How Long After Divorce Can You Remarry in Colorado?

Spouses divorce for many different reasons. Some people feel they’ve outgrown their partner and wish to work on getting to know themselves or focus on their education or career. Other divorcing spouses may be anxious to jump into the dating pool. Some divorcing spouses may have already embarked on a new relationship and fallen in love with someone else, especially in cases of long separations or lengthy divorce processes. But how soon is too soon to remarry after a divorce?

While some states impose time limits on remarriage after divorce, Colorado isn’t one of them. Once a judge signs off on your decree of dissolution, you’re legally free to remarry.

Colorado Does Not Have a Waiting Period for Remarriage

If you’re ready to move on to a new marriage, either because you met your true soulmate while you were married to your ex-spouse, or you and your spouse had a lengthy separation during which you met the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, Colorado does not impose a waiting period. In theory, a judge could enter your divorce decree into the court records in the morning and you could be remarried later that day since there’s also no waiting period to get a marriage license in Colorado.

Some states place mandatory waiting periods on remarriage because spouses have 30 days after a divorce to appeal their divorce agreement. Most states have a 30-day waiting period, but some have a mandatory waiting period of 6 months, including Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. In Colorado, no such waiting period exists. You only have to present a certified copy of your divorce decree to obtain a marriage license and then you may legally remarry without the need to wait. However, before you take this important step, it’s a good idea to talk to your Colorado family lawyer about how remarriage might impact a spousal support order. While remarriage does not effect a child support order, in most cases, in ends an order for alimony.

Important Points About Remarriage After Divorce in Colorado

If there is a significant wage gap between your income and that of your ex-spouse, your divorce agreement might include an order for temporary or permanent spousal support (alimony). Spousal support in Colorado serves to bridge the gap in income until the lower-earning spouse becomes self-supporting. It’s typically temporary, except in cases of long-term marriages of many decades. Spousal support is often awarded in cases where one spouse gave up opportunities for education or career advancement either to support their spouse’s education and career goals or because they focused on keeping the home and raising the children.

Remarrying directly impacts spousal support in Colorado divorces. Unless the language of the spousal support order directly includes continued support payments after a spouse’s remarriage—which is not commonly the case—alimony automatically ends when the spouse receiving the support payments remarries. Contrarily, if the spouse paying the alimony order remarries it does not mean they can stop making their spousal support payments to their ex.

Cohabitation alone does not end an alimony order for the recipient, but remarrying does. If you are the recipient of a temporary order of alimony, it is a good idea to consider how your remarriage impacts your financial situation.

Can You Remarry Your Spouse After a Divorce in Colorado?

Colorado places no limits on who you can marry if you’re over the age of 18 and not already married to someone else. This means an absolute decree of divorce from your spouse ends your marriage, but you’re free to enter into a second marriage with that same spouse if you reconcile. Before remarrying a previous spouse, speak to our Fort Collins divorce attorney about how the remarriage impacts your former agreement for marital property division.