Steps to Get Divorced If You Don’t Have Children In Colorado

Decisions about the custody of children and child support are among the most emotionally fraught and hotly contested aspects of divorce. For spouses without children, filing for divorce in Colorado is typically a simpler and often less adversarial process. If both spouses communicate and compromise effectively, they can avoid divorce court completely by reaching a divorce settlement agreement dividing their marital assets.

An uncontested divorce is a faster, less expensive, and less contentious process than a contested divorce in which spouses argue their disputes in court for a judge to decide. However, even if your divorce is uncontested, you should still reach out to an uncontested divorce attorney in Fort Collins to help figure out the logistics of the divorce.

The process for a divorce without children is usually straightforward unless it includes unresolved disputes over financial assets or property.

File the Petition or Response to a Petition

The spouse who initiates the divorce in Colorado is the petitioner and the other spouse is the respondent. They may also file jointly as co-petitioners if they agree on all aspects of their divorce without requiring mediation or a court hearing to resolve disputes. When filing separately, a petitioner files the initial paperwork listing their desired divorce terms and arranges for the petition to be served to the other spouse. The respondent to divorce in Colorado has 21 days to file a response, or 35 days if they reside outside of Colorado. The response either agrees to the other spouse’s terms or disputes one or more aspects of the petition.

Colorado’s Waiting Period Requirement

Like many states, Colorado has a waiting period in place for divorcing spouses. The 91-day waiting period begins after the respondent receives the divorce papers. During this period, they must submit full financial disclosures to their spouse. Attorneys for both spouses may request additional financial documents. Both spouses may begin negotiating a settlement agreement during the 91-day waiting period.

The Division of Assets in a Divorce Without Children in Colorado

Colorado requires an equitable division of marital assets during divorce. This means spouses must divide all assets acquired during their marriage in a way that’s fair and equitable if not exactly 50/50. They may either reach mutually accepted decisions on their asset division and sign a settlement agreement—often with the help of their attorneys and a professional mediator—or present their disputes before the judge in court. During the asset division process, spouses may keep their separate assets including:

• Any property, business, or asset they owned before the marriage
• Any asset or property inherited by them during the marriage
• Assets or property gifted exclusively to one spouse during the marriage

In complex or high-asset divorces, determining which assets are entirely separate can be challenging. A spouse may have a share of the improved value of their spouse’s separate assets if they invested time or money into improving the asset, business, or property.

Marital assets subject to fair and equitable division include the following:

• All real estate property acquired during the marriage
• All bank accounts, retirement accounts, and investment accounts begun or contributed to during the marriage regardless of the name on the account
• Any businesses begun during the marriage
• All vehicles, boats, RVs, household goods, electronics, appliances, antiques, and artwork accumulated during the marriage

Once the spouses agree on the division of the assets or a judge decides, the judge issues the final order in their divorce decree.

Spousal Support (Alimony) In Colorado

A judge may order spousal support paid from one spouse to the other under some circumstances. For instance, if one spouse earns substantially more than the other or one spouse supported the other financially during their college education, or put their career or educational goals on hold to advance the other spouse’s career or educational goals.
Spousal support orders for divorcing spouses without children in Colorado are typically of a pre-set duration, allowing one spouse time to become self-sufficient.

How Can a Colorado Divorce Lawyer Help?

Although it’s usually a more streamlined process when divorcing spouses in Colorado don’t have children, it doesn’t mean you don’t need an attorney representing your best interests throughout negotiations for a settlement agreement or in court. The outcome of your divorce orders has a tremendous impact on your post-divorce life. Call the experienced Fort Collins divorce attorneys at The Law Firm of Stephen Vertucci, LLP, so we can begin representing your interests.