When you are facing a divorce, one of your biggest concerns is financial survival. Whether you were the primary breadwinner or the lesser earner, you may be wondering what spousal support may mean for you.
In Colorado, courts rely on a specific formula to compute spousal maintenance and decide who pays it and for how long. Understanding how alimony is calculated can help you secure a stable and predictable post-divorce life.
The prerequisites for spousal maintenance
Not every divorcing couple qualifies for alimony. Before the formula is even pulled out, your marital circumstances must meet specific statutory boundaries. Your combined annual adjusted gross income (AGI) must be $240,000 or less.
Additionally, your marriage must be at least 36 months to be eligible. If your case falls outside these lines, the judge uses pure discretion based on statutory lifestyle and need factors.
The amount formula
In Colorado, the court computes 40% of the higher earner’s income and subtracts half of the lower earner’s income from it to get a starting amount for support. Based on updated federal tax laws, Colorado uses a 75% or 80% multiplier on the base amount since alimony is paid with after-tax money. The final amount also cannot make the recipient’s income more than 40% of the couple’s combined income.
The duration of alimony
In Colorado, the length of maintenance is usually based on the length of the marriage. For shorter marriages, it generally falls somewhere between 31% and 50% of the time you were married.
The formula typically reaches its limit at marriages of about 12.5 years. If your marriage lasted more than 20 years, courts often disregard the formula and may award long-term or even indefinite support instead.
Protecting your financial future
While the formula provides a guideline for determining spousal maintenance, judges can make changes based on health issues, asset distribution or earning capacity. A lawyer can evaluate your case to help better position you for a favorable outcome.