Graham.Law Blog

It seems the issue of what counts as a financial resource in a contempt or maintenance case still results in seemingly contradictory decisions from the courts. We recently wrote a post discussing the Sheehan case, where the Colorado Court of Appeals held that a trial judge could not find a…

Although less common than it once was, with long-term marriages courts may still order maintenance for an indefinite period of time – i.e. with no expiration date. While such awards may colloquially be known as “lifetime” maintenance, that’s not strictly speaking accurate, because either former spouse could still file a…

The Colorado Court of Appeals last week issued a new ruling on the interplay between imputation of income and voluntary unemployment which will make bringing contempt cases for non-support more complicated. (Note that this particular case involved voluntary underemployment, not voluntary unemployment, but the analysis is the same either way)….

While the federal minimum wage remains stuck at the same $7.25/hr it has been since 2009, many states have now left that figure in the dust, Colorado included. The Colorado Department of Labor has announced that on January 1, 2022 the state minimum wage will increase to $12.56/hr, from the…

When a judge awards maintenance as part of a final orders in a dissolution of marriage case, the maintenance is subject to modification “upon a showing of changed circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the terms unfair” (1)(a). However, when the spouses reach an agreement for maintenance, they…

We have written about cases where Colorado’s appellate courts have reversed alimony awards from trial courts which simply applied the maintenance guidelines without evidence or specific findings on the need for maintenance. Now, the Colorado Court of Appeals has held, in a case of first impression, that courts are permitted…

The Colorado Court of Appeals has just issued a decision holding that domestic relations judge may award retroactive temporary maintenance at a hearing, even when the spouses were still living in the same house. Facts Supporting Retroactive Temporary Maintenance In Herold, the parties had a common law marriage for over…

VA Disability Payments are Income The Colorado Court of Appeals just issued a new decision in what it characterized: “As a matter of first impression in Colorado, whether a provision of the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act (USFSFPS)… prohibits a trial court from including a parent’s veteran’s disability benefits…

What is Colorado’s Maintenance Formula? The Colorado alimony calculator applies the advisory maintenance formula found in Colorado’s maintenance statute (). The statute provides judges in a divorce or legal separation proceeding with an advisory-only calculation to consider under the following conditions: The spouse’s combined incomes is not greater than $240,000/yr…

Even though justice is blind, image is still important. Wear proper court
attire & act respectfully to avoid hurting your Colorado family law case.