Spousal Maintenance After Divorce in Colorado: Modification and Termination

Colorado calls alimony "spousal maintenance." Whether you are paying it or receiving it, there are specific circumstances under which the amount or duration can be changed — and specific events that end it automatically.

When Maintenance Can Be Modified

Either party can file a motion to modify maintenance when there has been a substantial and continuing change in circumstances. The modification standard is the same as child support, but courts have broader discretion because maintenance is fundamentally about balancing economic positions rather than applying a strict formula.

Common grounds for the payer to seek reduction:

• Involuntary job loss or significant income reduction (voluntary underemployment does not qualify)
• Disability preventing work at previous capacity
• Retirement at a reasonable age

Common grounds for the recipient to seek increase:

• Medical condition reducing earning capacity
• Cost-of-living increases significantly outpacing the original award
• The payer's income has substantially increased (depending on the original agreement's terms)

Common grounds for the payer to seek termination:

• The recipient's income has substantially increased, reducing or eliminating the need
• The recipient is cohabitating with a new partner in a relationship resembling marriage
• The recipient has remarried

Automatic Termination Events

Colorado law provides that maintenance terminates automatically upon:

• Death of either party — the obligation dies with the payer (unless the order specifically creates a lien on the estate)
• Remarriage of the recipient — unless the original agreement explicitly states maintenance survives remarriage (rare, usually only in long-duration marriages)

Some separation agreements include a specific end date (e.g., "maintenance terminates after 7 years"). These time-limited awards end on the stated date without any court filing required.

The Non-Modifiable Clause

This is critical: if your separation agreement or the court's order states that maintenance is "non-modifiable," neither party can seek a change regardless of circumstances. Many negotiated agreements include this clause as a trade-off — one party accepts a fixed amount in exchange for certainty that it will not change.

Check your agreement carefully. If the maintenance provisions are labeled non-modifiable, the court has no authority to change them.

How to File

1. File a Motion to Modify in the court that entered the original order. Include a current financial affidavit (JDF 1111) and documentation supporting the changed circumstances.
2. Serve the other party with the motion and supporting documents.
3. Attend the hearing. The court will evaluate whether the change is substantial, continuing, and unforeseen at the time of the original order.
4. Modification is prospective — changes take effect from the filing date, not from when circumstances actually changed. File promptly.

Tax Treatment (Post-2018)

For divorces finalized after December 31, 2018, spousal maintenance is not tax-deductible for the payer and not taxable income for the recipient. This was changed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Divorces finalized before 2019 may still use the old rules (deductible to payer, taxable to recipient) unless the agreement has been modified to adopt the new treatment.

The Colorado After-Divorce Checklist covers maintenance tracking, modification triggers, and the documentation you need to support a change in circumstances.

See more Colorado guides →