Colorado Divorce & Family Law Guide

A Comprehensive Collection of Articles about Colorado Family Law

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About the Guide

The Colorado Divorce & Family Law Guide was created by Carl O. Graham, a Colorado Springs, CO divorce lawyer and former Army JAG officer. As a principal in Black & Graham, LLC, a domestic relations and criminal defense firm, Carl heads up the firm's family law practice, and focuses exclusively on Colorado divorce & family law, including military divorce issues. To learn more about our Colorado Springs family law practice, visit the law firm web site at:
www.blackgraham.com.

 

  • Family Law Updates
  • Colorado Divorce & Family Law Guide
    • The D.I.Y. Divorce Guide
      • Get the Forms
      • Instructions for Forms
      • File & Serve Initial Pleadings
      • Provide Financial Disclosures
      • Fill out Agreements, Decree, etc.
      • Initial Status Conference
      • Final Steps (No Children)
      • Final Hearing (If Children)
    • Entering Into Marriage
      • Prohibited Marriages
      • Common Law Marriage
      • Ceremonial Marriage
      • Same-Sex Marriage
      • Designated Beneficiary Agreements
    • Termination of Marriage
      • Grounds for Divorce or Legal Separation
      • Jurisdiction
      • Procedure
      • Divorce
      • Legal Separation
      • Annulment
      • Statutory Injunction
    • Paternity
      • Jurisdiction
      • Paternity & DNA Testing
    • Prenuptial Agreements
    • Bankruptcy & Divorce
    • Children & Custody
      • Jurisdiction
      • Parental Decision-Making
      • Decision-Making Modification
      • Child Custody / Parenting Time
      • Parenting Time Modification
      • Relocation of Children
      • Children Passports
      • Best Interests of the Children
      • Parenting Experts / Professionals
        • Child & Family Investigator / CFI
        • Child's Legal Representative / CLR
        • Parental Responsibilities Evaluator / PRE
    • Asset & Debt Division
      • Division of Property & Debt
      • Pension & Retirement Division
        • Division of 401(k) Plans
        • Division of PERA
        • IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts)
        • Social Security Benefits
      • Property Settlement Modification
      • Division of Employee Stock Options
      • Vacation & Sick Time
    • Colorado Grandparent Rights & Visitation
      • Legal Standard for Grandparent Visitation
      • Colorado Grandparent Custody Rights
    • Child & Spousal Support
      • Alimony / Maintenance
      • Maintenance Modification
      • Child Support
      • Child Support Jurisdiction
      • Child Support Modification & Termination
    • Protective Orders
    • Useful Links

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Grounds for Divorce or Legal Separation

 

NOTE:  ONLY APPLIES TO DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE AND LEGAL SEPARATION.  Spouses seeking a Colorado annulment must meet one of the very specific statutory grounds to receive a declaration of invalidity of marriage.

Colorado divorce law is no fault - either spouse can petition for a dissolution of marriage (the legal term for a divorce in Colorado) or a legal separation simply, and only, because the marriage is irretrievably broken. C.R.S. 14-10-106(1)(a)(II).  The old grounds of adultery, cruelty, desertion, etc. have been abolished, and likewise the old defenses to divorce, such as condonation, insanity or collusion, have been abolished.  C.R.S. 14-10-107(5).

Interestingly, adultery is still technically prohibited in Colorado, per C.R.S. 16-6-501, however no penalty is defined for it, and it appears to have been last prosecuted in 1925!.  And if one spouse is in the military, then adultery is still a violation of Article 134 of the UCMJ (see Manual for Courts-Marital, Part IV - Punitive Articles, Para. 62 for more information).  However, the fact that conduct may be an offense in the military does not make it relevant to a dissolution in Colorado.

Since Colorado is no fault, Colorado family law courts will "keep it clean", and not even allow a spouse to put on evidence of wrongdoing by the other spouse, with only limited exceptions (e.g. abuse may be relevant on the issue of parenting, or wrongfully disposing of a marital asset may be relevant on the issue of property division).

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Colorado Divorce & Family Law Guide, Copyright © Black & Graham, LLC  (www.blackgraham.com). Reprint Information

128 S. Tejon St Ste 410, Colorado Springs, CO 80903  (Map to Office)  Tel: (719) 328-1616.

This site is informational, and not a substitute for legal advice from one of the Colorado Springs law firms, divorce lawyers or family law attorneys. Only a signed agreement with this Colorado Springs divorce lawyer creates a lawyer-client relationship. We practice in Colorado Springs / El Paso, Teller, Douglas, and Pueblo Counties in Colorado family law (Colorado divorce, military divorce issues, child support law, grandparent visitation & rights, common law marriage, child custody law, legal separation law, annulment, alimony law, etc).  Login