Frequently Asked Questions About Colorado Divorce and Family Law
Every family law matter is different. These answers provide general information about Colorado law, but they are not a substitute for legal advice based on the specific facts of your situation.
TOPICS
Divorce in Colorado
General Questions
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A Colorado divorce cannot generally be finalized until at least 91 days have passed.
If the spouses file a joint petition, the 91-day waiting period begins when the case is filed. If one spouse files separately, the waiting period begins when the other spouse is served.
Ninety-one days is the earliest a divorce may be finalized. It does not guarantee that the divorce will be completed on day 91. Disagreements involving property, finances, parenting, maintenance, or required disclosures can extend the process. A relatively straightforward case may be resolved near the end of the waiting period, while a contested or complex case may take a year or longer.
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Yes. Colorado is a no-fault divorce state. The legal basis for divorce is that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
A spouse does not need to prove infidelity, abandonment, addiction, or other wrongdoing to obtain a divorce. The court generally does not decide which spouse was responsible for the end of the marriage.
However, a person’s conduct may still matter when it directly affects the children, marital finances, safety, or another issue the court must decide.
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Filing first does not automatically give one spouse an advantage in the final outcome. Both spouses have the right to present information, request relief, and participate in the case.
There may still be practical reasons to file first. Filing can establish the timing of the case, allow a spouse to request temporary orders, and provide time to organize financial information and prepare a strategy.
The decision should be based on the circumstances rather than on the belief that the person who files first will automatically receive a better result.
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Divorce and legal separation address many of the same issues, including:
Division of assets and debts
Parenting time and decision-making
Child support
Spousal maintenance
Financial disclosures and discovery
The main difference is that a divorce ends the marriage, while a legal separation does not.
Some couples use legal separation when they want to remain married so that certain benefits may continue. Health insurance is one example, but the reasons for considering legal separation will depend on the couple’s circumstances.
Mediation
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Mediation allows the parties to work with a neutral mediator to try to resolve disagreements without asking a judge to decide everything at a hearing.
A good mediator helps identify what is most important to each person and where there may be room to create an equitable agreement that both parties can live with.
At a hearing, the judge makes the decisions. In mediation, the parties have more control over the outcome.
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Mediation is most effective when the parties have the information they need to make informed decisions.
That may include current account balances, retirement and investment values, loan and credit-card balances, property or business valuations, and completed financial disclosures.
A person should not agree to divide an asset without knowing its current value or the marital portion of it. Before mediation, it is important to identify what information is available, what may still be missing, and what issues need to be resolved.
Property, Assets, Debts and Maintenance
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Marital property generally includes property acquired during the marriage.
This may include:
A home or other real estate
Cars and household property
Bank and investment accounts
Retirement benefits earned during the marriage
Business interests
Property brought into the marriage is generally considered separate property. However, an increase in the value of that property during the marriage may become part of the marital estate.
For example, if one spouse owned a home before the marriage, the value brought into the marriage may remain separate, while some of the increase in value during the marriage may be considered marital.
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Colorado uses equitable division. This means the court divides marital property in a way it considers fair under the circumstances.
Equitable does not always mean an exact 50-50 division.
The court may consider the circumstances of both spouses, including whether one spouse gave up education, career opportunities, or earning power to support the family or the other spouse’s career.
An attorney can help identify the marital estate, clarify the client’s priorities, and evaluate possible ways to reach an equitable resolution.
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Equitable means fair. It does not necessarily mean that every asset and debt will be divided exactly in half.
In some cases, an equal division may be appropriate. In others, the spouses may be in very different financial positions at the end of the marriage.
For example, one spouse may have spent many years raising children, supporting the household, or putting the other spouse’s career first. That spouse may have less earning power or fewer years available to rebuild retirement savings.
These circumstances may affect how property division is evaluated and negotiated.
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Marital debts may include:
Mortgages
Home-equity loans
Car loans
Credit-card balances
Personal loans
Like assets, debts are divided equitably rather than automatically split in half.
If one spouse has used marital funds or incurred debt for purposes unrelated to the marriage, that may also need to be addressed as part of the equitable division.
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Colorado uses the term spousal maintenance, although many people know it as alimony.
Maintenance is not automatic. The judge has discretion to decide whether maintenance should be awarded.
The court may consider factors such as:
The length of the marriage
The income and financial circumstances of both spouses
Each spouse’s ability to support themselves
The standard of living during the marriage
Even when there is a significant difference in income, maintenance is not guaranteed.
In some cases, maintenance and property division may be negotiated together. For example, one spouse may receive more property or cash and agree to waive maintenance. The overall arrangement should be considered carefully in light of the client’s financial needs and future plans.
High-Asset Divorce
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There is no single legal definition of a high-asset divorce.
Tamara generally considers a case high asset when the marital estate is worth approximately $5 million or more and includes significant or complicated assets, such as:
Multiple properties
Businesses or business interests
Retirement accounts
Investments
International companies or assets
A case involving less than $5 million may still be complicated when there are questions about ownership, value, income, or missing financial information.
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Both spouses are required to provide complete and accurate financial information during a divorce.
If one spouse does not disclose bank accounts, credit-card statements, business information, or other financial records, additional investigation may be necessary.
The discovery process may be used to seek missing information. When appropriate, a forensic accountant or another financial professional may also help trace money and review financial records.
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Businesses, investments, retirement accounts, and real estate may be part of the marital estate when they are marital property or have a marital component.
These assets may need to be valued before they can be divided equitably. It may also be necessary to determine what portion existed before the marriage and how much the asset increased in value during the marriage.
Professional resources such as business valuators, appraisers, or financial experts may be needed to understand and address more complicated assets.
High-Conflict Divorce
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A divorce may become high conflict when serious or ongoing disputes make it difficult for the parties to resolve important issues.
Common sources of conflict include:
Parenting time and decision-making
Division of assets and debts
Substance-use concerns
Financial disagreements or incomplete disclosure
Strong emotions surrounding the end of the marriage
Repeated or unnecessary litigation
The attorneys involved can also affect the level of conflict. Unnecessary motions or an unwillingness to resolve workable issues may increase the cost, delay, and stress of the case.
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One spouse cannot control every part of the divorce by refusing to cooperate.
Depending on the circumstances, the case may move forward through financial discovery, negotiation, mediation, court filings, or a hearing.
Not every hostile statement or demand requires an immediate response. Conduct that affects finances, children, safety, or the court process may need to be addressed.
An attorney can help determine which issues require action and how to respond without creating unnecessary conflict or expense.
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If one party does not follow a court order, the other party may need to ask the court to enforce it.
The appropriate response depends on the order, what occurred, and whether the violation involves parenting time, financial obligations, family time, or another requirement.
An attorney can review the circumstances and explain the available next steps.
Common-Law Marriage
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Colorado recognizes common-law marriage even when a couple did not obtain a marriage license or file a marriage certificate.
Living together alone does not necessarily create a common-law marriage. The court looks at whether the couple mutually intended to be married and whether they represented themselves as married.
Common-law marriage cases can lead to significant litigation when one person says a marriage existed and the other person disagrees.
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A Colorado court considers the couple’s conduct and the relationship as a whole to determine whether both parties mutually intended to be married.
Relevant evidence may include whether the couple:
Purchased or owned property together
Created estate-planning documents naming one another as spouses
Celebrated wedding anniversaries
Exchanged anniversary cards
Used the same last name
Represented themselves to family, friends, businesses, or others as married
No single factor automatically proves that a common-law marriage existed. The court considers the totality of the circumstances and decides whether the evidence demonstrates a mutual intent to enter a marital relationship.
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Yes. If a valid common-law marriage exists, the couple must use the formal divorce process to end it.
When one person disputes that the marriage existed, the court may first hold a hearing to decide the validity of the marriage. If the court determines that the couple was married, the divorce case can then move forward.
Grandparents’ Rights
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In some circumstances, a grandparent or great-grandparent may ask a Colorado court for time with a child.
Colorado refers to this as grandparent family time. Whether a grandparent may request family time depends on the family’s circumstances and the requirements of Colorado law.
These cases often arise after a divorce, death, custody dispute, or family estrangement.
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Grandparent family time is court-ordered contact between a grandparent or great-grandparent and a child.
A court may award reasonable family time when the legal requirements are met and the requested arrangement is appropriate for the child.
Once an order is entered, the parties are expected to follow it.
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A parent may have valid reasons for objecting to contact between a child and a grandparent.
The court may consider the parent’s concerns, the relationship between the grandparent and child, the family circumstances, and any issues affecting the child’s well-being.
When the facts are disputed or there are concerns involving substance use, safety, or family dynamics, additional investigation may be needed before the court makes a decision.
Unbundled Legal Services
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Unbundled services, also known as limited-scope representation, allow a person to hire an attorney for specific parts of a case while handling the remaining work independently.
The attorney and client agree in advance about which services the attorney will provide and which responsibilities will remain with the client.
Unbundled services may include:
Legal advice about rights and options
Help completing forms
Review or preparation of legal documents
Guidance about required information
Preparation for mediation or a hearing
Strategy for a specific issue
Review of documents prepared using online resources or AI tools
Wayland Law offers unbundled services for clients who need focused legal help but may not need full representation from beginning to end.
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Unbundled services may be a good fit for someone who is organized, comfortable using online resources, able to follow court procedures, and willing to handle portions of the case independently.
They may also be appropriate when a person has already prepared documents and wants an attorney to review them, or when legal help is needed for one particular issue or stage of the case.
Limited-scope representation is not appropriate for every matter. The complexity of the case, the level of conflict, and the client’s ability to manage the remaining work should all be considered.
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They can be.
Unbundled representation allows a client to pay for specific legal services rather than full representation from beginning to end.
The cost will depend on the services selected and the complexity of the matter.
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Choosing unbundled services does not prevent the scope of representation from being expanded later.
If the case becomes more complicated, the client and attorney may discuss adding services or moving to full representation.
Any change in the attorney’s role would need to be clearly defined in a new engagement agreement.
Working With Tamara
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Tamara generally begins an initial consultation with a simple invitation:
“Tell me what’s going on.”
She gives the person time to explain the situation and describe what concerns them most.
Some people need an overview of the divorce or family law process. Others have a specific question involving maintenance, property, parenting, grandparents’ rights, or another issue.
Tamara listens first and then helps identify the legal questions that need to be addressed.
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Tamara takes a team approach with her clients. She does not simply order clients around or make decisions for them.
She listens to the client’s story, works through the emotion surrounding the case, and helps identify the issues that require attention.
Tamara is direct and approachable. She and the client develop a strategy together and consider both the possible benefit and the financial cost of each step.
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Peace of mind looks different for every client.
Tamara asks clients to consider where they want to be next year and five years from now:
Where do they want to live?
What do they want to be doing?
What kind of financial stability will they need?
What will help their children be in a good place?
What will allow them to move forward?
Her goal is to help clients get to the other side with a workable plan, an appropriate level of financial stability, and greater clarity about the future.
If the client can move forward and the children are in a good place, Tamara feels she has done her job.