There are many milestones in life that we look forward to, but a divorce isn’t one of them. Nonetheless, it’s not uncommon for spouses to grow apart or develop problems with their relationship that bring their marriage to an end.
Whether you’ve decided to file for divorce in Colorado or you’ve been served with divorce papers by your spouse, you likely have many questions about the process ahead. What are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the state of Colorado divorce laws?
In order to get a Colorado divorce, at least one spouse must have been a resident of Colorado for 90 days or more before filing the divorce petition. The court also requires a 90-day waiting period between filing the divorce and signing the divorce decree. If the divorce involves children, they must have resided in the state for at least 181 days for the court to have jurisdiction over them.
Divorcing spouses should file for divorce in the county they’ve resided in. If they are separated and living in separate counties, the spouse who files for the divorce becomes the petitioner and typically chooses to file in the county where they reside.
Divorcing spouses in Colorado only need to file on the grounds that the marriage has been “irretrievably broken.” Colorado is one of 17 states that doesn’t allow divorce on any other grounds or claims of wrongdoing by a spouse.
The average divorce costs spouses between $10,000 and $15,000, but your cost could be much less if you and your spouse can come to mutually agreeable terms in a settlement agreement that doesn’t require resolving disputes in court. If the case goes to court to argue matters of property division or child custody, the expenses quickly mount, resulting in more money for both parties involved.
Colorado courts have no preferences between mothers and fathers in child custody cases but instead, decide all custody matters based on the child’s best interests. The standard of “a child’s best interest” begins with the rebuttable presumption that continued close contact with both parents is in a child’s best interests. There are many options for sharing custody (parenting time) that work for families, including those with younger or older children.
Colorado is an equitable distribution of marital assets state rather than a community property state. This means divorcing spouses must divide and distribute their marital assets and debts in a way that a judge considers fair and equitable even if it isn’t exactly 50/50.
They may keep any separate assets that were theirs alone before the marriage, inherited by them during the marriage, or gifted solely to them during the marriage, but all property accumulated during the marriage is subject to division regardless of whose name is on the title or account.
Unless you and your spouse agree on all terms of the divorce, it’s advisable to attend one or more mediation sessions. Mediation provides a neutral third person who is familiar with the state’s divorce property laws to help spouses compromise and reach mutually acceptable decisions to avoid court.
Although not all Colorado counties make mediation mandatory, some counties require it. Also, if a case goes to court for one or more disputes, a judge may order spouses to attend mediation before returning to court.
You can request a name change back to your previous name directly on your divorce petition through an affidavit for name restoration.
The state requires a 90-day waiting period for divorce so even the most streamlined divorce with no disputes over property division or child custody takes at least that long. Otherwise, the amount of time a divorce takes depends on how long it takes spouses to arrive at a settlement agreement or argue each issue in court for a judge to decide.
It doesn’t. Colorado is a no-fault state. In Colorado in order to be granted a divorce the Court must find that the marriage is irretrievably broken. This usually only requires one spouse to want a divorce.
Adultery does not impact division of marital assets, child support, or maintenance. Well it cannot be said that adultery never matters in when it comes to parenting time and decision making, but often it does not come into play in the Court’s decision. On the occasion it does it would require the Court to find that the adulterous relationship is threat to the children.
There is no question that going through a divorce is hard and there many moving parts. Some key things you should be doing is: relying on your support network (family, friends, therapist, attorney), carefully reading the Court’s instructions as they have strict rules and requirements, and keep your personal spending to minimum. If children are involved it is important to shield them from the parental conflict.
At Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C., we will walk you through the process every step of the way so you always know what you should be doing and when. As a general rule, however, you should try to focus on the best interests of yourself and the children and keeping things as normal as possible.
Getting through the process may be a little like a roller coaster, but your attorney will keep you posted as to deadlines, which documents to provide, when to provide the information, and what the court expects of you next. In short, breathe and simply rely upon your attorney to guide you.
No matter how hard it may be or unfair it may seem it is imperative to always follow court orders, if you go against the orders you can face sanctions, contempt (which can be criminal), and be seen as the disobeying party which can lead your judge to no hold you in high regard.
You also do not want to dissipate or waste any marital assets or property; meaning, you will need to preserve all the property (real estate or personal) and all bank/retirement/savings until your divorce is finalized and properly divided.
If there are children involved in your divorce it is crucial to not speak bad of the other parent around the children this negatively impacts your children and asserts them into the divorce. Your children are not weapons against the other parent, they are kids and it is important to remember to be the parent.
During the divorce process, you should not do anything out of the ordinary. As an example, it is not the time to take a trip to the Bahamas for $10,000.00 if you didn’t always travel like that before.
You should also not disturb the children’s schedules, absent an endangerment to someone in the family. Instead, you should try to maintain the status quo as much as possible, both financially and emotionally, to help the process be smooth for all.
In the state of Colorado, the courts no longer decide “child custody.” Rather, the court determines “parental responsibilities” which includes decision making and parenting time.
The court makes these determinations by looking at the best interests of the children. While the court may listen to concerns either parent has about the other, the more important issues are what is in the best interest of the children for parenting time and making major decisions for the children.
Factors to consider include not only the history of the parties, the ages of the children, and the wishes of the children if age appropriate, but also whether parenting time with either parent will promote a more positive relationship and growth for the children.
If you are a victim of domestic violence from your spouse, you should immediately take steps to ensure your protection, including vacating the home if necessary. Second, you may want to consider filing for a protection order with the court.
At Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C. we will help you walk through the maze of paperwork and allegations needed to sustain a motion for a protection order to prevent further domestic abuse. Call us immediately if you need help in this regard.
The average United States household net worth is $121,700.00. At Ciancio Ciancio Brown we consider any divorce with a net worth of $500,000 or more a high asset divorce. We have attorneys, however, who can assist no matter the size of your marital estate – large or small – or even those divorces without assets but involving children.
The only assets which a court is unable to allocate during a divorce are those assets obtained via bequest, demise, inheritance, or gift. If those assets acquired by one of these means have accumulated value during the marriage, however, the increase in value will be deemed a marital asset subject to division by the court.
For example: If Aunt Hillary gives wife $50,000.00 and during the marriage, that $50,000.00 grows to $60,000.00, then the $10,000.00 is considered a marital asset. Other assets which may be protected from a divorce action are those safeguarded by a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
In Colorado, alimony, or spousal support, is referred to as maintenance and is calculated pursuant to C.R.S. § 14-10-114. The statute sets forth advisory guidelines which apply to couples with a combined annual adjusted gross income of no more that $240,000, and who have been married for at least three years.
The guidelines provide a formula for calculating an advisory maintenance amount, and it includes a table of the advisory term (or duration) of maintenance under the guidelines, which is based on the length of the marriage in whole months.
The formula for calculation of maintenance is: forty percent of the parties’ combined monthly adjusted gross income minus the lower income party’s monthly adjusted gross income.
If the formula produces a negative number, the maintenance amount is zero. As far as the term of maintenance, if the marriage exceeds twenty years, maintenance may be awarded for a specified term or for an indefinite term, but in either case, the term may not be less than the term advised under the guidelines for a twenty-year marriage, which is at least 10 years.
When considering a maintenance request, the court must make findings concerning each party’s gross income, their share of the marital property, the respective amount of their gross income, their financial resources, their respective reasonable financial need as established during the marriage, and whether maintenance would be deductible to the payor and includable as taxable income to the recipient. Under current law, maintenance is neither deductible nor taxable income.
The Court next has to determine the amount and term of a fair and equitable maintenance award based on a consideration of the following factors:
Finally, to be eligible for maintenance, the court must determine whether the party seeking it has met the maintenance threshold, i.e. whether the spouse seeking maintenance lacks sufficient property, including marital property, to provide for their reasonable needs and is unable to support themselves through appropriate employment.
Abandonment in marriage occurs when one spouse leaves the marriage figuratively and literally, severing all ties with the family and having no intention of returning.
In Colorado, which is a no-fault state, a marriage can be dissolved when jurisdictional requirements are met (one spouse must be domiciled in Colorado for 91 days before filing the divorce petition) and the marriage is irretrievably broken.
A showing of abandonment establishes that the marriage is irretrievably broken. However, because Colorado is a no-fault state, abandonment or some similar fault ground is not required to be shown as a condition of divorce.
Abandonment may cause difficulties in serving the divorce petition on the absent spouse, and the divorcing spouse may have to attempt service by publication.
Once service is accomplished, the divorce will proceed even if the absent spouse fails to appear in court. The court will only be able to rely on the evidence presented, but it may draw inferences negative to the absent spouse from that evidence and the lack of any contrary evidence.
Practically speaking, abandonment will most likely cause the remaining spouse severe financial difficulties. The remaining spouse, both before and after filing for divorce, may use any marital assets for their living expenses.
With regard to children’s issues, abandonment will not serve as a basis for termination of the absent parent’s rights. It will likely give the remaining parent the upper hand in the allocation of parental responsibilities.
