Boulder County residents have no doubt heard the often cited statistic that about half of all marriages end in divorce. This means that many people will have an encounter with the Colorado court system in the form of a divorce proceeding. How exactly will this play out? This blog post will provide some general information about the divorce process generally and how it is done in Colorado, specifically.
In order to be eligible to get divorced in Colorado, a person must have lived in the state for at least 90 days. There is also a waiting period between the time a divorce case is filed and the time a divorce decree can be issued. If the spouses file the divorce petition together, the waiting period is 90 days, meaning at least 90 days must pass between the filing of the petition and the issuance of the divorce decree.
If only one spouse files the divorce papers, the divorce decree can usually be issued 90 days later. This is not always the case, however, if the other spouse denies that the marriage is irretrievably broken. If this happens, the court might continue the case for another 30 to 60 days.
The Centennial State is what is called a no-fault divorce state. In fact, the only valid grounds for dissolution of marriage in Colorado is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Traditionally, there were other grounds for divorce, such as adultery and mental cruelty. These fault-based grounds are no longer valid grounds for divorce in Colorado.
Divorce is a complex topic, and many people feel that they do not have the time or inclination to educate themselves about all the details of this legal issue. Many people seek out and get experienced legal advice for their situations.
