DIY Divorce Guide: General Instructions

DIY Divorce Guide: General Instructions

By Carl O. Graham

diy, do-it-yourself

Can you do your own divorce in Colorado? Yes - every year, people who are willing to spend the time to educate themselves, and fill out the forms properly, can, and do, successfully obtain their own divorce without the assistance of counsel.  But it's not for everyone. Read the D.I.Y. Divorce Guide to see if one may work in your situation.

This Guide assumes that you have already done your homework, and know what kind of an outcome is fair for your case - you’re just looking for a way to put everything together. You have read the Colorado Family Law Guide, and if one spouse is in the military, you’ve read the Military Divorce Guide. You may have even talked to someone who went through a Colorado divorce (although be careful, as every situation is different). You’ve gone to the free pro se clinic at the courthouse.

Even after all of that, and after you’re put everything together, before you sign any final agreements, it’s still not a bad idea to set up a consult with an attorney to review your situation and paperwork to make sure you’re not selling yourself short. Most family law attorneys, including Graham.Law, charge a consult fee, but that’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

D.I.Y. Divorce Criteria

If your situation meets the following criteria, you may be a candidate for a D.I.Y. Divorce:

  • Uncontested Divorce. You and your spouse agree on all aspects of the settlement.  While it may be possible to litigate a contested case by yourself, it’s certainly not advised, particularly if your spouse has counsel. Accordingly, this Guide should be used only when everything is agreed, and it does not discuss procedural requirements that only apply to contested cases (e.g. mediation, disclosure of witnesses & exhibits, or how to prepare for your hearing).
  • Simple Marital Estate.  Typically, this means a shorter marriage, with straightforward assets and debts. You probably need an attorney if your case involves a family business, trust funds, assets which are difficult to value, pension plans which may need specialized orders to divide, including military or government pensions, as well as premarital property which has increased in value.
  • Easy Maintenance Issues. The ideal situation would be relatively equal incomes, so maintenance does not come into play, or, if there is a disparity in incomes, there are no issues of underemployment, hidden income, or ability to work. And both spouses agree to follow the Colorado maintenance guidelines.
  • No Children, OR You Get Along Famously.  There is a fill-in-the-blank parenting plan you can use, but it is pretty basic, and lacks the detail necessary to resolve many future disputes. Though this Guide includes the necessary steps if you have children, I do not recommend a do-it-yourself parenting plan, but if you do proceed with one, be aware that it will only work as long as both parents work well together on parenting.
  • 4th Judicial District. Your case is will be in El Paso or Teller counties. Although most of the forms are statewide, and many of the procedures are the same throughout Colorado, different jurisdictions have their own procedural quicks & standard orders, so you will need to check your own district’s requirements. The Colorado Judicial Branch has an index to each judicial district, which is a good starting point to review your local requirements (and if you’re not sure which district you’re in, you can review this clickable map of Colorado Judicial Districts).
  • Both Spouses Live Locally. Finally, while it is possible to have a D.I.Y. Divorce if one spouse lives elsewhere, it’s more complex, as you will need to request telephonic participation in proceedings, and will have to mail in documents instead of filing them at the Courthouse.

Obtain the Forms

Before you start, you should review & download the forms you will need so you have everything ready to go.

Download the forms that you will need in advance. The Colorado Judicial Branch Forms & Self Help web site has an index to all family law forms, along with helpful flow charts and instructions how to fill out certain forms. But remember to check local requirements, as there is no one generic statewide procedure.

El Paso County specific forms can be downloaded from the Judicial Branch web site, or click here for Teller County-specific forms.

Fill Out Caption & Signature Blocks

Note that these instructions are for the statewide forms.  The few 4th Judicial District specific forms have a bit of a simpler caption on the top, which still requires similar information.  Starting on the top left of the caption:

Court Information. Tick "District" court box, then write in the name of your County and the Court address & Telephone number (El Paso County is 270 S. Tejon, Colorado Springs, CO  80903, tel (719) 452-5000).

Parties. Tick "the Marriage of" to indicate this is a divorce case (not needed if the form is specific for dissolutions). Write your name next to "Petitioner" (assuming you started the case), and your spouse’s name next to “Co-Petitioner/Respondent".

Your Contact Information. Write your name, address, and other contact information in the box below "Attorney or Party without Attorney".  Leave the Atty. Reg. # blank.

Division. Fill out the case number and division(s) in the lower right caption box.  For the initial pleadings, the court clerk will stamp this information for you.  Use that same information for all subsequent pleadings.

Signature.  Once you complete the form, there will be a place for your signature on the bottom. Some forms require your signature to be verified, but as of 2018 Colorado has handy self-verifying forms which no longer need notary publics.

Certificate of Service.  Most forms contain a Certificate of Service. Fill out your spouse’s name & address, and method of service.  Once you mail the form to him/her, sign that line.

Filing Pleadings at Court

Unless you have access to Colorado Courts E-Filing (currently restricted to attorneys only), you must file your initial pleadings in person (in El Paso County it's in Room 105), as explained on the next page.

Most subsequent pleadings can be filed in person, or by mailing the pleading to the Clerk of Court at the court address.  You'll also need to mail or deliver a copy of each pleading to your spouse.

More Information

Divorce Resolutions Tools from the Colorado Center for Divorce Mediation. Plenty of helpful tools and links to assist with the divorce process.

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.

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DIY Divorce Guide