Colorado law recognizes that the economic lives of spouses are often closely intertwined in marriage. In many cases, decisions made by one spouse imply complementary decisions made by the other, and spouses sometimes choose to forgo educational and earning opportunities for the good of the relationship. Since it can be hard to provide a specific accounting of the money value of each decision, Colorado law allows for spousal support to be awarded in some cases where one spouse can pay the support and the other spouse needs it.
Courts in Colorado take a number of factors into account when determining how much spousal maintenance will be awarded and how long the maintenance obligation will last. These factors include the financial resources of the payer spouse; the financial resources of the recipient spouse; the couple’s lifestyle during their marriage; each party’s employment, employability and income; the duration of the marriage; the amount of temporary maintenance paid; the parties’ age and health; and more.
After the court has done this analysis, Colorado law permits it to award maintenance only if the spouse seeking maintenance does not have sufficient property to provide for his or her reasonable needs. The court will take a number of things into account, such as the property division and the feasibility of work for the requesting spouse.
Parties going through the divorce process should take care that their interests are well-represented with respect to spousal support. Whether a person feels they should be getting spousal support or is facing a demand for spousal support from an estranged spouse, it can pay to be proactive.
