This publication is an officially sanctioned publication using the official text of the Colorado Revised Statutes for 2025.
§ 14-10-114 Outline:
(1) Purpose and applicability;
(2) Timing of maintenance awards – marital misconduct;
(3) Determination of maintenance;
(4) Temporary maintenance;
(5) Modification or termination of maintenance;
(6) Security for payment of maintenance;
(7) Maintenance agreements – waivers – unrepresented parties;
(8) Definitions;
(9) Application.
(1)Legislative declaration. (a)The general assembly hereby finds that:
(I)The economic lives of spouses are frequently closely intertwined in marriage
and
that it is often impossible to later segregate the respective decisions and contributions of
the
spouses; and
(II)Consequently, awarding spousal maintenance may be appropriate if a spouse
needs support and the other spouse has the ability to pay support.
(b)The general assembly further finds that:
(I)Because the statutes provide little guidance to the court concerning
maintenance
awards, there has been inconsistency in the amount and term of maintenance awarded in
different judicial districts across the state in cases that involve similar factual
circumstances;
and
(II)Courts and litigants would benefit from the establishment of a more detailed
statutory framework that includes advisory guidelines to be considered as a starting point
for
the determination of fair and equitable maintenance awards.
(c)Therefore, the general assembly declares that it
is appropriate to create a statutory framework for the determination of maintenance
awards, including advisory guidelines for the amount and term of maintenance in certain
cases, that will assist the court and the parties in crafting maintenance awards that are
fair,
equitable, and more consistent across judicial districts and in their application to both
parties.
(2)At the time of permanent orders in dissolution of marriage, legal separation,
or
declaration of invalidity proceedings, and upon the request of either party, the court may
order the payment of maintenance from one spouse to the other pursuant to the
provisions
of this section. An award of maintenance shall be in an amount and for a term that is fair
and
equitable to both parties and shall be made without regard to marital misconduct.
(3)(a)(I)Determination of maintenance. When a party has
requested
maintenance in a dissolution of marriage, legal separation, or declaration of invalidity
proceeding, prior to granting or denying an award of maintenance, the court shall make
initial written or oral findings concerning:
(A)The amount of each party’s gross income;
(B)The marital property apportioned to each party;
(C)The financial resources of each party, including but not limited to the actual
or potential income from separate or marital property;
(D)Reasonable financial need as established during the marriage; and
(E)Whether maintenance awarded pursuant to this section would be deductible
for federal income tax purposes by the payor and taxable income to the recipient.
(II)After making the initial findings described in subparagraph (I) of this
paragraph
(a), the court shall determine the amount and term of the maintenance award, if any, that
is
fair and equitable to both parties after considering:
(A)The guideline amount and term of maintenance set forth in paragraph (b) of
this
subsection (3), if applicable, based upon the duration of the marriage and the combined
gross
incomes of the parties;
(B)The factors relating to the amount and term of maintenance set forth in
paragraph (c) of this subsection (3); and
(C)Whether the party seeking maintenance has met the requirement for a
maintenance award pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subsection (3).
(b)Advisory guideline amount and term of maintenance. If the
duration of
the parties’ marriage is at least three years and the parties’ combined annual adjusted
gross income does not exceed two hundred forty thousand dollars, the court shall make
additional oral or written findings concerning the duration of the marriage in whole
months and the advisory guideline amount and term of maintenance, calculated as
follows:
(I)(A)If the maintenance award is deductible for federal income tax
purposes by the payor and taxable income to the recipient, the amount of maintenance
under the advisory guidelines is equal to forty percent of the parties’ combined monthly
adjusted gross income minus the lower income party’s monthly adjusted gross income. If
the calculation results in a negative number, the amount of maintenance is zero.
(B)If the maintenance award is not deductible for federal income tax purposes
by the payor and not taxable income to the recipient, the amount of maintenance under
the
advisory guidelines for parties with a combined monthly adjusted gross income of ten
thousand dollars or less is equal to eighty percent of the amount calculated pursuant to
subsection (3)(b)(I)(A) of this section.
(C)If the maintenance award is not deductible for federal income tax purposes
by the payor spouse and not taxable income to the recipient spouse, the amount of
maintenance under the advisory guidelines for parties with a combined monthly adjusted
gross income of more than ten thousand dollars but not more than twenty thousand
dollars
is equal to seventy-five percent of the amount calculated pursuant to subsection
(3)(b)(I)(A) of this section.
(II)(A)The advisory term of maintenance under the guidelines, calculated
in
whole months, for marriages of at least three years but not more than twenty years, is set
forth in the table contained in subsection (3)(b)(II)(B) of this section. When the duration
of the parties’ marriage exceeds twenty years, the court may award maintenance for a
specified term of years or for an indefinite term, but the court shall not specify a
maintenance term that is less than the maintenance term under the guidelines for a
twenty-year marriage without making specific findings that support a reduced term of
maintenance.
[14-10-114 tbl.pdf]
(c)Factors affecting the amount and term of maintenance. In any
proceeding
for maintenance, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to:
(I)The financial resources of the recipient spouse, including the actual or
potential
income from separate or marital property or any other source and the ability of the
recipient
spouse to meet his or her needs independently;
(II)The financial resources of the payor spouse, including the actual or potential
income from separate or marital property or any other source and the ability of the payor
spouse to meet his or her reasonable needs while paying maintenance;
(III)The lifestyle during the marriage;
(IV)The distribution of marital property, including whether additional marital
property may be awarded to reduce or alleviate the need for maintenance;
(V)Both parties’ income, employment, and employability, obtainable through
reasonable diligence and additional training or education, if necessary, and any necessary
reduction in employment due to the needs of an unemancipated child of the marriage or
the
circumstances of the parties;
(VI)Whether one party has historically earned higher or lower income than the
income reflected at the time of permanent orders and the duration and consistency of
income
from overtime or secondary employment;
(VII)The duration of the marriage;
(VIII)The amount of temporary maintenance and the number of months that
temporary maintenance was paid to the recipient spouse;
(IX)The age and health of the parties, including consideration of significant
health-care needs or uninsured or unreimbursed health-care expenses;
(X)Significant economic or noneconomic contribution to the marriage or to the
economic, educational, or occupational advancement of a party, including but not limited
to
completing an education or job training, payment by one spouse of the other spouse’s
separate debts, or enhancement of the other spouse’s personal or real property;
(XI)Whether the circumstances of the parties at the time of permanent orders
warrant the award of a nominal amount of maintenance in order to preserve a claim of
maintenance in the future;
(XII)Whether the maintenance is deductible for federal income tax purposes by
the payor and taxable income to the recipient, and any adjustments to the amount of
maintenance to equitably allocate the tax burden between the parties; and
(XIII)Any other factor that the court deems relevant.
(d)After considering the provisions of this section and making the required
findings
of fact, the court shall award maintenance only if it finds that the spouse seeking
maintenance
lacks sufficient property, including marital property apportioned to him or her, to provide
for
his or her reasonable needs and is unable to support himself or herself through
appropriate
employment or is the custodian of a child whose condition or circumstances make it
inappropriate for the spouse to be required to seek employment outside the home.
(e)The maintenance guidelines set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection (3)
do
not create a presumptive amount or term of maintenance. The court has discretion to
determine the award of maintenance that is fair and equitable to both parties based upon
the
totality of the circumstances. The court shall make specific written or oral findings in
support
of the amount and term of maintenance awarded pursuant to this section or an order
denying
maintenance.
(f)The court may award additional marital property to the recipient spouse or
otherwise adjust the distribution of marital property or debt to alleviate the need for
maintenance or to reduce the amount or term of maintenance awarded.
(g)The court may reserve jurisdiction to establish, review, or modify an award
of
maintenance at a later date pursuant to the provisions of this section by setting forth:
(I)The reasons for reserving jurisdiction;
(II)The ascertainable future event that forms the basis for reserving jurisdiction;
and
(III)A reasonably specific time within which maintenance may be considered
pursuant to this section.
(h)The court may award maintenance in short-term marriages, including
marriages
of less than three years in duration, when, given the circumstances of the parties, the
distribution of marital property is insufficient to achieve an equitable result. In
determining
the award of maintenance, the court may consider the maintenance guidelines and the
relevant factors affecting the amount and term of maintenance set forth in this subsection
(3).
The court shall make written or oral findings pursuant to paragraph (e) of this subsection
(3).
(i)Nothing in this section prohibits an award of maintenance in gross.
(3.5)Combined annual adjusted gross income in excess of advisory
guideline
amount. If the parties’ combined annual adjusted gross income exceeds two
hundred
forty thousand dollars, the calculation methodology described in subsection (3)(b)(I) of
this section for determining the advisory guideline amount of maintenance does not
apply,
and the court shall instead consider the factors set forth in subsection (3)(c) of this
section
in determining the amount of maintenance. The court may consider the advisory
guideline
term of maintenance set forth in subsection (3)(b)(II) of this section.
(4)Temporary maintenance. (a)(I)In every proceeding
for
dissolution
of marriage, legal separation, or declaration of invalidity where temporary maintenance is
requested by a party, the court may award a monthly amount of temporary maintenance
pursuant to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section that are relevant to a
determination
of temporary maintenance.
(II)The guideline term of maintenance set forth in subparagraph (II) of
paragraph
(b) of subsection (3) of this section does not apply to temporary maintenance orders. The
court shall determine the term for payment of temporary maintenance.
(III)In addition to the relevant factors set forth in paragraph (c) of subsection
(3)
of this section, the court shall consider any additional factors specific to the
determination
of temporary maintenance, including the payment of family expenses and debts.
(b)After determining the amount of temporary maintenance pursuant to this
subsection (4) and the amount of temporary child support pursuant to section 14-10-115,
the
court shall consider the respective financial resources of each party and determine the
temporary payment of marital debt and the temporary allocation of marital property.
(c)A determination of temporary maintenance does not prejudice the rights of
either
party at permanent orders.
(5)Modification or termination of maintenance. (a)Except upon
written
agreement of the parties, an award of maintenance entered pursuant to this section may
be
modified or terminated pursuant to the provisions of section 14-10-122. The court may
consider the guideline amount and term of maintenance and the statutory factors set forth
in
subsection (3) of this section only in a modification or termination proceeding
concerning
a maintenance award entered on or after January 1, 2014.
(b)The enactment of this section does not constitute a substantial and
continuing
change of circumstance for purposes of modifying maintenance orders entered before
January 1, 2014.
(c)The enactment of the
December 2017 “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”, Pub.L. 115-97, federal tax legislation, does not
constitute a substantial and continuing change of circumstance for purposes of modifying
maintenance orders entered prior to the effective date of that law.
(6)Security for the payment of maintenance. (a)The court may
require the
payor spouse to provide reasonable security for the payment of maintenance in the event
of
the payor spouse’s death prior to the end of the maintenance term.
(b)Reasonable security may include, but need not be limited to, maintenance of
life
insurance for the benefit of the recipient spouse. In entering an order to maintain life
insurance, the court shall consider:
(I)The age and insurability of the payor spouse;
(II)The cost of the life insurance;
(III)The amount and term of the maintenance;
(IV)Whether the parties carried life insurance during the marriage;
(V)Prevailing interest rates at the time of the order; and
(VI)Other obligations of the payor spouse.
(c)Orders to maintain security may be modified or terminated pursuant to
section
14-10-122.
(7)Maintenance agreements – waiver – unrepresented parties.
(a)Either
or both of the parties may agree in writing or orally in court to waive maintenance
consistent with the provisions of section 14-10-112. The parties may also agree to waive
maintenance in a premarital agreement or marital agreement consistent with the
provisions of the “Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act”, created in part 3 of
article 2 of this title. The enforceability of maintenance provisions in a premarital
agreement or marital agreement is determined pursuant to the provisions of section
14-2-309.
(b)In any proceeding that falls within the maintenance guidelines set
forth in subsection (3) of this section, at the time of either temporary orders or permanent
orders, if either party is not represented by an attorney or a licensed legal
paraprofessional, the court shall not approve an agreement waiving maintenance or
agreeing to an amount or term of maintenance that does not follow the maintenance
guidelines unless the unrepresented party has indicated that the party is aware of the
maintenance guidelines pursuant to this section.
(8)Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
requires:
(a)(I)“Adjusted gross income” means gross income as defined in subsection
(8)(c) of this section, less preexisting court-ordered child support obligations actually
paid
by a party, preexisting court-ordered alimony or maintenance obligations actually paid by
a party, as adjusted, if applicable, pursuant to subsection (8)(a)(III) of this section, and
the
adjustment to a party’s income as determined pursuant to section 14-10-115 (6)(b) for
any
children who are not children of the marriage for whom the party has a legal
responsibility to support.
(II)For purposes of this subsection (8)(a), “income” means the actual gross
income of a party, if employed to full capacity, or potential income, if unemployed or
underemployed.
(III)(A)For purposes of this subsection (8)(a), if the preexisting
court-ordered alimony or maintenance obligations actually paid by a party are deductible
for federal income tax purposes by that party, then the full amount of alimony or
maintenance actually paid must be deducted from that party’s gross income.
(B)If the preexisting court-ordered alimony or maintenance obligations actually
paid by a party are not deductible for federal income tax purposes by that party, then the
amount of preexisting court-ordered alimony or maintenance that is deducted from that
party’s gross income is the amount actually paid by that party multiplied by 1.25.
(b)“Duration of marriage” means the number of whole months, beginning from
the
first day of the month following the date of the parties’ marriage until the date of decree
or
the date of the hearing on disposition of property if such hearing precedes the date of the
decree.
(c)(I)“Gross income” means income from any source and includes, but is
not limited to:
(A)Income from salaries;
(B)Wages, including tips declared by the individual for purposes of reporting to
the
federal internal revenue service or tips imputed to bring the employee’s gross earnings to
the
minimum wage for the number of hours worked, whichever is greater;
(C)Commissions;
(D)Payments received as an independent contractor for labor or services, which
payments must be considered income from self-employment;
(E)Bonuses;
(F)Dividends;
(G)Severance pay;
(H)Pension payments and retirement benefits actually received that have not
previously been divided as property in this action, including but not limited to those paid
pursuant to articles 51, 54, 54.5, and 54.6 of title 24, C.R.S., and article 30 of title 31,
C.R.S.;
(I)Royalties;
(J)Rents;
(K)Interest;
