What is required to file for divorce in Colorado?
To file for divorce in Colorado, at least one party must have been a resident at least 90 days before commencing the divorce action. Colorado courts also require that at least 90 days pass before the court can enter a decree finalizing the divorce. Additionally, Colorado requires that any children involved in the divorce proceeding have been residents in the state for at least 181 days if the court is to have jurisdiction over them.
On What Grounds Will Colorado Grant a Divorce?
Parties seeking a divorce need only state that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” No other claims related to spousal misconduct will be recognized by courts as valid grounds to dissolve a marriage.
Should I File Before My Spouse?
There are no substantial advantages in being the party who initiates the divorce action. The spouse who begins the case by filing is called the Petitioner, and the other spouse is called the Respondent. When one of the parties to the marriage is no longer living in the state and a spouse files the action in a Colorado court, then this means Colorado courts have jurisdiction and the entire case will be litigated here in Colorado.
There is no significant advantage to being either the Petitioner or the Respondent in a divorce action. However, because the Petitioner decides which court will have jurisdiction over the case, if the parties live a significant distance apart or in different states a Respondent can be slightly disadvantaged if they must travel significant distances for court proceedings.
What if the parties are in complete agreement about the terms of divorce?
When both parties agree on all the terms of divorce, this is called an uncontested divorce. Uncontested divorces are the most simple divorce proceeding possible, and results in a faster, less expensive, and less stressful process for all parties involved.
If the parties can agree on child custody and child support, how the marital assets will be divided, and spousal support, they can create a settlement agreement that expresses their intentions to abide by the terms of the agreement as a part of the divorce proceeding. In many cases, the parties do not need to personally appear in court for the final decree if the court does not find any of the agreed-upon terms to be significantly unfair or inequitable to either of the parties.
What if the parties cannot come to an agreement on any of the terms of divorce?
Often, parties will have contentious feelings toward the other party, making an uncontested divorce action a difficult proposition. Courts employ a number of measures to allow the parties time to reach an fair agreement that the individual parties can live with, including mediation. When the parties cannot reach an agreement, the parties must go to divorce trial in which a judge must determine the terms of the divorce.
In a divorce trial both sides present evidence in the form of testimony and documents to the judge, who then determines the terms of the divorce. The final orders will include any terms on which the parties are in agreement, and the court will make determinations for the terms on which they could not agree, including child custody and child support, spousal support, division of marital property, and spousal support.
Does the biological mother always get child custody?
During divorce proceedings, a family law judge can give no preferential treatment to the biological mother when determining child custody. Court are instead required to only consider the “best interest of the child” when deciding whom should retain custody, and courts are obligated to begin with the presumption that both parents should maintain close interactions with the child.
However, courts may take steps to give the bulk of parenting time to one parent when the other parent has demonstrated behaviors that might endanger or threaten the child, such as when there is evidence of domestic abuse or violence in the home.
Is Colorado a community property state?
No, Colorado is an equitable distribution state, meaning the court will try to divide the marital property in a manner that is fair – but not necessarily equal -- to both parties. In states that use the community property standard to divide assets, the court must decide what property is community property and divide those assets equally between the parties.
Is it a requirement to go to Mediation to get a Divorce?
The short answer is NO, mediation is not required to complete a divorce throughout the state of Colorado. If both parties to a divorce can come to an agreement on the myriad of issues that accompany a divorce, it can be completed without going through many arduous and expensive steps, including mediation. Some Colorado counties make mediation a mandatory step, while other counties do not. Some judges may order mediation when the parties are disputing about a multitude of issues.
When the parties cannot reach a compromise on an issue that must be decided, the court will usually advise that the parties attend one or more mediation sessions. The mediation system is designed to provide a neutral, disinterested party that has familiarity with Colorado’s divorce and property laws, to help the parties reach an agreement they can live with -- rather than having to conduct a trial before a judge who may reach a determination that is satisfactory to neither party.
My Spouse cheated during the marriage. What effect does that have?
The honest answer is that adultery has no effect upon a divorce proceeding. Colorado is a no-fault state, meaning that a divorce will be allowed without either spouse having to prove that the other spouse did anything wrong. The only thing that is required to grant parties a divorce is that the court must determine that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
Adultery has no impact on the establishment of maintenance (alimony), child support, or how the marital assets are divided. In rare cases adultery may have an impact on the allocation of parenting time, but only when a party can show that the relationship with the outside party threatens the best interests and well-being of the children.
How is Child Support Determined?
Child support is a requirement for all divorce actions that include minor children. While the establishment of maintenance (alimony) is contingent on the individual circumstances of the individual parties, state courts today hold both parties to be financially responsible for children of the relationship.
Colorado courts use a number of factors to determine how child support should be apportioned between the parties, including the respective income of both parents, education, health insurance, child care, any needs for special education or medical care, and the number of days determined by the parenting plan or final custody orders. A general rule of thumb is that the parent with the more parenting overnights per year receives financial assistance from the parent with fewer overnights per year. Even if the custody days are split evenly between the parties, the party with the lower income will receive child support from the higher earning parent.
How Can I Change Back to My Maiden Name After Divorce?
This can be a simple matter. The divorce petition has a check box to begin the process of restoring a previous name, and the judge can order it as a part of the final divorce decree.
Can I Get a Divorce If My Spouse Has Left and Cannot be Found?
Yes, you can still obtain a divorce from an absent party, and some additional steps will need to be taken to give the court legal jurisdiction to grant a divorce to an absent spouse.
However, the judge is limited to only granting the divorce petition. The court is prevented from making a final determination for other issues, such as child support, spousal maintenance, and the division of marital assets.
What Can I Do While The Divorce Is Being Finalized?
Every divorce is hard, but some are more tedious than others. While you are going through what can be a roller-coaster process, there are things you can do to help ensure you have the best outcome possible. These include reading all of the court’s orders and instructions carefully as they often contain rules and requirements both parties must follow. Gather and provide all documents required by the court, and minimize spending marital funds for personal expenditures. Lastly, where children are concerned, avoid involving them in conflicts between the parents.
What should I Avoid Doing During The Divorce?
Don’t ignore court orders - A divorce is a court proceeding. And, like every other action involving the court system, if you do not follow the court’s orders you will likely face sanctions and/or contempt, and have the judge view you unfavorably, which will make it much harder to convince neutral arbiters of the judicial system that your viewpoint is the correct one.
Don’t waste marital assets – it is ok to continue spending marital funds for necessary and personal items that had habitually been spent during the marriage. But now is not the time to schedule that trip to swim with dolphins in the Bahamas that you’ve been wanting for years. It is best if you preserve as much marital property and marital funds until after the divorce is finalized and the property properly divided. The dolphins and the Bahamas will still be there later.
Don’t talk badly about the other parent to your kids – it is important that you be cognizant of how you talk about the other parent around your children. While it may be hard to hold your tongue, disparaging the other parent to your children has a negative effect on them. Children are not to be used as weapons against the other parent, and instances of a parent consistently bad-mouthing the other parent can be viewed negatively by the court in determining which parent is best suiting to be the primary caretaker of the children when the divorce is finalized.
Avoid canceling or radically changing schedules – you should try to maintain the children’s schedule that existed prior to the divorce proceeding. Take steps to preserve as much as possible the status quo both emotionally and financially, which will help achieve the best possible outcome of the case.
What Assets Are Not Divided In Divorce?
There are some assets which a court cannot allocate during divorce. These assets include property or money that a party had acquired before marriage, or those were gained by inheritance or by gift during the marriage, or money or property that is covered by a valid pre-marital (prenup) agreement.
However, any increase in the value of that property is a marital asset, and can be allocated along with the other marital property. For example, Grandma Mary gives $100,000 to her granddaughter Allison who is married to Joe. If Allison and Joe divorce, Joe will not be entitled to have any share of that $100,000 that was given to his wife. However, if that asset was invested and has increased in value to $120,000 – the extra $20,000 is considered a marital asset and can be allocated similarly to other marital property between the parties.