Colorado Alimony Law is called spousal maintenance. The financial support is legally mandated to a low-income earning former spouse by a high-income earning one.
Colorado Alimony Law
Numerous amendments have been made to Colorado’s alimony law in terms of spousal support guidelines.
Requesting Maintenance:
The spouse who earns the least can request alimony once the marriage has dissolved or divorce proceedings have concluded.
The court can consider the total income of that spouse, along with several other variables.
Determination of maintenance:
In line with its alimony law, Colorado grants the court the power to give the requesting spouse temporary or permanent alimony.
Waiver of the maintenance:
Should the maintenance be awarded is provisional, it has a termination date.
However, should it be permanent, the amount provided lasts till either party dies or the receiving spouse remarries.
How COMPLEX IS Colorado Alimony Law
Before January 2014, numerous people debated that Colorado’s alimony statute offered very little guidance, providing too much leeway for the judge’s discretion.
This resulted in massive inconsistencies when it was being applied and the creation of bias.
The reviewed guidelines are non-binding and only apply to marriages that are at least 3 years and no more than 20 years.
It also only applies to particular income requirements.
When is Alimony Appropriate Under Colorado Law?
Alimony is appropriate in certain conditions; however, many factors have to consider.
First of all, for alimony to consider, one of the spouses has to ask for it.
Once that happens, the court has to consider several factors that influence if alimony is not only appropriate but the amount that is allowed.
The following are some of the factors considered are:
The gross income of both individuals in the divorce proceedings.
The marital property has been individually distributed to both parties.
Each spouse’s financial muscle.
The financial needs of each party as it was when the marriage was valid (these needs have to be reasonable).
There isn’t a sole factor that encompasses all cases, and the court tends to handle every divorce case independently.
How is the Amount of Alimony Calculated?
The statutory law in Colorado has guidelines for deciding just how much alimony to be paid, which has helped to make it a more streamlined and objective process.
If a marriage lasted for a minimum of 3 years and both parties have a joint gross income worth $240000 or less, then the court uses the following formula to calculate the amount of alimony:
The amount is usually 40% of the paying party’s adjusted gross income, with 50% of the lower party’s adjusted gross revenue deducted.
For example, suppose the party with the higher income has an adjusted gross revenue of $6,000 a month, and the party with a lower income has an adjusted gross revenue of $3,000a month. In that case, the court empowers to take 40% of the $6000 and subtract 50% of the $3000 to gives $900 the amount of spousal support to award per month.
Duration of the Spousal Support in Colorado
The statutory guidelines determine just how long the Colorado Alimony Law should award.
A large table describes just how long the awarding period should base on how many months the marriage lasted.
For instance, for marriages that lasted more than the stipulated 20 years, the court can choose to award the maintenance for some time equivalent to a minimum of 20 years or decide to award for an undetermined period.
Check here for more on Colorado Alimony Law.