Colorado Alimony / Spousal Support Estimator

Colorado uses an advisory guideline formula under C.R.S. § 14-10-114 for couples with combined gross income of $240,000 or less per year. The base calculation equals 40% of the higher earner's monthly gross income minus 50% of the lower earner's monthly gross income, capped at 40% of combined income. An adjustment multiplier of 80% applies when combined monthly income is $10,000 or less, and 75% when income falls between $10,001 and $20,000.

Colorado courts award four types of spousal maintenance under C.R.S. § 14-10-114. Rehabilitative maintenance is the most common, providing support while a spouse gains education or employment skills. Temporary maintenance covers the period during dissolution proceedings. Reimbursement maintenance compensates a spouse who funded the other's education or career. Permanent maintenance is rare, reserved for cases involving disability, advanced age, or inability to become self-sufficient.

Colorado's advisory duration starts at 31% of the marriage length for a 3-year marriage and increases approximately 0.165 percentage points per additional month, capping at 50% of the marriage duration at 12.5 years. For example, a 10-year marriage yields an advisory term of roughly 42 months. Marriages exceeding 20 years may receive maintenance for an indefinite term under C.R.S. § 14-10-114(5), though the court must not set a term shorter than the guideline for a 20-year marriage.

Under C.R.S. § 14-10-114(3)(c), Colorado courts consider the financial resources and income of each party, the marital lifestyle, the property division in the dissolution, each spouse's earning capacity, and the age and health of both parties. Courts also evaluate the marriage duration, whether a spouse interrupted career development for family responsibilities, and whether maintenance would enable the requesting party to become self-supporting within a reasonable period.

Colorado allows modification of spousal maintenance under C.R.S. § 14-10-122 when there is a substantial and continuing change in circumstances making the original order unfair. Common grounds include job loss, significant income changes, disability, or the payor's good-faith retirement at full Social Security retirement age. Maintenance automatically terminates upon the recipient's remarriage or establishment of a civil union unless the parties expressly agreed otherwise in writing.

Colorado is a pure no-fault dissolution state, and marital misconduct such as adultery is not a factor in spousal maintenance decisions under C.R.S. § 14-10-114. Courts determine maintenance based solely on financial factors and the statutory guidelines. The only narrow exception is economic dissipation — if a spouse spent marital funds on an extramarital relationship, the court may account for that waste when dividing property, which could indirectly affect the maintenance analysis.

For all Colorado dissolution decrees executed after December 31, 2018, spousal maintenance is not deductible by the payor and not taxable income for the recipient under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Colorado's advisory guideline formula under C.R.S. § 14-10-114 accounts for this by applying an 80% or 75% income multiplier to the base calculation, reducing the advisory amount compared to pre-2019 awards where the payor could deduct payments.

Colorado allows parties to waive spousal maintenance through a prenuptial (premarital) agreement or marital agreement under the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act, codified at C.R.S. § 14-2-309. The waiver must be entered voluntarily with full financial disclosure, and both parties should have had the opportunity to consult independent counsel. Courts may decline to enforce the waiver if it would cause significant hardship, and unrepresented parties must acknowledge awareness of the advisory guidelines before waiving maintenance.