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No
Fault State - Jurisdiction
Colorado is a no fault
divorce state. This means the court does not need to determine if
a spouse has been at serious marital fault in order to grant a dissolution
of the marriage, and marital fault does not affect property division,
under the law. To grant a divorce, the court acquires jurisdiction
if you have lived in Colorado for ninety days before you filed the
petition, and you have met the statutory ninety day waiting period.
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Automatic
Restraining Orders - General Description
Whenever
a divorce is filed in Colorado, four automatic orders are entered.
These orders prohibit the removal of a minor child of the marriage
from Colorado, they prohibit harassment of your spouse, they prohibit
major financial transaction, and require maintenance of insurance;
once the divorce is filed, you and your spouse need to agree on
these issues, or obtain court orders for relief.
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Domestic
Violence
Unlike
years ago, today's court systems vigorously protect the safety of
both parties to the marriage. Domestic Violence is a trauma to the
parents, the children, and very heavily punished by our courts.
If this is an issue, please call your local police immediately,
and once they have assisted you to obtain your own emergency restraining
orders, contact an attorney.
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Custody
and Parenting Time
This
is the most complicated and painful part of the domestic proceeding.
We know children are attached to both parents and generally the
law and the lawyers will encourage consistent and frequent contact
between the children and both parents. This is especially important
at the time of the initial separation, because of the trauma your
separation places on the children. Colorado grants Parental Decision
Making or Parenting Time orders based on the best interest of the
child and there is no longer any gender preference for one particular
parent.
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Child
Support and Spousal Maintenance
Colorado
has guidelines on most aspects of child support, based on the gross
incomes of the parents, with consideration given for the amount
of parenting time and the cost of health insurance or work related
day care for the children. Colorado has only recently put temporary
maintenance guidelines in place. You will need to ask your lawyer
to run the guidelines for you in your particular situation.
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Property
Division
There is a common misconception
that Colorado is a 50/50 state. In fact, the law does not require
an equal division, but a fair division of your marital property.
Many factors enter into what the court considers to be a fair division,
such as disparity in the financial situations of the parties, contribution
from non marital property, etc.
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General
Information
This
is intended as general information only, and your situation may
be substantially different than other persons. Please consult an
attorney if you have doubts and questions about your particular
situation.
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