Colorado Divorce Legal Questions

There is no set time frame for obtaining an annulment. N.J.S.A. 2A:34-1 provides the following grounds for annulment: a. Either of the parties has another wife or husband living at the time of a second or other marriage; b. The parties are within the degrees prohibited by law. If any such marriage shall not have been annulled during the lifetime of the parties the validity thereof shall not be inquired into after the death of either party. c. The parties, or either of them, were at the time of marriage physically and incurably impotent, provided the party making the application shall have been ignorant of such impotency or incapability at the time of the marriage, and has not subsequently ratified the marriage. d. The parties, or either of them, lacked capacity to marry due to want of understanding because of mental condition, or the influence of intoxicants, drugs, or similar agents; or where there was a lack of mutual assent to the marital relationship; duress; or fraud as to the essentials of marriage; and has not subsequently ratified the marriage. e. The demand for such a judgment is by the wife or husband who was under the age of 18 years at the time of the marriage, unless such marriage be confirmed by her or him after arriving at such age. f. Allowable under the general equity jurisdiction of the Superior Court. Annulments, however, are difficult to obtain and are rare. It is established only when there is proof of extreme nature going to one of the essentials of marriage. A textbook example is when one of the parties to the marriage subsequently discloses intention never to have children after there is an implied promise to have children. Another example is when it is later discovered that one of the parties entered into the marriage solely for the purpose of securing permanent residence in the country. You should file a complaint for annulment and seek divorce as an alternative form of relief.... Read More

Legally, yes. To protect against future allegations, the written consent should be filed in the court file. Due to Colorado's strict requirements that either you or your husband be a legal, domiciliary resident of Colorado for at least 90 days before filing the petition and the complexities of trying to handle your case from CA without an attorney, you should consult a CO attorney and not try to continue the case without an attorney.... Read More

The ability to file in Colorado for the divorce part requires that one of the parties be a legal resident of Colorado for 90 days prior to the filing. For the child custody issues, the children will have to have been living in Colorado for at least 6 months before anything is filed, regardless of whether you can file for divorce in Colorado. If your husband files in the state where you and the children are currently residing that state will obtain and retain exclusive jurisdiction to resolve the parenting issues unless he allows you to move and doesn't file anything sooner than 6 months after you leave.... Read More

Not in Colorado and probably not in most states. In Colorado property the marital part of the current value will be divided "fairly" - that does not automatically mean 50/50. The marital portion is what was contributed and earned during the marriage. How that specific account is to be divided has to be answered in connection with evaluation of the overall property settlement because there is no requirement that each and every asset be treated the same.... Read More

Your problem is a more complicated legal question than can be answered in this forum. An attorney with all the exact facts will need to research the law to confirm the actual status of your situation. Basically, until you were divorced you could not enter into a valid marriage with someone else. The issue here appears to be when were you actually divorced and what was the effect of getting the marriage license before the divorce was final. The wedding itself did not necessarily create a marriage, but exactly what happened when may be crucial to the final answer. All things considered, however, going through with a divorce now may be the easiest & most definite way to answer the unanswered questions.... Read More

Since you have been in LA with the children for more than the past six months all issues concerning custody and parenting of the children must be done in Louisiana regardless of where the divorce case occurs. Where they were born is irrelevant. If you and your spouse lived together in Colorado before you left and he has remained there, you have a choice of pursuing the divorce either in Colo or in LA. You should consult an attorney to learn more about the pros & cons of where to file and to discuss your options based on your principle objectives.... Read More

If you have a common law marriage you must get a divorce through the legal process and, as part of that process you can get a permanent determination of who is entitled to exclusive control of the residence. Common law marriage in Colorado is a highly disputable possibility, but regardless of whether or not one exists you can pursue a Civil Protection Order based on the fear of harm from his tendency toward violence. You need to consult a lawyer to learn more about the law and you potential options.... Read More

If his failure to refinance is a voluntary and willful failure and the deadline has passed without listing the property for sale, it is possible that he is in contempt of court. At the very least you can ask the court for a specific order directing him to list the property for sale or, possibly, in the alternative to buy you out for an amount to be determined. You need to consult an attorney for a better analysis of your options and likely results.... Read More

If your 401k was accumulated during the marriage, it is divisible in divorce by means of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, unless you offset it against another asset which you give to your spouse. Your spouse is entitled to half of that portion of your 401k that was accumulated during the marriage. That means if you earned a third of it before you married and two-thirds afterward, your spouse will get half of two thirds, or one-third which s/he can begin drawing at your earliest retirement date. An experienced attorney would be very helpful to you under these circumstances.... Read More

Probably not after the divorce is final, but you don't give enough information to make a judgment about. In Colorado there is a presumptive formula for spousal support while the case is pending, but there are no rules for post-decree support orders. The Court can require post-decree spousal support but that isn't an indication that it will happen.... Read More

First, you need to understand that the basic process of having the marriage declared invalid (Colorado no long has "annulment") is no easier or simpler than divorce. Second, without more detail it isn't possible to determine whether your situation qualifies for asking a court to declare the marriage invalid. But, because there are time limits for some reasons, it is important that you consult an attorney in person as soon as possible to find out your options.... Read More