THE LEGAL EDGE
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Legal Ideas and Information - March 2010
Remarriage and Maintenance Termination

By Gregg Greenstein

Picture of Gregg A. Greenstein, Esq.

Parties in a divorce case should pay close attention to resolving issues concerning whether maintenance will continue after remarriage. The economic lives of spouses are frequently closely intertwined in marriage. It is often impossible to later segregate the respective decisions and contributions of the spouses. This legislative declaration is the basis for "maintenance" (also referred to as "spousal support" or "alimony") awards in Colorado.

Maintenance has its roots in the concept that spouses have a duty to support each other during the marriage and after the marriage, when a spouse has not remarried. Historically before the 20th century, divorce was rare. When a husband and wife did divorce, they often stayed together in the same physical location, and the husband was required to continue to support the wife. This was a part of the basis for the historical development of maintenance.

Because maintenance is based on the concept of continuing support arising out of a marriage, it could seem counter-intuitive to have an ex-husband paying maintenance to an ex-wife, after she remarries another man (maintenance can of course also be paid by an ex-wife to an ex-husband). Colorado law generally requires that maintenance will terminate when a spouse marries again, following a divorce. According to C.R.S. Section 14-10-122(1), "[u]nless otherwise agreed in writing or expressly provided in the decree, the obligation to pay future maintenance is terminated upon the death of either party or the remarriage of the party receiving maintenance."

In contested divorce cases, the court has the power to decide whether maintenance should survive the remarriage of the spouse who is receiving maintenance. Usually, the court's decision will clearly state whether maintenance will terminate upon the remarriage of the party receiving maintenance. However, when the parties are negotiating their own maintenance terms in a Separation Agreement, careful drafting is required to address this issue.

Ideally, husbands and wives who want maintenance to continue after the remarriage of the spouse receiving maintenance should include Separation Agreement terms such as "this maintenance award shall not terminate upon the remarriage of the [husband] [wife] who is receiving the maintenance payments." However, many Separation Agreement terms are drafted by the parties without the help of lawyers, or with the help of lawyers who did not clearly articulate the parties' wishes. Even where the Separation Agreement does not specifically say that maintenance terminates on remarriage, Colorado courts have ruled that the maintenance does not terminate on remarriage if the Separation Agreement terms concerning maintenance indicate that the maintenance terms are non-modifiable.


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This publication is intended to provide accurate and authoritative information on the subject matter covered. It is distributed with the understanding that the publisher and distributor are not rendering legal, accounting or other professional service, and assume no liability in connection with its use. Copyright © 2010.

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By William Robinson

Picture of William A. Robinson, Esq.

Until May of 2009, the recipient of a Public Trustee's deed (the "PT Deed") following a foreclosure sale could immediately begin the eviction process of any occupant of a residential property in Colorado. Now, with the passage of the Federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (the “Act”), depending on the circumstances, options available to the recipient of a PT Deed for gaining possession of property may be severely curtailed. While short, the Act is not well written. Unfortunately, the many ambiguities contained in the Act will likely be left to the court system to sort out. ( A separate article concerning the ambiguities in the Act will follow soon.)

As written, the Act applies to all foreclosure sales on any dwelling or residential real property after May 20, 2009 if the property is occupied by a tenant with a bona fide tenancy. According to the Act, a tenancy or lease will be considered bona fide if:


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Federal Estate Tax and
Carryover Basis in 2010 -
The Unthinkable

By Miriam Abrams Goodman

Picture of Miriam Abrams Goodman, Esq.

With its priorities elsewhere last year, the U.S. Congress failed to address a major problem with the 2001 federal estate tax law that may wreak havoc with estates of people who die in 2010.

Under the 2001 law, the federal estate and generation-skipping taxes are repealed in 2010 only, but the taxes return in 2011. Another change that takes effect this year relates to the income tax basis of inherited assets. Income tax basis is the value from which gain or loss on assets sold is measured. Under the law up until this year, the income tax basis of an asset is changed to its current value when its owner dies, as a general rule. But this year, this change in basis will not occur. Rather, the deceased owner's income tax basis in assets will “carry over” to the persons who inherit the assets. This rule change applies only to assets inherited in 2010.


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