Written for men

How much will I pay?

If you earn more, this is the question. Colorado answers most of it with formulas, not with a judge’s opinion of you. Here are the formulas, worked on real numbers, and the house question that sits on top of them.

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Maintenance

The guideline

40 percent of combined monthly income minus the lower earner’s income, times 80 percent (up to $10,000 combined) or 75 percent ($10,001 to $20,000). Advisory; marriages of 3 years or more.

Term

Tied to marriage length

From about 31 percent of the marriage at three years to 50 percent at twelve and a half years and beyond. A 20-year marriage suggests about 10 years.

Child support

Both incomes, every overnight

Statutory schedule split by income, credited per overnight under the 2026 formula, plus childcare and insurance. Ends at 19.

Taxes

Not deductible

For decrees after 2018 maintenance is not deductible to you and not taxable to her. Child support never was. Budget on after-tax dollars.

The short answer

On $12,000 a month combined ($9,000 you, $3,000 her): 40 percent of $12,000 is $4,800, minus her $3,000 is $1,800, times 75 percent is about $1,350 a month of maintenance, for a term the court sets from the marriage length. Child support runs on top from the schedule and the parenting plan. Then ask the only question that matters for the house: after support, can you carry the payment, or can she?

Maintenance, worked

Who qualifiesA spouse who lacks sufficient property and cannot support themselves through appropriate employment, in a marriage of three years or more for the guideline to apply. The court decides need and ability to pay first, then looks at the guideline.

The amount40 percent of combined monthly gross minus the lower earner’s gross, times 80 percent (combined up to $10,000) or 75 percent ($10,001 to $20,000). Above $20,000 combined the court uses discretion.

The termA percentage of the marriage length, from 31 percent at 36 months rising to 50 percent at 150 months and beyond. Marriages over 20 years can produce indefinite awards in some cases.

ModifiableUnless the decree makes it non-modifiable, maintenance can change on a substantial and continuing change in circumstances, and ends on the recipient’s remarriage.

Temporary ordersMaintenance and support can be ordered while the case is pending. If you are the higher earner, expect it.

Child support, worked

Combined adjusted gross income of $12,000 a month with two children lands on the statutory schedule; your share is 75 percent of that obligation, reduced continuously for every overnight the children spend with you under the 2026 formula, and adjusted for the childcare and health insurance each of you pays. With near-equal overnights the transfer shrinks but usually does not reach zero when incomes differ. Use the free state calculator on the Colorado Judicial Branch site with your real numbers; the worksheet is what the court signs.

Support and the house together

Here is where higher earners get hurt: agreeing to maintenance, child support and to carry the marital home, on one income, all at once. On $9,000 gross, after taxes and $1,350 of maintenance and roughly $1,400 of child support, a $3,300 refinanced payment on the house is not a plan; it is a foreclosure with a delay. Run the three columns before mediation: your budget if you keep the house, if she keeps it with a refinance deadline, and if it sells. The buyout math, equity and buyouts.

Questions men ask

Can I lower maintenance by taking a lower-paying job?

Courts impute income to a spouse who is voluntarily underemployed. It does not work, and it shows up in the parenting case.

If she moves in with someone, does maintenance stop?

Not automatically in Colorado; remarriage ends it, cohabitation is a reason to ask the court to modify if the decree allows.

Can we agree to no maintenance?

Yes, in a written agreement the court accepts, often in exchange for a larger share of property. That trade should be valued after tax, not on paper.

Do bonuses and overtime count?

Generally yes, as income, often averaged. Stock, RSUs and commissions too. Disclose everything; the sworn financial statement is under oath.

Straight answers, no lecture

Most men who call us want two things: the number, and a plan.

We are a real estate team, not your attorney and not your ex’s. On the house we give both spouses the same written number at the same time, tell you whether you can carry it alone, and run the sale or the buyout without drama. The rest of the questions on these pages are answered plainly and pointed to the right professional.

Nothing here is logged to an account. If you send a form, we text once to set up a time, and we never contact you without permission.

A written valuation to both spouses, free

The one-income number a lender will actually approve

Court-ready listing terms if it has to sell

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Where to go next

Plain-language education, not advice. Divorce Decisions is published by The Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC, a real estate team. Nothing here is legal, tax, lending or financial advice, and reading it does not create any professional relationship. Colorado law and lender rules change; confirm anything that matters to your case with a licensed Colorado attorney, a tax professional, and your lender. See our full disclaimer.

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A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. Prefer email? homes@kennarealestate.com