There is no getting around the fact that ending a marriage can be a difficult and painful process. The spouse who makes the decision to divorce often does so after a great deal of soul-searching. The other spouse may be surprised and saddened by the decision, or may have seen it coming. Either way, if both spouses have an understanding that they will respect each other and work together to reach agreement on disputed issues, the entire dissolution process can be a lot less uncomfortable.
In any divorce, both spouses have a lot of decisions to make and a lot of potential areas of conflict to work through. If the couple has children, they will need to work together to come up with a parenting plan that will determine how much time the child spends with each parent and who gets to make critical decisions about the child’s upbringing, such as education, health care and religious affiliation. And, because divorce does not end a parent’s legal obligation to support the children, the non-custodial parent will be obligated to pay child support.
Property division is another difficult issue in divorce and can lead to many conflicts. If the parties have a prenuptial agreement already in place this process can be greatly simplified. If not, couples can still benefit from working together and reaching an agreement on which assets will be considered marital property and how those assets will be divided between them. If the parties are unable to agree and have to go to the court for a decision, the legal costs can often offset any gain a spouse might get in the property division process.
When people try to go it alone in family court, they run the risk that by not knowing their rights, or not understanding court procedures, they will end up with an unfair financial settlement or child custody agreement. For more information on how our law firm attempts to help Colorado spouses during the divorce process, please visit our web page.
