At the end of a marriage in Colorado, some people will be faced with the legal obligation to pay spousal support – also referred to as alimony – to the other spouse. This can be a point of contention in a divorce as the amount, time for which it must be paid, and other factors will be in dispute. This is true from the perspective of the paying spouse and the receiving spouse. For spouses receiving alimony, they will want to receive what they believe they are entitled to. For spouses paying alimony, they do not want to pay any more than they deem necessary. This is when legal assistance is a must for both parties.
There are no specific guidelines to dictate how much is paid in spousal support in the state. That makes it even more difficult to come to an agreement that everyone can live with. The paying spouse might believe that he or she is paying too much for the other spouse to maintain a lifestyle. The length of the marriage can also be a concern because a short marriage could leave the paying spouse supporting the other person for a longer time than the marriage lasted.
For the receiving spouse, if he or she was not the primary breadwinner, it could take time to get back on strong financial ground. That can include looking for work, receiving training for work, and maintaining the lifestyle as it was during the marriage. Factors that are taken into consideration are the financial resources, how long it will take to achieve self-support, how long the marriage lasted, what the standard of living was, the ages of the parties, and how able the paying spouse is to make the alimony payments while supporting him or herself.
When dealing with financial support issues at the end of a marriage, it is important to have legal advice from the start. A law firm that specializes in Colorado family law and has extensive experience in even the most acrimonious situations can help in dealing with spousal support.
