Colorado's New Spousal Maintenance Law (SB25-116): What Changed in August 2025

If you're getting divorced in Colorado, the law governing how much spousal maintenance you may pay or receive changed substantially in August 2025. Senate Bill 25-116 (signed into law May 19, 2025; effective August 6, 2025) expanded what judges must consider when setting maintenance, added new protections for domestic violence survivors, and modified the statutory framework that has guided Colorado courts since 2013.

This guide walks through what the new law does, what it doesn't do, how it affects divorce cases filed before and after the effective date, and the practical implications for both paying and receiving spouses.

What is spousal maintenance in Colorado?

Spousal maintenance (also called alimony) is court-ordered financial support paid by one spouse to the other after divorce. Colorado law governs maintenance under C.R.S. § 14-10-114.

Maintenance is intended to allow the lower-earning spouse to maintain a reasonable standard of living after divorce, particularly when one spouse sacrificed career or earning capacity during the marriage (raising children, supporting the other's career, etc.).

Colorado uses advisory guidelines for marriages of 3+ years to suggest a maintenance amount and duration. The court isn't bound by the guidelines but must consider them.

What SB25-116 changed

The most significant changes from the 2025 amendment:

1. Expanded factors the court must consider. Judges now must weigh:

• Each party's financial resources, including income from all sources
• Each party's earning capacity (not just current earnings)
• The standard of living established during the marriage
• The duration of the marriage
• The age and health of each party
• NEW: The effect of domestic violence or coercive control on the receiving spouse's earning capacity
• NEW: The effect of a party's voluntary unemployment or underemployment

2. Enhanced maintenance for DV survivors. When the receiving spouse experienced domestic violence during the marriage that materially affected their earning capacity, the court can:

• Extend the maintenance duration beyond the advisory guidelines
• Award higher maintenance amounts
• Order maintenance for a longer term in marriages otherwise too short for guideline maintenance

This is a meaningful shift — pre-2025 Colorado law required courts to consider DV but provided less specific guidance on how it should affect maintenance calculations.

3. Adjustments to the advisory formula. The income-percentage formula and duration tables were refined. The basic structure remains: a percentage of the difference between the spouses' incomes for a portion of the marriage's length. Specific percentages and durations are in the amended C.R.S. § 14-10-114(3).

When the new law applies

SB25-116 took effect August 6, 2025. The law applies to:

• Divorce petitions filed on or after August 6, 2025: new law fully applies
• Petitions filed before August 6, 2025 but not yet finalized: courts have applied new law to ongoing cases on a case-by-case basis. If maintenance hasn't been set yet, the new law usually controls
• Final orders entered before August 6, 2025: existing maintenance orders are NOT automatically modified by the new law. A spouse seeking to change an existing order must file a motion to modify under C.R.S. § 14-10-122 and show a "substantial and continuing change in circumstances"

If you have an existing maintenance order and one of the new factors applies to your situation (e.g., you experienced domestic violence not adequately considered at the original hearing), consult a Colorado family law attorney about whether modification is viable.

How Colorado calculates maintenance

For marriages of 3+ years, Colorado uses an advisory formula. The basic calculation:

Amount: 40% of the higher earner's monthly income MINUS 50% of the lower earner's monthly income. The amount is capped so the receiving spouse's total income (own income + maintenance) doesn't exceed 40% of the combined incomes.

Duration: A percentage of the marriage length, scaled by marriage duration. For example:

• 3 years married → 11 months of maintenance (31%)
• 10 years married → 45 months (37.5%)
• 20 years married → 132 months (55%)
• 20+ years → potentially indefinite

These are guideline values. Judges can deviate based on the statutory factors.

What hasn't changed

The court still has broad discretion. Maintenance remains:

• Modifiable for substantial and continuing changes in circumstances (job loss, remarriage of receiving spouse, etc.)
• Terminable on remarriage of the receiving spouse, unless the original order says otherwise
• Terminable on death of either party
• Tax-neutral at the federal level (TCJA 2017 eliminated the deduction for payor and inclusion in payee's income for divorces after 2018)

The advisory guidelines for short marriages (under 3 years) and very long marriages (over 20 years) remain less prescriptive — the court has more flexibility at both ends.

DV provisions in detail

SB25-116's domestic violence provisions are the most consequential change. To benefit:

1. The receiving spouse must show DV occurred during the marriage
2. The DV must have materially affected the spouse's earning capacity (career interruption, mental health impact, physical injuries, etc.)
3. The court can then extend duration, increase amount, or award maintenance in marriages that wouldn't otherwise qualify

Evidence supporting a DV claim:

• Protection orders entered against the paying spouse
• Police reports
• Medical records documenting injuries
• Therapy/counseling records (some require waiver of privilege)
• Witness testimony
• Documentation of career interruption tied to the DV

The receiving spouse doesn't have to have criminally prosecuted the paying spouse. Civil proof of DV by a preponderance of evidence is sufficient for the maintenance enhancement.

How temporary maintenance works

While the divorce is pending, either spouse can request temporary maintenance under C.R.S. § 14-10-108. This isn't subject to the same SB25-116 amendments but uses a similar framework. The temporary order ends when the final decree is entered.

Modification of existing orders

If you have a maintenance order from before August 2025 and want to modify it under SB25-116's expanded factors:

1. File a Motion to Modify Maintenance under C.R.S. § 14-10-122
2. Show a substantial and continuing change in circumstances since the last order
3. Argue that one or more of SB25-116's new factors (DV not previously considered, etc.) supports the modification

The "substantial and continuing change" standard is high. Simple disagreement with the original order isn't enough. New circumstances (income drop, new DV evidence, retirement, etc.) are required.

Frequently asked questions

How is maintenance different from child support?

Child support is for the child's benefit and calculated under separate statutes (C.R.S. § 14-10-115). Maintenance is for the spouse's benefit. Both can be awarded in the same divorce.

Can my spouse and I waive maintenance entirely?

Yes, in a written marital agreement or settlement agreement, signed by both parties. The court reviews to ensure waiver is fair and not unconscionable.

Does maintenance affect Social Security benefits?

After 10+ years of marriage, the lower-earning spouse may claim Social Security spousal benefits on the higher earner's record even after divorce. Maintenance and SS benefits are separate.

What if my spouse refuses to work to avoid paying maintenance?

SB25-116 explicitly added "voluntary unemployment or underemployment" as a factor. The court can impute income to a voluntarily-unemployed spouse based on their earning capacity.

Is maintenance taxable to the recipient?

For divorces finalized in 2019 or later, no — maintenance is not deductible to the payor and not taxable to the recipient (per the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 2017).

Can I be ordered to pay maintenance if I make less than my spouse?

Generally no — maintenance flows from the higher earner to the lower earner. But in unusual situations (e.g., the lower-earning spouse has substantial separate assets while the higher earner doesn't), the court has discretion.

What about same-sex marriages?

Identical treatment. Colorado has recognized same-sex marriages since 2014, and the maintenance law is gender-neutral.

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This is general information, not legal advice. Maintenance calculations are fact-specific and depend on each party's actual income, the marriage length, and the new factors SB25-116 added. Verify the current text of C.R.S. § 14-10-114 on the Colorado General Assembly site and consult a licensed Colorado family law attorney for guidance on your specific case.