Alimony Adjustments: Navigating Life's Financial Shifts in Colorado Divorces | Episode 196

Ryan Kalamaya peels back the layers of what it takes to modify Colorado maintenance or alimony awards in the, sometimes, ever-changing landscape of post-divorce finances. Ryan discuss how factors like job loss, remarriage, and shifts in income can influence the need for updated maintenance agreements, ensuring you're equipped with the knowledge to manage your financial future effectively.

He also delves into the technical process of filing a motion for modification under Colorado law, emphasizing the pivotal role of timing and the significance of the 'substantial and continuing' clause. Learn the proactive steps you can take, such as the annual exchange of financial information, to stay ahead of potential adjustments post-divorce. 

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.

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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: 0:01

Welcome to Divorce At Altittude, a podcast on Colorado family law. I'm Ryan Kalamaya. 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.

0:46

This is a how-to episode on modification of a Colorado maintenance or alimony award. Now let's go back to our hypothetical Divorce clients, Eric and Melanie. Wolf. What we're talking about is when Eric is ordered to pay or agrees to pay in a settlement to.$10,000 per month for 10 years. What happens in year two if Eric loses his job or four years later, Melanie gets remarried? We're looking at a modification or in certain circumstances, termination of that. I. Alimony or spousal maintenance award. Now we also have to take a step back and look at what went into the award or the order in the first place. And we're gonna take into consideration Erica, Melanie's, the duration of their marriage, the lifestyle, all the existing circumstances when you originally set the award by settlement or the court. Ordered it. So the standard by which the court and in turn parties are going to analyze a modification is whether or not there's a change in that is substantial in continuing to render the original award. Unfair. So in this circumstance whether there's been a change in Eric or Melanie's life that renders the$10,000 a month for 10 years to be unfair. And that again, gets into what exactly is unfair. And we also have to look at whether or not it's continuing. So we. People remember during COVID there was a lot of people that lost their jobs and the, there were a flurry of modifications that were filed but the court said, hold on. We don't know if this is a change that is going to be continuing. And indeed, many people often had their jobs come back and they earned substantially more income. So don't forget about that continuing change. But a couple examples might be helpful to understand. This point. Eric, for example, after the Divorce he, there's the award or the agreement of$10,000 a month for 10 years. Let's say that Eric retires he was 60 at the time of the award, and there was really no. Consideration what happens in that circumstance? We do have a how-to episode on retirement and alimony. I encourage you to check that out. But the court's gonna look at whether or not his change in income was made on a good faith basis, or his retirement was made on a good faith basis. And there is a, a. Presumption that if he is retired after he's reached full retirement age, so let's say he reaches sixty-six or sixty-seven years old, and he retires then there's gonna be a good faith or there's gonna be a presumption that he's made that decision in good faith. Let's take another example. Let's say that Eric is in the software. Sales industry and because of ai there's been a dramatic reduction in his, in the general economic market for his job, and he loses his job. Eric is going to have a pretty good argument that. There's been a substantial continuing change in his overall industry. What about if Melanie receives a promotion and re, earns substantially more income than at the time of the Divorce? All of these are examples of reasons why people would file a motion to modify. And that brings me to the mechanics of how this all works. Under 14, 10, 1 22, the statue on modification of maintenance. It's important to note that the modification is going to take place as of when the modification or the motion was filed. So if Eric loses his job in software sales or receives, his commissions or his income dramatically decreases. A year ago. He's gonna be out of luck because that existing order is going to be in place until he files that motion to modify. And the same, goes for Melanie if she. Believes that she's owed more than she should file a motion to modify. How would you actually know in terms of whether Eric or Melanie would know that the other is either making more or less income? I. Often courts or settlement agreements will contemplate an annual exchange of financial information. So each year, for example, Eric would give Melanie his tax return in May or whenever they become finalized. And likewise, Melanie would also let. Eric know about any income, and it would be in exchange of W-II tax forms, or 10 ninety-nines. And they would then be able to do a worksheet and work with a family law attorney to figure out whether or not it is justified. The other thing I'll mention is that usually there needs to be s. The court is going to employ some sort of analysis on whether it is actually substantial in terms of the change and the threshold is usually 10%. So if we go back to our income, analysis on the formula that I've talked about before in alimony, the court's really gonna need to see more than a 10% difference, and I'll get into that more with child support modification the case law and some of the standards and the law that is used on these modifications. Is a little bit murky and can be, more focused on child support, but is important or helpful to understand in the context of modification of maintenance. Indeed, when we ultimately conclude, whether a mo modification is worth it, Eric and Melanie are gonna have to figure out the cost benefit analysis of their time, the amount that they potentially would pay attorneys and whether or not they're going to need to go to mediation to decide whether or not a modification is warranted. All of these things are gonna go into play in terms of modification and there's much more, but hopefully this gives you a high level overview of. What goes into a modification of spousal maintenance in a Colorado Divorce? Until next time, thanks for joining us on Divorce at Altitude.

Ryan Kalamaya: 7:10

Thanks for listening or watching this short lesson on the Divorce Ude 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 a Divorce in Colorado. If you want to find out more information, Please visit Kalamaya Law or Divorce at Altittude dot com and that's K A L A M A Y 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(970) 315-2365.