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Experienced Colorado Divorce Lawyers

Kurtz & Peckham has specialized in all facets of family law for over 25 years. Katy Kurtz and Mary Peckham and the firm’s legal team take pride in providing personal time and attention to each client finding him or herself facing the prospect of divorce. We believe in working with each client to design an individual solution to his or her particular concerns. We are well aware that this is a stressful time in a person’s life and we are committed to treating both our clients and the process with integrity, compassion and competence. If required, we will litigate any matter that can not be resolved , but we are not in a rush to try every issue, finding that in most cases (although certainly not all) the parties and their attorneys can craft better solutions over time than a Judge who hears only a small portion of the actual story.

OVERVIEW OF COLORADO DIVORCE
From start to finish, a divorce case (dissolution of marriage) takes anywhere from three months to over a year, depending on the court (the county where the parties reside), the parties’ approaches, and the complexity of the case. The average time is about seven months. The soonest you can be divorced is ninety (90) days from the date of filing and service (date one spouse is served or signed a waiver of service, or the date of filing the case if you file as co-petitioners). Colorado divorce is not based on the wrong-doing of either party. Instead it is a “no fault” state. The standard for dissolution is that the marriage is “irreconcilably broken”. If either party feels this to be the case, in time the dissolution will take place. One party may object and assert that the marriage is not irreconcilably broke, but as long as the other party insists it is, the dissolution will move forward.

Every dissolution has no more than four (4) possible areas to be addressed legally:

1.  The Division of Property and Debt. This involves the initial determination of  whether a  particular property (real or personal) is separate property or marital property. The same is true of debts. Once separate property is determined, the remaining marital property (and debts) need to be divided equitably.

2.  Spousal Maintenance. The threshold question here is whether one spouse is “a candidate for maintenance” and there are statutory guidelines to help determine this. The question then becomes how much would he/she be paid by the paying spouse and for how long a time period. (See Maintenance page)

3.  Parental Responsibility (formerly called child custody) and Parenting Time Arrangements. This area deals with how the two parents will deal with the raising of their children, who will have what responsibilities and obligations and where the children will live. (See Parenting Time page)

4.  Child Support. This final area addresses the amount one parent may pay to the other for child support, how it is determined, how it is paid and for how long. Child support is statutorily mandated and there are guidelines to ascertain amounts owed in the majority of cases. (See Child Support page)

The topics of parental responsibility, parenting time and child support are areas the courts are very concerned with. While the divorcing parties are free to agree to just about anything between themselves (as long as it is not unconscionable), the judge will not allow them to do this concerning the children if he/she does not think an agreement is in the children’s best interests. This is particularly true with regards to child support.

Virtually every issue in a divorce, with the exception of abuse issues and/or illegal behavior (ie. One person is already married and never divorced the first spouse) will fit into one of the above four categories. The issue of abuse may be dealt with by obtaining a restraining order or by the use of the criminal courts or in rare cases by the filing of a civil lawsuit or a state initiated Dependency and Neglect action to protect the children.

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PREPARE YOURSELF
To prepare yourself to handle your divorce do these three things AND remember misconceptions are just that.

1)     Get your own life under control. Lean on your social support system, seek professional help if appropriate, and be especially compassionate with your self.

2)     Communicate with your children and support them through the process. Children, depending on their ages, need to be consistently re-assured that they are not being divorced and that they will still be loved and cared for.

3)     Create a new working relationship with your ex-spouse especially vis a vis your children. This may take patience and time to develop.
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• Don’t put your children in the middle.
• Do not bad mouth the other parent.
• Put the children first.
• Stay involved in your kids' lives.
• Talk to your children.
• Reassure them often it is not their fault.
• If possible, live near the other parent.
• Communicate with your spouse so there are not mixed messages about things that involve the children.
• Do NOT stay together for the sake of the children.