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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