouse's education or career.
- Temporary maintenance already paid, the tax treatment of the award, and any domestic violence or abuse.
The court may award extra marital property instead of, or to reduce, maintenance. It may also award a nominal amount to preserve a future claim, order a lump sum, or reserve jurisdiction to revisit maintenance after a specific future event.
TEMPORARY MAINTENANCE DURING THE CASE
Either spouse can request temporary maintenance while the case is pending. The court uses the relevant parts of the guideline framework but sets its own term, because the guideline duration table does not apply to temporary orders.
The court also considers who pays family expenses and debts in the meantime. A temporary order does not lock in the result at permanent orders.
MAINTENANCE AND TAXES
Under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, maintenance under divorce or separation instruments executed after December 31, 2018, generally is not deductible by the payor and is not taxable income to the recipient. Colorado's formula builds this in through the 80% and 75% reductions described above.
The change in federal tax law is not, by itself, grounds to modify a maintenance order entered before that law took effect. A tax professional can explain how your specific order is treated.
CHANGING OR ENDING MAINTENANCE
Modification
Court-ordered maintenance can be modified only after a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and continuing that the existing terms have become unfair. A modification generally takes effect as of the date the motion was filed, so waiting to file can cost money.
If the parties agreed in writing that maintenance is non-modifiable, the court generally cannot change it. Unpaid maintenance becomes a final money judgment when it is due and not paid.
Termination
Unless the parties agreed otherwise in writing or the decree expressly says otherwise, maintenance ends at the earliest of the death of either party, the end of the term (unless a motion to modify is filed before it expires), the recipient's remarriage or civil union, or a court order ending it.
The Colorado Court of Appeals has held that an agreement must contain an express provision for maintenance to continue after the recipient remarries (In re Marriage of Cerrone, 2021 COA 116). Living with a new partner is not the same as remarriage, so cohabitation does not automatically end maintenance (In re Marriage of Dwyer, 825 P.2d 1018 (Colo. App. 1991)).
Retirement
A payor who retires after reaching full Social Security retirement age receives a rebuttable presumption that the retirement is in good faith. Retirement does not end maintenance automatically; the payor must still file a motion and show a substantial and continuing change (In re Marriage of Thorstad, 2019 COA 13).
The court may also require the payor to secure maintenance, for example with life insurance, in case the payor dies before the term ends.
COMMON MYTHS ABOUT COLORADO ALIMONY
- "Maintenance is 40% of the higher income minus 50% of the lower." That was an older temporary-maintenance formula. It does not apply to cases filed on or after January 1, 2014.
- "Maintenance is capped at 10 years." No. After a marriage of more than 20 years, the court may order maintenance for an indefinite term.
- "No maintenance if married less than three years." The guidelines do not apply, but the court may still award maintenance.
- "Cheating ends a right to alimony." Marital misconduct is not a basis for maintenance decisions, although abuse can now be considered.
- "Maintenance stops when the payor retires." Only a court order, an agreement, or a statutory terminating event ends it.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is Alimony Mandatory in Colorado?
No. The court awards maintenance only if the requesting spouse meets the statutory threshold of need, and the amount remains within the court's discretion.
Can We Agree to Our Own Maintenance Terms?
Yes. Spouses can agree to an amount, a term, or a waiver. If either spouse is unrepresented and the agreement departs from the guidelines, the court must confirm that spouse knows about the guidelines before approving it.
Does Gender Affect Maintenance?
No. The statute applies equally to either spouse.
Can I Quit My Job to Avoid Paying?
No. If you are voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court can calculate maintenance using your potential income.
Where Can I See the Official Formula?
The full statute, including the complete duration table, is at C.R.S. § 14-10-114.
TALK WITH A COLORADO SPRINGS ATTORNEY
Maintenance often turns on details the formula cannot capture, such as irregular income, a business, or a long marriage. Moran, Allen & Associates Family Law offers a free consultation for people in El Paso and Teller Counties who want to understand how the guidelines apply to them. You can also read our guides on divorce in Colorado Springs and limiting alimony exposure.
SOURCES
- C.R.S. § 14-10-114, Spousal maintenance, advisory guidelines (2025)
- C.R.S. § 14-10-122, Modification and termination of maintenance and support (2025)
- Senate Bill 25-116 (2025), adding abuse and coercive control as a maintenance factor
- In re Marriage of Cerrone, 2021 COA 116; In re Marriage of Thorstad, 2019 COA 13; In re Marriage of Dwyer, 825 P.2d 1018 (Colo. App. 1991)
- Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 115-97 (2017)