A member of Colorado's second-highest court urged the state Supreme Court on Thursday to address a question that has produced inconsistent answers over five decades: When divorcing spouses agree that one must pay the other alimony, do they need to explicitly mention what will happen if the receiving spouse gets remarried?

The purpose of alimony, known in Colorado as "spousal maintenance," is to assist spouses who cannot be financially self-sufficient immediately after their divorce — for example, if one partner earns significantly more than the other. Colorado law allows judges to order spousal maintenance, which can terminate under certain circumstances like death or remarriage.

The law cautions that the termination of payments upon the receiving partner's remarriage can be overridden i

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