Alimony Attorney
Family Alimony Attorney in Grand Junction, CO
Need an Effective Alimony Attorney?
Whitham Law Group has an alimony attorney that will offer guidance and help during your separation, divorce, or modification. Our goal is to ensure you do not get stuck with an unfair or unmanageable alimony decree. With years of experience in divorce and spousal support, our alimony attorney can provide you with the legal advice you need.
Alimony can be complex, depending on the circumstances of your and your spouse’s relationship and the income levels of each. Whitham Law Group’s alimony attorney will help to make the separation process as easy as possible and give you peace of mind knowing that you are getting the best guidance and support possible.
About Colorado Spousal Support
The state of Colorado is an alimony-friendly state. This means if you and your spouse decide to get divorced, the state has enacted a statute permitting that a spouse with lower income or ones that cannot work full time the right to request payments from their ex-spouse to support themselves or their family post-divorce. It is extremely important to hire an alimony attorney to ensure that you and your spouse come to support terms that work for both of you.
Alimony, otherwise known as “spousal maintenance” or “spousal support” in the state of Colorado, is payments made to a spouse after separation or divorce. The type and amount of support must be established by the court’s decree. Our state provides judges guidelines for determining how much an ex-spouse receives and for how long, depending on their circumstances.
Types of Spousal Support
There are two main types of alimony or spousal support: contractual and non-modifiable maintenance or spousal maintenance.
Contractual and Non-modifiable Maintenance
This type of alimony is when the divorcing parties agree upon terms. This type of agreement is typical for couples who prefer to handle their own divorces. It is important to understand when it comes to this type of spousal support, the agreement cannot be changed. What you two decide is final.
It is best to first speak with an alimony attorney before deciding what type of spousal support is best for your separation or divorce. For example, if one lost their job under contractual and non-modifiable maintenance, they must continue paying regardless of their circumstances.
Statutory Maintenance
With statutory maintenance, you work with an alimony attorney and the court to determine the outcome. This type of alimony is provided to an ex-spouse when the judge gives orders when the marriage is over, or a couple separates. Statutory maintenance support term tends to be a percentage of the length of the marriage. The statutory maintenance term addresses marriages that lasted 3-20 years. For example, if you were married for 5 years, you may owe spousal support for up to 1.5 years or about 30% of the marriage. In other words, the longer the marriage, the longer the alimony term, and is capped at a maximum of 50%.
If a marriage lasts more than 20 years, in some cases, spousal support could be a lifetime. However, this type of spousal maintenance can be modified depending on either the payer’s or the receiver’s circumstances. Speak with your alimony attorney to determine if this is the right move for you.
Revising Spousal Support
If you have worked with an alimony attorney in the past and you are not satisfied with the result, it is possible in the state of Colorado to modify or revise statutory maintenance as long as the divorce decree does not specify otherwise. Modifying statutory maintenance for alimony can be difficult. It is important to have a reputable alimony attorney at your side to help you navigate the legal processes and required steps.
