Marriage of Greenberg

24CA1371 Marriage of Greenberg 09-11-2025

COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS

Court of Appeals No. 24CA1371
La Plata County District Court No. 16DR30009
Honorable Nathaniel Baca, Judge

In re the Marriage of

Brad Howard Greenberg,

Appellee,

and

Anne Marie Greenberg,

Appellant.

JUDGMENT AFFIRMED

Division II
Opinion by JUDGE HARRIS
Fox and Schutz, JJ., concur

NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e)
Announced September 11, 2025

The Law Firm of Anderson & Baker, LLC, Curtis Kofoed, Durango, Colorado, for
Appellee

The Law Firm of Lisa Ward, LLC, Lisa Ward, Durango, Colorado, for Appellant
¶1 Petitioner, Anne Marie Greenberg (wife), appeals the district

court’s orders denying her motion to modify the maintenance she

receives from Brad Howard Greenberg (husband) and her request

for trial attorney fees. We affirm.

I. Background

¶2 Husband and wife married in 2005 and divorced in 2017. In

the permanent orders, the court distributed property, and awarded

maintenance, to wife as follows:

• the marital home, which had an equity value of $272,000;

• a vehicle worth approximately $25,000;

• investment and bank accounts worth approximately $436,000.

• retirement accounts worth approximately $525,000; and

• maintenance of $15,000 per month for seventy-two months

(for a total of $1,080,000) plus 35% of the gross amount of any

bonuses husband received during that period.

¶3 Before the maintenance period ended, wife filed a motion to

extend it by an additional seventy-two months and requested

attorney fees. Following an evidentiary hearing, the court denied

wife’s motion (original modification order) but did not rule on her

attorney fees request.

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¶4 In denying the motion, the court found that

• wife has advanced degrees, is working to obtain a Ph.D., and

has secured employment as a social worker, a job she

described as her passion;

• wife’s educational progress was not materially delayed by the

COVID pandemic;

• although wife sustained a ski injury in 2018, by her own

account, her health has vastly improved since then;

• wife is capable of working full-time but she chooses to work

less than full-time to avoid burnout;

• despite wife’s claim that she has spent 100% of her net

maintenance on attorney fees, she is able to pay all of her bills

and expenses without incurring debt;

• wife’s net worth increased by over $500,000 during the

maintenance period, “primarily due to her ability to invest the

[excess] maintenance.”

¶5 The court then considered the section 14-10-114(3)(c) factors

affecting the amount and term of maintenance, including the

“financial resources of the recipient spouse . . . and the ability of

the recipient spouse to meet . . . her needs independently,” § 14-

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10-114(3)(c)(I); the “distribution of marital property,” § 14-10-

114(3)(c)(IV); and the parties’ employment and employability, § 14-

10-114(3)(c)(V). The court determined that wife’s economic

circumstances had improved, not worsened, during the seventy-

two-month maintenance period; her financial resources were

substantial and she was able to meet her needs independently; and

her income would increase as she obtained additional credentials

and her career progressed. The court also noted that wife is a

beneficiary of a trust. Accordingly, the court concluded that a

modification was not warranted.

¶6 Wife filed a C.R.C.P. 59(a) motion to reconsider and renewed

her request for attorney fees. Wife asserted that the record did not

support the court’s findings that her net worth had increased from

investing excess maintenance and that she had access to trust

funds.

¶7 The court modified its findings but again denied wife’s motion

to reconsider and denied her request for attorney fees (revised

modification order).

¶8 In its revised modification order, the court acknowledged that

it had erred by attributing wife’s increased wealth to maintenance

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investments but nonetheless maintained that wife’s net worth had

indeed increased by around $500,000 — through her home’s

appreciation and gains in her retirement fund. The court then

looked to wife’s reported expenses and found that there was no

“clear error in finding that wife has a sufficiently strong financial

position from her assets, investments, retirement, and her chosen

career . . . to meet her actual reasonable needs.”

¶9 The court also revised its findings related to wife’s status with

respect to her family’s trust. The court noted that “the evidence

indicates that [wife] is not currently receiving anything from the

trust, and no issues hinge on whether there is or is not a trust.”

¶ 10 Finally, the court denied the request for attorney fees, finding

that “both parties remain in strong financial positions to pay their

attorney[] fees.”

II. Maintenance Modification

¶ 11 Wife argues that the court abused its discretion by denying

her motion to modify maintenance and her C.R.C.P. 59(a) motion.

We perceive no basis for reversal.

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A. Relevant Law and Standard of Review

¶ 12 “A modification of maintenance requires a showing of changed

circumstances so substantial and continuing as to make the

existing terms unfair.” In re Marriage of Kann, 2017 COA 94, ¶ 73;

§ 14-10-122, C.R.S. 2025. “Whether circumstances have

sufficiently changed lies within the sound discretion of the trial

court based on the facts presented.” Kann, ¶ 75. “[A] motion to

modify requires the court to consider all relevant circumstances of

both parties.” In re Marriage of Young, 2021 COA 96, ¶ 37. “The

court may consider the guideline amount and term of maintenance

and the statutory factors set forth in [section 14-10-114(3), C.R.S.

2025] . . . .” § 14-10-114(5)(a), C.R.S. 2025. “The party seeking a

modification has a heavy burden of proving that the provisions have

become unfair under all relevant circumstances.” Kann, ¶ 74.

¶ 13 Absent an abuse of discretion, we will not disturb the court’s

ruling. Id. at ¶ 75. A district court abuses its discretion if its

decision is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or unfair, or if the

court misapplies the law. Young, ¶ 7. In assessing whether the

district court’s decision is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or

unfair, “we ask not whether we would have reached a different

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result but, rather, whether the [district] court’s decision fell within

the range of reasonable options.” Hall v. Moreno, 2012 CO 14, ¶ 54.

¶ 14 C.R.C.P. 59 gives a district court full power to correct any and

all errors committed. Blue Cross of W. N.Y. v. Bukulmez, 736 P.2d

834, 840 (Colo. 1987).

B. Revised Findings Do Not Require A Revised Disposition

¶ 15 Wife argues that, when the court revised its findings in

response to her C.R.C.P. 59 motion, it had to amend the judgment.

But that would be true only if the revised findings no longer

supported the decision. And here, the district court revised its

findings and determined that, based on the revised findings, wife

had failed to meet her burden to show circumstances warranting

modification of the maintenance order.

¶ 16 Although the court erred by attributing wife’s financial gains

to investments, the determination that wife’s net worth increased by

approximately $500,000 (to $1.7 million) during the maintenance

term was accurate.

¶ 17 And the court acknowledged that wife was not receiving any

money from the trust but nonetheless determined that she could

support herself independently.

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¶ 18 Because the court revised its findings and then redetermined

that wife was not entitled to modification of the maintenance order,

the court’s initial erroneous findings do not provide a basis for

reversal.

C. No Substantial and Continuing Changes Warranting
Modification

¶ 19 Wife also argues, more generally, that the court erred by

concluding that a modification to the maintenance order was not

warranted. See § 14-10-122(1)(a). Because the court’s findings are

supported by the record, we perceive no abuse of discretion.

1. Husband’s Income

¶ 20 Wife contends that the maintenance order should be modified

because husband’s monthly income increased to more than

$70,000 during the maintenance term, while wife’s monthly income

was only $3,800.

¶ 21 The district court could have considered husband’s increased

income as a factor in determining changed circumstances, but it

was not required to, see In re Marriage of Nelson, 2012 COA 205,

¶ 37, and, even if it did, the court was not then required to

conclude that because husband’s financial position had improved,

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the original order had become unfair. The issue in a motion to

modify “is not whether, based on the current financial

circumstances of the parties, the court would have awarded the

same amount as originally awarded.” Young, ¶ 16. Instead, the

issue “is whether the terms of the initial award have become

unfair.” Id. The original maintenance order recognized that

husband had, and would continue to have, much greater earning

potential than wife. Therefore, as the district court noted, the

property distribution and original maintenance award accounted for

that discrepancy.

¶ 22 We conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion in

determining that husband’s income was not a changed

circumstance warranting modification of the original maintenance

order.

2. Wife’s Injury

¶ 23 The court found that wife’s 2018 ski injury was not a changed

circumstance that required modification of maintenance because it

“did not prevent [her] from obtaining an advanced degree, obtaining

work in her chosen field [of social work], and working regularly in

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her chosen field.” Wife contends that the court’s finding amounts

to an abuse of discretion, but we disagree.

¶ 24 There was no evidence that wife’s five-year-old injury

presented a continuing impediment to her ability to work or

otherwise care for herself. An expert in functional limitations

assessments testified that wife could work eight hours per day as a

social worker. Another expert opined that wife could work in a full

and unrestricted capacity. That expert also opined that wife

reached maximum medical improvement in January 2019 with a

mild left knee sprain. None of wife’s witnesses testified that the ski

injury prevented her from working or participating in any other life

activities. Nor did wife testify that the injury rendered her unable to

work. Indeed, she acknowledged that she worked thirty to thirty-

four hours a week but did not work full-time because she wanted to

minimize stress and burnout.

¶ 25 Because the record supports the court’s determination, we

perceive no abuse of discretion.

3. Delay in Wife’s Education

¶ 26 Wife argues that the COVID-19 pandemic was a substantial

and continuing change that prevented her from obtaining her

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desired Ph.D. degree within the maintenance term, rendering the

original maintenance order unfair. The court disagreed, finding

that wife “is [even without a Ph.D.] positioned to see an increase in

her income as she obtains additional credentials.”

¶ 27 The record shows that during the maintenance period, wife

returned to school and earned both an undergraduate degree and a

master’s degree without incurring any debt. The only evidence of

delay on which wife relies is that she could not finish her practicum

hours during the 2020 spring semester. Nonetheless, she

graduated in 2022, as anticipated. And she testified at the hearing

in February 2024 that she expected to become a licensed clinical

social worker (LCSW) in February or March 2025, and that she was

then likely to earn about fifty percent more per hour.

¶ 28 On this record, the court could reasonably have determined

that any slight delay in wife’s ability to obtain an advanced degree

did not warrant the requested modification.

D. Wife’s Reasonable Needs Were Met

¶ 29 The crux of wife’s argument is that while husband increased

his earnings and maintained an extravagant lifestyle, she struggled

to make ends meet.

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¶ 30 But as wife’s evidence showed, she spent anywhere between

$143,638 and $469,072 annually during the maintenance period,

amounts that the court found did not “reflect alignment with actual

reasonable expenses.” Her net worth nonetheless increased and

she did not accumulate any debt. Wife says she had to withdraw

money from her investment account causing it to decrease by

approximately $176,000 during that time, but that is because she

spent almost $700,000 on attorney fees from 2017 to 2023.

¶ 31 Wife counters that even setting aside the attorney fees, she

could not cover her expenses on her salary. At the hearing, wife

testified that, not counting legal fees, her monthly expenses totaled

$3,648 ($2,067 for mortgage and taxes on her home; $180 for gas

and electric bills; $160 for water and sewer bills; $831 for food;

$360 for fuel and vehicle maintenance; and $50 for health

insurance). At the time, she was earning net income from

employment of $2,866 per month ($25 per hour for 33 hours per

week minus deductions). By this accounting, wife had a deficit of

$782 per month.

¶ 32 According to wife, however, she anticipated that within a year

— by February 2025 — she would be an LCSW and her hourly rate

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would increase from $25 to $35-$40, meaning that even if she

continued to work part-time, her gross monthly income would

increase by approximately $1,500. And she testified that once she

obtained her Ph.D., she could expect to earn $50,000 more than

her current (non-LCSW) salary, at which point she would be “fully

self-supporting.”

¶ 33 Relying on In re Marriage of Weibel, 965 P.2d 126, 129 (Colo.

App. 1998), wife argues she is entitled to more than the minimum

required to cover her essential expenses. But if attorney fees are

removed from wife’s accounting of her maintenance expenditures,

her maintenance would have provided her with approximately

$60,000 surplus per year. Accordingly, excluding wife’s use of

maintenance to pay attorney fees, wife would not have “deplete[d] a

substantial portion of her share of the marital property” so as to

compel an extension of maintenance. In re Marriage of Dwyer, 825

P.2d 1018, 1020 (Colo. App. 1991).

¶ 34 We therefore perceive no abuse of discretion in the court’s

decision not to extend wife’s maintenance.

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III. Trial Attorney Fees

¶ 35 Wife argues that the court abused its discretion when it denied

her request for attorney fees “without making findings which would

justify such a denial.” Specifically, she asserts that the court

should have relied on “the gross disparity in the parties’ financial

resources, incomes, and income earning ability.” We are not

convinced.

A. Relevant Law and Standard of Review

¶ 36 Under section 14-10-119, C.R.S. 2025, “[t]he court from time

to time, after considering the financial resources of both parties,

may order a party to pay a reasonable amount” for the other party’s

costs, including attorney fees, of maintaining dissolution

proceedings. See In re Marriage of Gutfreund, 148 P.3d 136, 141

(Colo. 2006) (The statute empowers courts to “equitably apportion

costs and fees between parties based on relative ability to pay.”).

The decision whether to award fees under the statute is

discretionary; we will not disturb such a decision absent a showing

of an abuse of that discretion. In re Marriage of Davis, 252 P.3d

530, 538 (Colo. App. 2011); see Gutfreund, 148 P.3d at 141 (noting

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that district courts have “great latitude to craft [attorney fee] orders

appropriate to the circumstances of a given case”).

¶ 37 In awarding fees, a court must make findings concerning the

parties’ relative incomes, assets, and liabilities; and it must

apportion fees based on the statute’s equitable purpose, explaining

how and why it arrived at the specific amount of the award. In re

Marriage of Aldrich, 945 P.2d 1370, 1378 (Colo. 1997); see also In

Interest of K.M.B., 80 P.3d 914, 917-18 (Colo. App. 2003) (“When

awarding attorney fees, the trial court must specifically set forth the

reasons for the award . . . .”).

¶ 38 While we review the court’s decision to award fees under the

statute for an abuse of discretion, In re Parental Responsibilities

Concerning M.E.R-L., 2020 COA 173, ¶ 33, we review the court’s

factual findings for clear error and its legal conclusions de novo, In

re Marriage of de Koning, 2016 CO 2, ¶ 17.

B. Analysis

¶ 39 In denying wife’s request for attorney fees, the court found

that mother had “the means necessary to maintain herself and

carry on the litigation.” The court did not apportion fees strictly

according to the parties’ incomes. Instead, it found no reason that

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“a wealthy party should be able to engage in litigation for free, in

the name of equity, because the other side is wealthier.”

¶ 40 Because the court made the required findings regarding the

parties’ financial situations and explained how it arrived at the

specific amount of the award, we perceive no abuse of discretion.

See Marriage of Weibel, 965 P.2d 126, 130 (Colo. App. 1998)

(“Because the magistrate found [in a motion to modify maintenance

hearing], despite the disparity of income, that wife had considerable

assets, we do not find an abuse of discretion in its order requiring

each party to pay his or her own fees.”).

IV. Appellate Attorney Fees

¶ 41 Wife requests appellate attorney fees pursuant to section 14-

10-119, C.R.S. 2025, due to the disparity in the parties’ economic

circumstances. We deny the request.

¶ 42 Under C.A.R. 39.1, we have the discretion to “determine

entitlement to and the amount of an award of attorney fees for the

appeal or may remand those determinations to the lower

court.” We frequently remand to the district court to determine the

appropriateness of appellate attorney fees under 14-10-119. See,

e.g., In re Marriage of Thorburn, 2021 COA 80, ¶ 58 (“[B]ecause the

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district court is better equipped to resolve the factual issues

concerning the parties’ current financial circumstances, we remand

the issue for its consideration.”). But in this case, the district court

determined that “both parties remain in strong financial positions

to pay their attorney[] fees” and rejected wife’s request for trial court

fees. We have affirmed that ruling. Moreover, the decree of

dissolution was entered more than eight years ago, and there is no

indication that wife’s financial circumstances have limited her

ability to litigate whatever issues she deems important.

¶ 43 Given these circumstances, we perceive no benefit in

remanding this case to the district court for additional findings and

instead deny wife’s request for appellate attorney fees.

V. Disposition

¶ 44 The judgment is affirmed. The request for appellate attorney

fees is denied.

JUDGE FOX and JUDGE SCHUTZ concur.

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