The Law Blog of Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C.

Unquestionably, divorce can be an emotional time. When one is feeling overwhelmed with emotions, it is easy to make mistakes. Certain mistakes in the divorce process can lead to lifelong struggles. While it may be one thing to advise someone to approach divorce as reasonably as possible, this is not always easy to do. For this reason, many in Colorado seek legal advice as early as possible in the process.

Divorce is essentially a business transaction, and those who view it in this respect may achieve a more positive financial outcome. However, it may be impossible to ignore the very real emotional aspects of a marriage breakup, especially if children are involved. A spouse who feels betrayed or who is filled with anger may have a difficult time negotiating for a fair settlement and may even unwittingly behave in a way that is destructive to his or her goals.

The first week of daylight saving time is always a time for Colorado residents to be more careful on the road. The reason is that the loss of one hour of sleep makes everyone drowsy, raising the risk for crashes. In fact, a study published in Current Biology has found that there are 6% more fatal car crashes in the U.S. during the first week of DST. An estimated 28 more fatal crashes occur in this week each year, and many more that do not end in death likely occur as well.

For the study, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder analyzed more than 730,000 crashes occurring between 1996 and 2017. One other finding of theirs is that the farther west one goes in a time zone, the more fatal crashes there are. This is due to the sun rising and setting later in these regions. Many residents on the westernmost edges of a time zone still commute in the dark after the switch.

Colorado is one of the few states that still recognizes common-law marriages. "A common-law marriage is established by the mutual consent or agreement of the parties to be husband and wife, followed by a mutual and open assumption of a marital relationship." People v. Lucero, 747 P.2d 660, 663 (Colo. 1987). If you cohabitate (for any duration) and you both mutually and consistently hold yourselves out as "married" and have a reputation as being married, then you have a common law marriage.

You and your spouse have only been married a short time, and you think that could mean that your divorce will be less complicated than a divorce would be for others. The reality is, though, that the complexity of your divorce comes down to what you did during that time.

Take, for example, a couple who has been married for two years. They bought a house, had a child and set aside money into retirement. They opened a business, too. Then, they decided to separate. Of course, thinking about that situation, it's easy to see how it could be more complex than someone who gets married, doesn't have kids and doesn't mingle their finances.