There are several matters that must be addressed in a divorce or legal separation. These typically include property and debt division, maintenance (alimony), allocation of attorney fees, and if there are children, allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time.
Property and Debt Division: In Colorado, marital property is to be divided fairly between the spouses. This is not necessarily an equal division, and is affected by such things as contribution to acquiring assets (including the contribution of a spouse as a homemaker), whether a spouse has non-marital assets and the overall financial condition of each spouse. Debts are dealt with in a similar fashion.
Maintenance: Spousal maintenance is decided using a number of factors, including whether the spouse requesting maintenance has the ability to support himself or herself with reasonable employment or income from property, the length of marriage, health and age of the parties, the ability of the other spouse to pay, and other factors. Maintenance for a temporary period (before the divorce is final) may be calculated using a formula if the combined income of the spouses does not exceed $75,000 per year.
Attorney Fees: The court may order one spouse to pay all or a part of the other’s attorney fees and costs of litigation. This is based on the relative financial positions of the spouses.
Parental Responsibilities and Parenting Time: By law, parental decision-making and parenting time must be allocated between the parents under the standard of best interests of the child. Many factors go into this determination, and decisions often rest on a key fact or facts. Courts are charged with constructing orders that promotes the child’s relationship with each parent, so long as that serves the best interests of the child.
Child Support: Child Support is decided through application of the Colorado Child Support Guidelines. The amount of support is determined by a formula which includes the parents’ incomes, number of overnights the child has with each parent, cost of daycare and health insurance, and when applicable the cost of certain extracurricular activities. Child support generally ends when the child reaches age 19, but there are certain exceptions.
Appeals: The law allows for an appeal of any decision given by a judge. In family law cases, the judge has wide discretion when entering orders, so appeals are not common. However, when appropriate, we appeal what we believe are erroneous decisions.
Settlement: Most cases are settled without a trial. The general principles outlined above would be used in reaching such a settlement. The process of settling a case usually involves negotiation between the lawyers for the spouses, with as much direct involvement of the spouses as is comfortable for them. Negotiations can be conducted face to face, by telephone, in writing, and with or without a mediator. In many counties, mediation must occur prior to a trial in order to provide the best possible chance for settlement.