Colorado

Marriage & Family Law Home

How is Alimony Granted?

The Colorado state government has declared that the economic lives of spouses often become intertwined in such a way that it is impossible to entirely separate them after divorce, and as such, has stated that an individual going through a divorce may file for temporary maintenance if they see fit, whether or not the maintenance, otherwise known as alimony, is decided in a court of law is dependent on several factors. ....... Click here to get more info on Alimony

What Factors are Considered in Determining Child Support Payments?

At the time a child support order is initially established, or in any proceeding to modify a child support order, if a parent is also legally responsible for the support of any other children for whom the parents do not share joint legal responsibility, the court shall make an adjustment to the parent's gross income prior to calculating the basic child support obligation for the child or children who are the subject of the support order in question as follows:

• If a parent is obligated to pay support for another child pursuant to an order, the amount actually paid on the order must be deducted from that parent's gross income



• If the other child is residing in the home of a parent, the court shall deduct from that parent's gross income the amount calculated



• If another child of a parent is residing outside the home of that parent, the court shall deduct from that parent's gross income the amount of documented money payments actually paid by the parent for the support of the other child, not to exceed the schedule of basic support obligations.

For the purposes of the child support guidelines and schedule of basic child support obligations specified in this section, the gross income of each parent shall be determined according to the following guidelines:

"Gross income" includes income from any source, except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (a), and includes, but is not limited to:

• Income from salaries



• Wages, including tips declared by the individual for purposes of reporting to the federal internal revenue ser ....... Click here to get more info on Child Support

What Factors are Considered in a Custody Proceeding?

In contested hearings on final orders regarding the allocation of parental responsibilities, the court shall make findings on the record concerning the factors the court considered and the reasons why the allocation of parental responsibilities is in the best interests of the child.

The court shall not consider conduct of a party that does not affect that party's relationship to the child.

In determining parenting time or decision-making responsibilities, the court shall not presume that any person is better able to serve the best interests of the child because of that person's sex. A request by either party for genetic testing shall not prejudice the requesting party in the allocation of parental responsibilities.

When a claim of child abuse or neglect, domestic violence, or sexual assault where there is also a claim that the child was conceived as a result of the sexual assault has been made to the court, or the court has reason to believe that a party has committed child abuse or neglect, domestic violence, or sexual assault that resulted in the conception of the child, prior to allocating parental responsibilities, including parenting time and decision-making responsibility

The court shall consider the following factors:

Whether one of the parties has committed an act of child abuse or neglect, and which factor must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence.

....... Click here to get more info on Custody

What are the Grounds for Divorce?

For the state of Colorado, divorce proceedings are not as cut and dry and some states. ....... Click here to get more info on Divorce

How are Visitation Rights Granted?

In Colorado, a biological parent or grandparent of a child may request visitation, also known as parenting time, as part of an existing divorce, parentage or custody case. When reviewing a request for visitation the court will determine if a grant of visitation rights is in the best interest of the child.

C.R.S. 14-10-124(1.5)(a) outlines the criteria to determine whether a parenting schedule is in a child's best interests:

1. The wishes of the child's parents;
   
   
2. The wishes of the child, if sufficiently mature (typically starts about 12 or so),
   
   
3. The relationship between the child, the parents, siblings, and any other p ....... Click here to get more info on Visitation

How does Property Division Work?

Under Colorado law, marital property, or property acquired or increased during the marriage is subject to equitable division. Equitable division does not mean marital property is divided equally, it is divided in manner that results in a fair or equitable result for each spouse.

The court will apply the following factors when making an equitable division of marital property: the contribution of each spouse (including the contribution of a spouse as homemaker); value of the property; the economic circumstances of each spouse; whether c ....... Click here to get more info on Property Division