For couples that have gone through a divorce in Colorado, one of the key issues decided during the divorce has to do with alimony. As the party who is currently paying alimony, you may be curious about the amount of time you will be responsible for making this payment to your former spouse. Typically, at the outset of a divorce, temporary alimony may be awarded, which can change or stay the same when the final divorce decree is handed down. Working with an experienced family law attorney in Colorado is the smartest approach to staying aware of and involved in alimony determinations.
There are circumstances under which an alimony order can be changed or stopped, but it does not apply in every Colorado divorce case. If there are contractual alimony agreements included in the final divorce decree, they likely include a duration of time within the agreement and will be automatically terminated on a certain date. If there is court-ordered maintenance that does not specify a duration, though, you may be questioning whether that award amount can ever be changed.
If the financial circumstances of either party to the alimony agreement change dramatically, this may be grounds for getting the alimony award stopped or terminated. For example, if the party paying the alimony is unemployed or faces severe financial problems, the court may reconsider the amount. If the other party wins the lottery or inherits a great sum of money, this can serve as a big change in his or her financial situation, too. As a side note, it is important to know that if the person receiving the alimony gets remarried, he or she will lose rights to receive alimony in Colorado the vast majority of the time. For more questions, contact a family law attorney.