Colorado Divorce Legal Questions

Someone should file for divorce or legal separation and note a hearing to determine who gets to live in the house. Of course if you want to stay in the house you have to show you can pay the mortgage. This is a no fault state, so his affairs are irrelevant unless he used community money to support them.... Read More

You can file in the county where you live. If you file jointly as petitioner and co-petitioner, you don't need a waiver of service. If there are no children, you should be able to get though it without any court appearances, but there are some deadlines you have to meet to avoid going to court. I hope this helps. ... Read More

There is no statute on just this issue. CRS 14-10-115 and 14-10-122 (abotu child support and modification of child support) both address this issue in the statute and the case law interpreting the statute (the case law is often more important in dealing with this issue). I hope this helps. ... Read More

We specialize in this type of case. One of our attorneys will prepare all the documents and agreements needed for a Colorado divorce for a flat fee of $695. Included in this price is one hour of consulation time on the process, fairness of agreements, etc. Please feel free to call me if you would like to discuss further or get started. With cooperation of the other party, we can have you done in the state minimum 91 days. ... Read More

Maybe. He might be able to argue that his equity in the home at the time of the marriage is separate property, but any increase in value during the marriage would be marital (and the entire amount might be marital at this point - but it would depend on a lot of factors). Marital property in Colorado is divided equitable, not equally, so even if he had a separate interest, the court could give you more marital property if it decided that was fair (which would depend on the length of the marriage, how much property there is to divide, how much separate property there is and other factors). I hope this helps. ... Read More

Regardless of the prenup, given the short marriage, you should be able to recoup at least the $50k (it would likely be considered separate property even if the prenup was invalid). Is the new house titled jointly - that could complicate things based on the language in the pre-nup, but the courts divide property equitably, not equally, so the court could still give you the first $50k even if the property is jointly titled. I'd want to see the pre-nup and discuss the facts to give you a more certain response. You might be a good candidate for our flat fee uncontested divorce services - for $795, we prepare all the documents and agreements for you and you get up to 60 minutes of additional consultation time with one of our attorneys to ensure that the documents and agreements are prepared correctly (this is especially important where real estate and mortgages are involved) and that you are getting a fair deal. We also can help expedite the process. We offer a free 20 minute initial consultation if you'd like to give us a call. I hope this helps. ... Read More

Yes. You just need to have resided in Colorado for more than 90 days prior to filing (and minor children would need to have been here for more than 6 months in general). We offer flat fee uncontested divorces by a Colorado attorney starting at $795 if you would like help with the process, document preparation and guidance to ensure that you are getting the agreements right, are getting a fair deal and are getting done as fast as possible. I hope this helps. ... Read More

You can call the clerk of the court to ask for copies of the papers. Depending on the process he used, he may be able to ask for money. You could make him start over if you could prove he lied when he filed stating he did not know where you are. If he only wants a decree of divorce and is not asking for any money, then you might be best off going through with it, as it?s not a good idea to remain married to someone with questionable behavior, since there are always some risks to you being his spouse. As well, if he wants a divorce, the court is going to grant it, as they will not force people to stay married, so it probably is in your best interest to go along with it if only to ensure your rights are protected. A lawyer in Colorado, like me, can enter an appearance, review the case, talk to him and help you get though it. If the case is uncontested (i.e., he is not asking for money and you are not either), it would not be expensive to have us help you (likely under $1,500).... Read More

It depends on the terms of your maintenance (alimony). If she agree to terminate maintenance, she might have to file to modify, which is a fairly high burden - she would have to show a substantial and continuing change of circumstances, and then the court would assess what she should get, which depends on her income, your income, lenghth of the marriage, etc. We can assist you in Colorado - feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss this further. I hope this helps. ... Read More

Marital assets are divided equitably in Colorado, which usually means equally. Marital assets include property acquired during the marriage and increases in the value of separate property acquired prior to the marriage. We help people with cases like this all the time, often on a reasonable flat fee basis. We also offer no-retainer consulting and document preparation. Let us know if you would like some assistance. I hope this helps. ... Read More

A divorce decree is the final order granting a dissolution of marriage. There are a lot of hoops to jump through  between filing the petition and getting a decree, including preparing and exchanging financial statements and information, preparing separation agreements and parenting plans, etc. The fastest a decree can be issued is 91 days after you are served with the petition. We offer help with the forms (and getting you through the process as quickly as possible (and possibly limiting court appearances) on a flat fee basis. We also mediate, which can include document preparation) if you would like some assistance. I hope this helps. ... Read More

Missing spouse cases are complicated because you have to petition the court to allow you to serve him by publication. Part of the petition is proving to the court that you have tried to locate him, but could not (we usually have a private investigator do an electronic search for the missing spouse and submit the PI's report to the court with the motion as evidence of trying to locate him). You then have to publish notice of the divorce in your local newspaper for 5 weeks. Once that is done, you follow all the other procedures and file all the required "normal" divorce paperwork. None of this is cheap or fast (I'd expect it to take 5-6 months). We do these cases regularly on a flat fee basis if you would like assistance. For $795, we do all the paperwork and assist/coach you through the whole process, including all of the missing spouse procedures (you are responsible for filing the documents, and court costs and fees). Our goal is to help you get though the process faster than you could on your own, make sure all the procedures and documents are done correctly. Please feel free to call me if you would like to discuss your case further. I hope this helps.... Read More

Yes, you have to get a divorce. Marrying someone while you still are married to someone else is a crime in Colorado (bigamy). We can help you complete all the forms you will need and get through the process as fast as possible on a reasonable flat fee basis if you would like assistance. We offer a free initial consultation if you would like to discuss your situation further. I hope this helps. ... Read More

Missing spouse cases are complicated because you have to petition the court to allow you to serve him by publication (the newspaper process you heard about). Part of the petition is proving to the court that you tried to locate him and could not (we usually have a private detective to an electronic search for a missing spouse and submit the PI's report to the court with the motion). You then have to publish in the newspaper for 5 weeks. Then you follow all the other procedures and file all the required "normal" paperwork. None of this is cheap or fast (I'd expect it to take 5-6 months). We do these cases regularly on a flat fee basis if you would like assistance. For $795, we do all the paperwork and assist you through the whole process, including consulting with one of our attorneys (you are responsible for filing, court costs and fees). Our goal is to help you get though the process faster than you could on your own, make sure all the procedures and documents are done correctly, and, help you avoid having to set foot in a courtroom as well. Feel free to call me if you would like to discuss your case further. I hope this helps.... Read More

He might be in contempt of court for not paying the debt (and for failing to . You also could go after him to reimburse you for the amounts you paid, plus interest and likely attorney fees. You also could go after him for the child support plus 12% interest. We take cases like this on a contingent (%) fee basis if you would like assistance. Feel free to call me if you would like to discuss your case further. ... Read More

You can file in Colorado, but you would need to file Colorado divorce documents and agreements. She could either sign the Colorado documents or you can serve her in Arizona. If you want to file here and would like assistance, for a flat fee of $495 we will prepare all of the required documents and agreements for you, and help make sure that the case gets done as fast as possible, and we can help you avoid having to appear in court at all. Let us know if we can be of help (everything can be done by phone, email and fax, by the way). I hope this helps. ... Read More