Who Pays the QDRO Fees in Divorce?
Divorce can be a complex and financially straining process, especially when it comes to determining who pays the f...
Read moreDivorce is a major transition for any family that experiences it, and while the emotional component is exceptionally challenging, the legalities determine your financial and parental rights, which makes having skilled legal guidance key. If you are considering or facing divorce, the experienced Aurora divorce lawyer at CNL Law Firm, PLLC, encourages you to reach out and contact us for more information today.
Once the emotional rollercoaster of divorce commences, it can be difficult to stay focused on the complex legal concerns involved, which makes having a clear understanding of what you are up against critical. Divorce amounts to the dissolution of the marriage contract, and while divorces vary considerably from couple to couple, the basics involve hammering out the specific divorce terms that apply in your situation, which can include any combination of the following:
In order for your divorce to be finalized, you and your divorcing spouse – along with your respective Aurora divorce lawyers – will need to find middle ground that you are both willing to sign off on regarding each of the terms that applies to your divorce. If you are able to negotiate terms between yourselves, you retain your decision-making power. If, on the other hand, you face one or more terms that you’re ultimately unable to resolve, you’ll need the court to make these determinations on your behalf. Prior to heading to court, however, you have options that include the following:
Your child custody arrangements will guide your parental rights, which makes this a primary legal term for divorcing couples who have minor children. In Colorado, legal custody is called parental responsibilities, and physical custody or visitation is called parenting time, and both must be addressed and resolved.
As a parent, you face immense responsibility regarding your children, and the law addresses this responsibility as it relates to making primary parenting decisions, such as the following:
These are the kind of decisions that guide your children’s upbringing, and you and their other parent can continue making them together, but other options include:
If a decision needs to be made in an emergency, the parent who is there or who is more readily available is on-call to do so, and when it comes to those cascading decisions that parents need to make throughout the day – every day – the parent who has the children at the time is responsible for making them.
Your parenting time schedule determines how you and your ex will divide your overnights with your children. While the court generally orders set parenting time schedules, you and your divorcing spouse can create any schedule that works for your family if you’re able to reach an agreement on the matter. While schedules can vary widely when it comes to parenting time, these schedules are generally categorized in one of the following two ways:
You and your children’s other parent are both responsible for providing your children with the financial support they need – in accordance with your financial ability to do so. A range of factors go into Colorado’s child support calculation process, including the following:
In the end, the parent with higher earnings typically pays child support to the other parent – even when they enjoy an equal number of overnights with the children.
When you and your spouse married, you may have brought assets with you into the marriage, and if you’re able to keep these assets separate over the course of your marriage, they will remain the separate property of the original owner. Any additional assets, however, are considered marital – with very limited exceptions that include:
In a Colorado divorce, your marital assets – or their value – need to be divided between you equitably – or fairly given a wide range of applicable factors.
In order to divide the assets that you acquired during your marriage equitably, which is not necessarily the same as dividing them equally, the court takes factors like the following into careful consideration:
Separate assets require a bit of separate attention. To begin, maintaining the separate nature of a separate asset can be exceptionally challenging, and any of the following can weaken the division between separate and marital assets:
Further, if a separate asset – such as a retirement account or stock – increases in value over the course of your marriage, the amount of the increase will be treated as a marital asset.
The division of marital assets has the potential to be the most hotly contested term of any divorce, which makes reaching out for the professional legal counsel of a skilled Aurora divorce lawyer an excellent step to take early in the divorce process.
Colorado calls alimony spousal maintenance, and it is only a term in those divorces that leave one spouse facing a financial setback while the other has the financial ability to help. The longer the marriage and the greater discrepancy there is in assets and earning potential, the more likely alimony is to be awarded. Some of the factors that go into the decision-making process when it comes to spousal maintenance include:
When alimony is awarded, it is generally set for an amount and duration that allows the recipient the resources necessary to gain further education, job training, experience, or job skills necessary to become more financially independent.
Divorce is a serious matter that can affect the rest of your life. Do not forgo property or support that you deserve, and never give up your deserved time with your children. Instead, seek help from an attorney who can protect your rights and interests.
Chris Little at CNL Law Firm, PLLC, is a capable Aurora divorce lawyer with a long track record of guiding challenging cases like yours toward beneficial outcomes that honor our clients’ rights and best interests. If you are facing a divorce, are considering a divorce, or have questions or concerns related to divorce, our seasoned legal team has the experience and legal knowhow to help, and we encourage you to reach out by contacting or calling us at (720) 370-2171 for more information about what we can do for you today.
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