How Can I Get a Quick Divorce in Colorado?
The quickest way to getting a divorce in Colorado is when you and your spouse can reach acceptable agreements relating to your legal issues without going to court. The most common scenarios for that are:
Do It Yourself (pro-se).
You can obtain the necessary documents from the courthouse, fill out the paperwork and handle your own divorce. This may be possible for some couples. However, there are some landmine issues we have seen in pro-se divorces, which induce the division of taxes and debt, child custody, alimony, and division of retirement accounts.
Uncontested Divorce.
An uncontested divorce is when you and your spouse essentially reach agreement on all issues, but one of you has an attorney draw up the paperwork and negotiate any remaining issues, as well as pointing out any issues you have missed or have not thought about.
Mediated Divorce.
A mediated divorce is when the parties hire a divorce attorney to act as a mediator who assist them in settling their issues and then preparing the appropriate paperwork. This is quick, keeps the parties out of Court, and is usually much less expensive than a normal divorce.
You should remember, however, that no matter how quickly you resolve your divorce, Colorado has a 91-day waiting period. So the Court cannot finalize your divorce until 91 days after your initial petition is filed.
Risks of the DIY Quick Divorce
Though it’s tempting to go through the divorce process on your own to save money in the short term, in the end, it can cost you so much more. Though divorce has many moving parts, let’s consider alimony as an example. In most cases, you won’t have to pay alimony for longer than half the time you were married in Colorado.
This means, if you were married for 12 and a half years, you’d typically pay alimony for 6 and a quarter years. However, once your marriage hits the 12-and-a-half-year mark, the alimony term becomes half the length of the marriage. So, if you were married for 30 years, you might pay or receive alimony for 15 years.
An attorney retainer may sound high at first, but once you consider the Colorado-recommended alimony formula below, the cost of an attorney is worth it. Let’s say Spouse A earns $150,000 gross income per year, and Spouse B earns $30,000. Here’s what alimony could potentially look like.
Alimony Formula
(40% gross income of higher earner – 50% gross income of lower earner)/12 = potential monthly payments
- 40% of $150,000 is $60,000 and 50% of $30,000 is $15,000
($60,000 – $15,000)/12 = potential monthly payments
($45,000)/12 = potential monthly payments
$3,750 = potential monthly payments
If the couple were married for 16 years, and if this was the payment amount the court were to decide, this would total $360,000 over 8 years. This only covers alimony, this isn’t factoring in property division, child support, and retirement.
No matter what side of the legal battle you’re on, it’s best to have an attorney on your side to achieve your favorable outcome.
Hiring a Colorado Divorce Attorney
The lawyer you select can affect the rest of your life. Colorado Legal Group’s team of Denver divorce lawyers and family law attorneys are highly skilled in developing a strategy that will get you through your case in the best way possible; with the best outcomes, lowest cost, and least amount of emotional stress. Let us guide you through a divorce without the drama, without costing you a fortune, and without ruining your family.
If you’re concerned about your divorce rights, submit a free case evaluation to our attorneys or give us a call at 720.594.7360.