Alimony / Maintenance

The Courts of Colorado refer to what historically has been known to be alimony and spousal support as the award of "Maintenance." Maintenance is only awarded in divorce, legal separation and annulment cases. It is not available in paternity or child custody cases. In paternity cases Mothers are awarded what is called the "costs of confinement."

Maintenance is awardable in cases where one spouse has the ability to pay maintenance and the other spouse lacks sufficient property to provide for his/her reasonable needs and is unable to obtain appropriate employment to provide for those needs. In awarding maintenance judges are required to consider numerous factors which are delineated in C.R.S. 14-10-114. These factors include but are not limited to the duration of the marriage, the financial resources of both parties, the time it will take for the requesting spouse to find sufficient employment, the standard of living during the marriage, the age and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance, and the ability of the payor spouse to pay maintenance.

Generally, the longer the marriage and the greater the standard of living, the more likely the court is to award maintenance in Colorado. In high asset and high income cases careful planning and preparation is needed to demonstrate to the court what the standard of living was during the marriage and to further demonstrate to the Court the ability or inability of the payor spouse to pay maintenance. Whether you are requesting maintenance or defending against a request for maintenance the attorneys at Antolinez Miller, LLC are well qualified to represent your particular needs.

Temporary Maintenance

During the pendency of a divorce, legal separation or annulment "temporary maintenance" can be requested. In cases where both spouses combined gross annual income is under $75,000 a formula is used to calculate a presumptive amount of maintenance to be awarded in a particular case. Unless the presumption is properly rebutted by evidence showing a different amount is warranted the court will usually enter an order for the presumptive amount. In cases where both spouses combined gross annual income is over $75,000.00 there is no presumption of maintenance. Instead the Court considers numerous factors which are delineated in C.R.S. 14-10-114. These factors include but are not limited to the duration of the marriage, the financial resources of both parties, the time it will take for the requesting spouse to find sufficient employment, the standard of living during the marriage, the age and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance, and the ability of the payor spouse to pay maintenance

Imputed income / Voluntary Unemployment or Underemployment

When one spouse to a marriage is either not employed or underemployed the issue often arises as to whether or not it is appropriate for the court to consider imputing said spouse a wage. Imputed income is the amount of income a spouse would earn if they were fully employed. There are numerous factors a court considers in deciding whether or not to impute income to a spouse. In some situations the non-working spouse was not expected to work during the marriage and it would be inappropriate to expect said spouse to gain immediate employment. In other cases the Court will give a spouse time to seek education or reeducation prior to imputing them income. More difficult cases involve a spouse who is working but could be earning more. For example a lawyer who chooses to be a farmer. Often times in these situations the testimony of an expert witness such as a vocational evaluator will be needed to establish what the spouse could be and should be earning. The attorneys at Antolinez Miller, LLC are well qualified to access voluntary unemployment and underemployment issues. Please contact us for a free consultation.