Domestic violence can affect more than a spouse’s physical safety. It can also shape the financial circumstances surrounding a divorce. For example, an abusive spouse may control access to bank accounts, interfere with employment or use money to control household decisions. These actions can leave the other spouse with fewer financial resources when the marriage ends.
In Colorado, courts may consider domestic violence when deciding whether to award spousal maintenance, how much to award and how long payments should continue. A recent change in state law makes this factor especially important in divorce cases involving abuse.
When abuse becomes a factor in spousal maintenance
Colorado law requires courts to consider several factors when deciding spousal maintenance. These include each spouse’s income, financial resources, employment, earning ability, the length of the marriage and the standard of living during the marriage.
Since 2025, Colorado Senate Bill 25-116 (2025) also requires courts to consider whether one spouse engaged in:
- Domestic violence or physical abuse
- Coercive control or emotional abuse
- Economic abuse
- Litigation abuse
- Unlawful sexual behavior
This does not mean that domestic violence automatically results in a higher maintenance award. Instead, the court can weigh the abuse alongside the other financial and personal circumstances in the case.
For example, economic abuse may have limited one spouse’s access to money or prevented that spouse from maintaining employment. Those circumstances may be relevant when the court evaluates financial need and the ability to become self-supporting.
What this can mean for your case
Colorado law does not award spousal maintenance just to punish one spouse for bad behavior. However, a 2025 change in the law allows the court to consider certain types of abuse when deciding how much support to award and how long it should last.
Keeping records of financial control, problems at work, protection orders or other signs of abuse can help show what happened during the marriage. Legal assistance can help you present this information along with the financial details the court needs to review.
A financial issue with serious consequences
Domestic violence can affect a spouse’s finances even after the relationship ends. For example, one spouse may have had limited access to money or may have been unable to work because of the abuse. These facts may matter when the court looks at income, property, employment and other factors when deciding spousal maintenance.