A Guide to Divorce in Colorado
If you’re reading this post, you are most likely considering a divorce or legal separation. You may be feeling confused or emotional. This is completely natural, and you likely have a lot of questions. The purpose of this series is to give you an overview of the divorce process in Colorado. These steps are the same, regardless of whether you want a divorce or a legal separation.
First, you’ll want to decide which process works best for you. There are three options: (1) traditional litigation; (2) the Collaborative Process; and (3) the cooperative process.
This series of articles will focus primarily on the traditional, litigated approach, which involves filing a Petition, completing discovery, and proceeding to a hearing in front of a judge. However, if the thought of going to Court makes you reconsider getting divorced, you do have other options.
In 2021, Colorado adopted the Uniform Collaborative Law Act. While many divorce attorneys in Colorado had been practicing Collaborative Law for years, this Act formalized the process. To proceed with a Collaborative Divorce, both Parties must sign an agreement that they intend to resolve their divorce through the Collaborative Law process and identify their lawyer. Both Parties must also agree that, if they end the collaborative process and proceed to Court, their attorneys will be disqualified from representing them in Court.
The cooperative process is similar, but without the formality of the Collaborative Law Process. The biggest difference is that the attorneys are not disqualified if the Parties end up needing to go to Court. I have settled many cases through the cooperative process, without the need for the Parties to step foot in Court.
Once you’ve decided which process you want to use, the next step is to determine whether you want to file the Petition immediately, or whether you want to try to complete the paperwork first. If you are in the Collaborative Process, you will complete the Court paperwork necessary to get your Decree once all of your agreements are signed.
Colorado has a 91-day waiting period for the judge can sign the Divorce Decree. Some of my clients want to start that clock ticking while we negotiate agreements. Others are concerned that their spouse will not cooperate with providing information unless there are Court deadlines.
Once you decide to file, you will need to file the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (either with or without children) and a Case Information Sheet. Unless your spouse signs as a co-petitioner, you will need to have him or served with the Petition and a Summons.
If you have been served with a Petition for Dissolution, you have 21 days from the day you were served to file a Response.
When you file the Petition, the Court will assign a case number and set an Initial Status Conference (ISC). This is an informal conference to set deadlines, a date for your final court hearing, to see whether financial disclosures have been completed, and to determine whether temporary orders are necessary. Most often, the conference will be in front of a Family Court Facilitator, but there are still some judges who handles these conferences themselves.
In my next post, we’ll talk about Temporary Orders Hearings and Mandatory Financial Disclosures.
If you find yourself overwhelmed at the thought of getting divorced, I’m here to help! Please reach out to schedule a consultation.