What is Temporary Maintenance? | Episode 163

Understanding Temporary Alimony in Colorado Divorce | Divorce at Altitude

In this short Divorce at Altitude lesson, Ryan Kalamaya explains the concept of temporary alimony, known in Colorado as temporary maintenance. He walks listeners through what temporary maintenance is, when it applies, and how it differs from what many people commonly refer to as permanent alimony.

Ryan uses the example of the podcast’s hypothetical divorce clients, Eric and Melanie Wolf, to make the concept easier to understand. If Eric has been the primary breadwinner during the marriage and Melanie has been the lower-earning spouse, Eric may be required to make monthly payments to Melanie while the divorce is still pending. These payments are meant to help support the lower-earning spouse during the divorce process.

Episode Highlights

What Temporary Alimony Means in Colorado
Ryan explains that Colorado refers to alimony as maintenance, and temporary maintenance is support paid during the divorce process.

The Purpose of Temporary Maintenance
Its goal is to help maintain the marital standard of living for the lower-earning spouse while the divorce is pending.

How the Court Evaluates Temporary Support
The analysis includes each spouse’s income, the lower-earning spouse’s expenses, and who is paying key household bills.

Why Mortgage Payments Matter
If the higher-earning spouse is already paying the mortgage or other major expenses directly, that may reduce the amount of temporary maintenance owed.

Why Temporary Maintenance Is Often Disputed
Support issues can become emotional because spouses often disagree about lifestyle, spending, and what expenses are reasonable during the divorce.

Agreement vs. Court Order
Temporary maintenance can be resolved either by mutual agreement between the parties or by a court ruling.

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

Ryan Kalamaya (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.

Ryan Kalamaya (42s):
Temporary Alimony is a payment by a higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse during the Divorce proceedings. So if we take our hypothetical Divorce clients, Eric and Melanie Wolf, if Eric was the primary breadwinner throughout the marriage, then he may be paying to Melanie a particular amount each month through the Divorce proceedings. Now, that's in contrast to what a lot of people call permanent alimony. In Colorado, we call alimony maintenance and permanent maintenance is what Eric would be paying to Melanie after the Divorce is finished. So, but for now, Temporary maintenance is really focused on maintaining the status quo.

Ryan Kalamaya (1m 25s):
And really what we're looking at is what was the lifestyle that Melanie enjoyed during the marriage? And we factor in Eric's income. What, if any, Melanie's income is, and really the expenses that she is incurring through the Divorce proceedings. So, we have to look at is she living in the house? And if so, is Eric paying the mortgage directly to the mortgage company for that house payment? And if so, we're gonna reduce the amount that Melanie needs to pay for groceries, shopping. Other things, you can understand that this can be a really emotional topic between spouses because expenses can be disputed and it can be by agreement Temporary maintenance, or it can be by court order.

Ryan Kalamaya (2m 14s):
But for now, you need to understand that Temporary Maintenance is a payment by Eric to Melanie through the Divorce proceedings. Thanks for listening or watching this short lesson on the Divorce Al to Podcast. 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 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 ka la ma ya.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.

Ryan Kalamaya (2m 56s):
We're Happy to answer questions. Feel free to give us a call at 9 7 0 3 1 5 2 3 6 5.