DIY Divorce Guide: Starting Your Case

diy, do-it-yourself

Note that both Colorado (JDF 1095 Flowchart for Dissolution/Legal Separation with No Children of This Marriage) and El Paso County (FCF 500 - Flowchart Divorce or Legal Separation with No Children) have flow charts which attempt to show the steps & forms. But both of them are surprisingly difficult to follow, and the instructions in this Guide should be more straightforward.

Complete the Initial Pleadings

JDF 1000 - Case Information Sheet (Word | PDF).  This form contains personal information about the couple which is for the Court's information only, and not a public record which anyone has access to other than the parties to the case. The form is self-explanatory, and tick the boxes which say each of you are planning on being self-represented (they won't hold you to that if something changes!). Assuming you filled in the blanks without changing the form, tick the appropriate box on page 2, and sign the form.

JDF 1101 - Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation  (Word | PDF).  This document formally asks the Court to grant a dissolution or legal separation.  Tick the appropriate boxes, depending upon whether you're seeking a legal separation or a dissolution, and whether there are minor children of the marriage.  Assuming you are filing jointly with your spouse, both of you should then sign & verify the last page.

JDF 1102 - Summons for Dissolution of Marriage or Legal Separation (Word | PDF). Not needed if both spouses file jointly. Tick the appropriate box for a dissolution or legal separation.  Do not sign this form (that's for the clerk of court), nor complete the second page other than the caption.

FCF 400 - Domestic Relations Case Management Order (PDF).  4th Judicial District Only. All that is needed is to fill out the caption at the top of this form. You should read this form carefully, as it contains the procedures for the 4th Judicial District that both parties are expected to follow. Mercifully, it is written in plain English (Great job, Judge Brady!)

File Initial Pleadings at Court

  1. Bring the original one copy of the pleadings to the Court Clerk’s office (in El Paso County, it’s Room S-101).
  2. Pay the filing fee. These are subject to change, but in 2018, the cost is $230 for a divorce, legal separation or annulment.
  3. The clerk will keep the original documents, and stamp your copies of each one, except for the Summons.
  4. If you did not file jointly, the clerk will stamp/date & sign your Summons, and return that to you for serving on your spouse.
  5. If neither spouse has an attorney, the clerk will also set an Initial Status Conference (more details to follow) with a domestic court facilitator for about 40 days out, and give you two copies of the Notice of Initial Status Conference - one for you, and one to give to your spouse, or to serve on your spouse with the initial pleadings.

Make a copy of all stamped pleadings (one for your records, one for your spouse). If both spouses signed the petition, skip the service of process section, and jump to Financial Disclosures below.

Service of Process

  • Waiver of Service. If both spouses did not file jointly, but your spouse is cooperative, give him/her a copy of the initial pleadings, and obtain his/her signature on the JDF 1102(a) Waiver & Acceptance of Service (Word | PDF), and return it to you.
  • Process Server. If your spouse declines to sign the waiver of service, you will need to have him/her served with the paperwork. You can use a private process server, or an adult friend/family member not connected to the case, a private process server, or the Sheriff’s Office. In Colorado, each sheriff’s office maintains a Civil Unit which will serve civil process. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Civil Unit charges $35 for service. The process server will need to sign the JDF 1102(b) Return of Service (Word | PDF) and return it to you. (Note that many process servers will have their own form instead - this is perfectly acceptable to the Court).

Make a copy of the signed Waiver of Service or Return of Service, and file the original at court.

Financial Disclosures

Between the time of filing the petition, and attending the Initial Status Conference, both parties have to complete their financial disclosures. You will have about 40 days, but the disclosures are comprehensive, so they will take some time to complete. There are three basic parts:

  1. Complete the JDF 1111 - Sworn Financial Statement (Word | PDF) and the JDF 1111SS - Sworn Financial Statement, Supporting Schedules (Word | PDF) to list assets. This
  2. Provide financial disclosures to your spouse ONLY (they are not filed with the Court). See JDF 1125 Mandatory Disclosure – Form 35.1 (PDF) for a list of the required documents, but they include pay stubs, tax returns, copies of insurance documents, most recent statements for each of your financial accounts (bank, investment, retirement, credit card), copies of real estate documents, etc.
  3. Complete the JDF 1104 - Certificate of Compliance with C.R.C.P. 16.2(e) (Word | PDF). This form tells the court that even though you’ve not filed them at court, you have provided your spouse with the financial disclosures from step 2.

File the Sworn Financial Statement/schedules, and the Certificate of Compliance with the clerk of court. Provide your spouse with a copy, as well as a copy of your underlying financial documents from step 2 above.

The disclosures are mandatory in all dissolution cases. Even if your case is uncontested, each spouse knows the family finances, and everything is going well, you cannot waive the financial disclosures. Many courts (especially in El Paso County) will not grant the decree of dissolution if the parties have not filed their sworn financial statements and certificates of compliance.

For a more in-depth discussion of the mandatory financial disclosures each party has to provide, and what happens if you don't, see the Sworn Financial Statement In A Divorce article.

Children & Families in Transition Seminar

If there are children of the marriage and your case is in the 4th Judicial District, each parent must complete the Children & Families in Transition Seminar, either in person at the courthouse, or online at the CASA web site.

There is a $65 per person fee for the seminar, and make sure you have your case number when you sign up so you receive credit.

The CIFT seminar is mandatory, even if both spouses agree completely on parenting.

Initial Status Conference (ISC)

Approximately 40-50 days after filing the Petition, you and your spouse must attend an Initial Status Conference, where the court will set forth various deadlines for your case. The date of the ISC will be printed on a document you receive when you file the initial pleadings.

In El Paso County, the spouses attend the ISC in an office with a domestic court facilitator, an employee of the court. In other judicial districts, the Initial Status Conference may be conducted in a courtroom in front of a judge or magistrate. The guidance below is based upon El Paso County.

Bring all of your paperwork to the conference, which should take about 10 minutes.  The domestic court facilitators cannot give you legal advice, nor enter any orders. If you have completed all of your paperwork and brought it with you. Note that they cannot provide legal advice, but simply make sure you are following the procedures. See this handout from the Colorado Judicial Branch for a checklist of what the staff can and cannot do for you.

Do You Need a Divorce Lawyer in Colorado Springs?

We hope this DIY Guide is useful, but if you have a more complicated case, the family law attorneys at Graham.Law have years of experience helping clients through the Colorado legal system. We know Colorado family laws, inside and out, from divorce to legal separation, from annulments to military divorce issues. For more information about our El Paso County family law firm, click on:

Colorado family law is all we do. Period.