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Mediation Can Help Divorcing Couples Negotiate Specific Scenarios. The Court Retains Full Discretion in Maintenance.

Maintenance / Alimony

Colorado Maintenance Guidelines

Colorado's monthly spousal support is calculated according to a formula provided in C.R.S. §14-10-114. Mediation can help divorcing couples negotiate specific scenarios, such as short-term adjustments to provide time to complete schooling, offsets of assets to buy down monthly maintenance payments, and other matters.   The court retains full discretion to determine the final amount and duration of any award. 

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Required Documentation

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Mediation involves transparency during negotiations, with both spouses agreeing to negotiate in good faith. To calculate maintenance and child support in mediation, divorcing spouses receive the Colorado Mandatory Disclosures Form 35.1 before or at the first mediation session. This checklist outlines the documents and date used by the mediator to compile financial information for the court. Documentation and data provided by the parties is then used by the mediator to assist in the preparation of each party's Sworn Financial Statement. The Sworn Financial Statement and Schedules are provided to the family court facilitator or judge at the Initial Status Conference, scheduled 42 days after filing a Petition for Dissolution or Legal Separation.

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Support Calculation

 

Mediation Matters LLC utilizes Family Law Software, which is the official calculator for Colorado. The financial statement is used as the basis for calculating the party’s Maintenance Guideline and Child Support Worksheet A (sole physical care) or Worksheet B (shared physical care.) Each party is responsible to the Colorado court for reflecting accurate, complete, current, and truthful information on these documents. The parties' data is used by the mediator to accurately prepare the resulting calculations. A Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Financial Disclosures is signed by the parties and submitted to the court, confirming that they have provided complete, accurate, and current financial information for each listed document. When consistent data is entered to calculate monthly child support and maintenance, resulting monthly obligations are consistent, whether entered by an attorney or mediator.

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Length of Marriage and Combined Incomes

 

Colorado's advisory guidelines for spousal or partner maintenance apply to marriages between three and twenty years. For marriages lasting more than twenty years, maintenance is either negotiated by the parties or determined by the court. The guideline formulas are designed for situations where the combined gross annual income of the parties is $360,000 or less. In cases where incomes exceed this threshold, monthly maintenance payments are subject to negotiation or a court order.  

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However, before maintenance is granted to either party, the Court is required to consider a variety of factors, including but not limited to:

  • financial resources of the parties, including need and ability to pay

  • distribution of marital property

  • actual or potential income produced from separate or marital property

  • reasonable lifestyle and financial needs established during the marriage 

  • income, employment and employability of the parties

  • historical earnings of the parties

  • duration of the marriage

  • reasonable ability to independently meet one’s own reasonable needs

  • age and health status of each party

  • need and duration of education for lower earning party

  • amount of temporary maintenance and number of months paid, if any

  • significant economic or non-economic contributions to the marriage

  • any and all other relevant factors

 

Taxation on Maintenance

Effective January 1, 2019, the IRS changed the way alimony (called maintenance is Colorado) is taxed.  

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Maintenance payments ordered on or before December 31, 2018 are deductible by the payer and taxable to the recipient. Payments ordered after January 1, 2019 are not tax-deductible. The Colorado Child Support Guidelines apply up to a combined monthly income of $30,000. Child support payments are neither tax-deductible for the payer nor taxable for the recipient. In Colorado, non-taxable maintenance is multiplied by 1.25 when calculating child support, as it is considered income.

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Judy West has assisted hundreds of families restructure through divorce, saving time and money. After serving 20 years as a family and divorce mediator, her results are impressive. Her clients routinely report back that upon filing their cases, court facilitators and judges alike have remarked that their case file is complete and ready for final hearing. The time to complete a mediated case with Judy West is generally 3 months, as opposed to an attorney-driven process where completion is typically a year or more. Judy's mediation clients save thousands of dollars in fees when compared to a typical divorce litigation managed through lawyers.

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Judy welcomes the opportunity to serve you. Call or text 303-864-9674 to schedule a 30 minute free consultation: 

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