Colorado divorce laws
Child Support
 Child
support guidelines (Colorado divorce statutes)
were revised January 1, 2003. Child support
is calculated using a mathematical formula.
If either of the litigants monthly adjusted gross income, or their combined monthly adjusted gross income is less than $850, a minimum order of $50 is implied. If the parent with the fewer overnights per year earns $850 or more, but no more than $1,850 per month, he or she is eligible for a low income adjustment. The parent pays a basic minimum amount, depending on the number of children, and pays an additional 40% of every dollar between $900 and $1,850 of monthly income. If the low income adjustment results in a child support award that exceeds the amount in the schedule, the schedule amount should be entered.
Calculation for child support for children
under age 19 or still in high school, or
are disabled are guided by different formulas
via Colorado divorce laws, depending upon
the number of overnights. Colorado divorce
laws play a role here as well. Income is defined
as: income
from salaries; wages,
including tips commissions; payments
received as an independent contractor for
labor or services; bonuses; dividends; severance
pay; pensions and retirement benefits; royalties; rents; interest; trust
income; annuities; capital
gains; any moneys drawn by a self-employed
individual for personal use; social security
benefits workers’ compensation
benefits; unemployment insurance benefits; disability
insurance
benefits; funds held in or
payable
from
any health,
accident,
disability,
or casualty
insurance; monetary
gifts; monetary prizes, excluding lottery
winnings; taxable distributions from
general
partnerships,
limited
partnerships,
closely
held
corporations,
or limited
liability
companies; alimony
or maintenance
received;
and overtime
pay only
if the
overtime
is required
by the
employer
as a
condition
of the
employment.
If you are a Colorado resident you may be exploring ways to apply for child support or initiate a case. You can begin the process by making application for child support ito your local county Child Support Enforcement (CSE) office to determine what they will require. They mat request that you fill out an Application for Child Support Services form. You can obtain this application either by visiting your local office, or online at: Child Support Enforcement Services.
If a modification of an existing child support order is requested, the amount of each parent’s court-ordered contribution for post-secondary education for a child should be subtracted from each parent’s gross income.
Amounts paid by parties for health insurance
premiums
which cover the children subject to the order are apportioned between
the parties.
Colorado child support is calculated
by estimating
the amount of support that would have been available to the children
if the family had remained intact.
The courts apply the “best interests
of the
child” principal when deciding who gets custody without
regard
to the
sex of
the parent,
and after
considering
the following
factors: The
preference
of the
child; The desire and ability of each
parent
to allow
an open
and loving
frequent
relationship
between
the child
and the
other
parent; The
wishes
of the
parents; The child’s adjustment
to his
or her
home,
school,
and community; The mental and
physical
health
of all
individuals
involved; The relationship
of the
child
with
parents,
siblings,
and other
significant
family
members; Any
child
abuse
or spouse
abuse
by either
parent; Whether
a parent’s past involvement with
the
child
reflects
a system
of values,
time
commitment, and mutual
support; The physical proximity of
the parties
to each
other; The ability of each party to
place the needs of the child
ahead
of his
or her
own needs.
Visitation
may be
restricted if there is a danger to the child.
| Divorce Myth: When parents don’t get along, children are better off if their parents divorce than if they stay together. Reality: A recent large-scale, long-term study suggests otherwise. While it found that parents’ marital unhappiness and discord have a broad negative impact on virtually every dimension of their children’s well-being, so does the fact of going through a divorce. In examining the negative impacts on children more closely, the study discovered that it was only the children in very high conflict homes who benefited from the conflict removal that divorce may bring. In lower-conflict marriages that end in divorce—and the study found that perhaps as many as two thirds of the divorces were of this type—the situation of the children was made much worse following a divorce. Based on the findings of this study, therefore, except in the minority of high-conflict marriages it is better for the children if their parents stay together and work out their problems than if they divorce. |
Residency 
The district court will grant a divorce only after one of the parties has established residency in Colorado for ninety days prior to the filing of an action.
Child
Custody
 Colorado
uses the "best interests of the child" basis for the purposes
of determining child custody and parenting
time. Courts will consider all relevant factors, including: 1.) The
wishes of the child’s parents as to parenting time; 2.) The
wishes of the child if he or she is sufficiently
mature to cognitively express preferences as to the parenting time schedule; 3.) The
relationship of the child with his or her
parents, his or her siblings, and any other person who may significantly
affect the child’s best
interests; 4.) The child’s adjustment to his or
her home, school, and community; 5.) The mental and physical
health of all individuals involved. A disability
alone will not impact negatively decisions by the courts when awarding
custody unless there is good reason to restrict or deny it. 6.) The ability
of the parties to foster a loving affectionate relationship between the
child and the other parent; 7.) Where each parent resides and how that
might impact an ability to parent the child. 8.) If one of the parties
has been a perpetrator of child abuse or neglect. 9.) If one of the parties
has been a perpetrator of spouse abuse. 10.) The capability of each party
to place the needs of the child ahead of his or her own needs
In Colorado, as with all other states, the court will always be looking out for the best interests of the children. What you want or your spouse wants is not really relevant until the court says it is. Many parents go to custody hearings not realizing that they must portray themselves as the best custodial parent rather pleading to the court that they simply deserve the children. The court would much prefer the parents to decide who should have custody, but if they can’t, the court will do it for them.
| Divorce Myth: Following
divorce, the woman’s standard of living plummets by seventy three percent while that of the man’s
improves by forty two percent. Reality: This
dramatic inequity, one of the most widely publicized statistics
from the social sciences, was later found to be based on a
faulty calculation. A reanalysis of the data determined that
the woman’s loss was twenty seven percent while the man’s gain was ten percent. Irrespective of the magnitude of the differences, the gender gap is real and seems not to have narrowed much in recent decades. |
Grounds
for
Divorce
 The only grounds for dissolution (divorce) of marriage in Colorado is based on the court finding that the marriage is irretrievably broken. This means that the marital relationship is no longer able to continue due to marital discord and/or marital conflict.
Mediation
No mandatory counseling/mediation exists in Colorado, although the court can so order.
Alimony 
Alimony or maintenance awards can be granted without any regard to marital misconduct. They will consider the following when making a determination:
-
The financial status of the party seeking maintenance.
-
The time necessary to gain employment or establish earning capacity.
-
The standard of living enjoyed during the marriage.
-
The duration of the marriage.
-
The age and the health condition of the spouse seeking maintenance.
-
The ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet his or her needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance.
Colorado uses a specific formula to determine alimony. When the combined income of the spouses is under $75,000, the formula is as follows:
The amount shall be equal to forty percent
of the higher income party's monthly adjusted gross income less fifty percent
of the lower income party's monthly adjusted gross income. If the remainder
of such calculation is the number zero or a negative number, the presumption
shall be that temporary alimony shall not be awarded. If the remainder
of such calculation is more than zero, that amount shall be the amount
of the monthly temporary maintenance.
Waiting
Period
In Colorado a divorce is called a Dissolution of Marriage. There is a 90-day waiting period before it may be finalized. The waiting period begins at the time one party is served or the date the joint petition has been signed by both parties.
Grandparents
Rights
Visitation rights can occur if the parents marriage has been declared invalid or dissolved, a court order of legal separation has been entered, or legal custody of the child has been given to a third party outside of either parent’s home.
In the case of adoption or the placement for adoption, a grandparents visitation rights cease.
| Divorce Myth: Divorce may cause problems for many of the children who are affected by it, but by and large these problems are not long lasting and the children recover relatively quickly. Reality: Divorce increases the risk of interpersonal problems in children. There is evidence, both from small qualitative studies and from large-scale, long-term empirical studies, that many of these problems are long lasting. In fact, they may even become worse in adulthood. |
Dividing Assets
 Colorado is referred to as an "equitable distribution" state. If or when the parties are unable to reach a settlement, the Court will take the following approach to dividing the assets; First, it will go through a discovery process to classify which property and debt is to be considered marital. Next, it will assign a monetary value on the marital property and debt. Last, it will distribute the marital assets between the two parties in an equitable fashion. Equitable does not necessarily mean equal in this case, but rather what is deemed by the Court to be fair.
Did you come into this marriage owning a house?
Concerned about the equity in that house that you brought into the marriage?
Here's how it works generally. What you brought into the marriage is usually
all yours. However, any appreciation of the house or the property value
is normally treated as a "marital asset", meaning that you will
likely forfeit a third to a half of that appreciation to your spouse in
the divorce.
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