What is Alimony | Episode 161

In this short how-to episode, Ryan Kalamaya gives a short introduction into the topic of spousal support, also known as alimony or maintenance, as part of our comprehensive coverage of support issues in a Colorado divorce. 

The most important thing when it comes to spousal support is that it hinges on the distribution of property. We will explore other factors such as income, reasonable needs, and additional intricate matters in future episodes. 

What is Divorce at Altitude?

Ryan Kalamaya and Amy Goscha provide tips and recommendations on issues related to divorce, separation, and co-parenting in Colorado. Ryan and Amy are the founding partners of an innovative and ambitious law firm, Kalamaya | Goscha, that pushes the boundaries to discover new frontiers in family law, personal injuries, and criminal defense in Colorado.

To subscribe to Divorce at Altitude, click here and select your favorite podcast player. To subscribe to Kalamaya | Goscha's YouTube channel where many of the episodes will be posted as videos, click here. If you have additional questions or would like to speak to one of our attorneys, give us a call at 970-429-5784 or email us at info@kalamaya.law.

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DISCLAIMER: THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS ON THIS PODCAST IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL ADVICE. CONTACT AN ATTORNEY IN YOUR STATE OR AREA TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE ON ANY OF THESE ISSUES.

Transcript

0 (1s):
Welcome to Divorce at Altitude A Podcast on Colorado Family Law. I'm Ryan Kliman. Each week, along with my business partner and co-host Amy Goscha, or an expert, we discuss a particular topic related to Divorce or co-parenting in Colorado. In addition, we have created a short series of lessons that will take you through the legal process of Divorce and answer your questions from simple to complex. Divorce isn't easy. The end of a marriage, especially when children are involved, brings a great deal of loss and change. We hope these practical tips and insights will help you on your journey to a new and better life.

0 (42s):
This is a how to episode on what Alimony is in a Colorado divorce. Now, if we take our hypothetical Divorce clients, Eric and Melanie Wolf, and they're going through a Divorce hearing, Colorado the subject of Alimony or what we call maintenance is going to come up. Now, Alimony is a financial payment from one spouse to the other after Divorce. And the rationale is that it's supposed to help the lower earner maintain a similar lifestyle that they enjoyed during the marriage. So if we have Eric and Melanie and Eric was historically the primary breadwinner, he may be paying maintenance to Melanie after the Divorce.

0 (1m 25s):
The issue is how long, how much, and those are driven primarily by the number of factors that we'll get into in subsequent episodes. But the key thing that you need to take away from this episode is that you can even have a conversation about how much maintenance Eric is going to pay Melanie until you actually divide the property involved in the Divorce. The reason is seen in an example where if Melanie receives $10 million in investible assets, she can make money on that. And if we take a 5% rate of return on her $10 million, she would then have $500,000 per year to pay for her lifestyle without even considering how much she could earn or what her reasonable needs are.

0 (2m 10s):
And so we really have to understand what parties are receiving after the Divorce is concluded before even having a discussion on maintenance. So we'll talk about those different factors and all the other things that go into Alimony. But for now, understand that a maintenance is a payment from one to the other after a Divorce to maintain a similar lifestyle. And two, you can't have that conversation about what Alimony is going to be awarded until you've divided property. Thanks for listening or watching this short lesson on the Divorce Out to Be podcast.

0 (2m 50s):
If you found this helpful, please leave a review or share with a friend. It does help for others that are going through or thinking about a Divorce in Colorado. If you want to find out more information, please visit Kalamaya dot law or Divorce at Altitude dot com. And that's K A L A M A YA A Law. Remember, this is educational information, it's not intended to be legal advice. Please consult with an attorney about the particulars of your case. We're Happy to answer questions. Feel free to give us a call at 9 7 0 3 1 5 2 3 6 5.