A Guide to Divorce in Colorado - Part 4

This is the fourth post in a series on the Colorado divorce process. If you missed the previous posts, you can start with Part 1 here. The purpose of this series is to give you an overview of the divorce process in Colorado.

After you have collected all of the information that you need during the discovery process, you’ll be required to attend mediation. Colorado requires all Parties, with limited exceptions, to attend mediation before getting to a final hearing.

Mediation is an informal process and uses a third party to assist the parties in negotiating a settlement. If you and your spouse are getting along well, you and/or your attorneys may be able to negotiate a settlement without the use of a mediator.

You and your spouse will agree on who to use as the mediator. The mediator’s fees are generally split equally between the Parties. In our post-COVID world, most mediations happen via Zoom. Each party and his/her attorney will be in a separate “virtual room.” The mediator will go back and forth between the rooms, gathering information and exchanging offers and counteroffers. A good mediator will tell both Parties where their positions are unreasonable or unlikely to be successful, and also offer creative solutions for resolving the disagreements.

If you reach an agreement, you will file the Agreement with the court. If you do not have an attorney, you will have to appear before the judge, who will review it and make sure it is fair to both parties before signing off on it. If the Agreement resolves all of the outstanding issues, you will not need to have a contested hearing with witnesses.

If you are unable to reach an agreement during mediation, or you don’t resolve all of the issues, you will attend a Permanent Orders Hearing. In the final part of this series, we’ll discuss what you can expect at this hearing.

 If you find yourself overwhelmed at the thought of getting divorced, I’m here to help! Please reach out to schedule a consultation.