Basic Timeline for Divorce, Legal Separation and Allocation of Parental Responsibilities in Colorado

Making the difficult decision to separate from a partner is one of the hardest decisions you will ever make. After the dust has settled and the determination to move forward with the legal process of dividing one household into two has been made, the process can be overwhelming. Legal jargon, deadlines and procedural details can make you feel like you are on the inside of a tornado looking out.

While every single case is different (trust me, in 15 years I've darn near seen it all), the Court has a basic timeline that can keep you apprised of what to expect next or what to expect when.

STEP ONE: FILING THE CASE

The first step is to visit the District Court in the county you live in to complete and file the necessary documents to initiate the case. If this is confusing or complicated (i.e. you and your partner live in different counties), be sure to consult with an attorney to discuss the proper jurisdiction and venue (fancy words for which county and Court can make determinations for you, your partner, the children, if any, and anything included in the marital estate).

There are typically three initiating documents that are filed to commence a dissolution, legal separation or allocation of parental responsibilities case in Colorado: Petition, Summons (sometimes this is issued by the Court if the Petition is filed without an attorney) and a Case Information Sheet (cheat sheet for the Court with the most important information about the parties and children of the case). A Co-Petition may also be filed instead of a Petition. This is when both parties complete and file the Petition together instead of just one person filing.

STEP TWO: SERVICE OR WAIVER

It is required in Colorado that Respondents (the person that does not complete and file the Petition) to be personally served in domestic relation cases. Personal service means that a process server or sheriff hands the initiating documents to the Respondent. If you need help with process serving, please see here. Alternatively, a Respondent may complete a document called a Waiver of Service. This does not waive any rights for them but instead simply lets the Court know "I have these documents and don't need to be served with them."

Once a Co-Petition, Waiver of Service or Affidavit of Service (document completed by a process server or sheriff if personal service is fulfilled) is filed with the Court, the case is considered "at issue" or ready to proceed.

STEP THREE: RESPONSE TO PETITION (IF APPLICABLE)

If there is a Respondent in the case, this party has twenty-one (21) days from when they are served or sign a Waiver of Service to file a Response to the Petition that was filed and served on them. This is optional but done most of the time as a standard of practice. If you are not sure if you need to file a Response or have questions on a Response that was filed in your case, please be sure to contact an attorney.

STEP FOUR: COMPLETE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES

In any domestic relations case (dissolution, legal separation and allocation of parental responsibilities), the Court will require financial disclosures be filed. The general timeline for these to be completed is forty-two (42) days from the filing of a Co-Petition, Affidavit of Service or Waiver of Service.

These include two documents to be filed with the Court. The first is an affidavit called a Sworn Financial Statement. This is a signed statement by each party (they will not accept joint Sworn Financial Statements) giving the Court a snapshot of their current financial situation. The other document is called a Certificate of Compliance, which is just a list of the financial disclosures that you have provided copies of to the other party.

Financial disclosures are the corresponding financial disclosures that are required to be exchanged between parties. These might include documents such as tax returns, paystubs, bank statements, credit card statements and the like. The only difference in financial disclosures between a dissolution of marriage/legal separation and an allocation of parental responsibilities case is that some of the financial disclosures that are required to be disclosed in the former are not required in the latter. For example, you will not have to provide real property, retirement or investment account statements to the other party in an allocation of parental responsibilities case, but you will for a divorce or legal separation.

If you have questions on how to complete your Sworn Financial Statement or what financial disclosures you have to provide to the other party, make sure to contact an attorney. This can be the most overwhelming and tedious part of the initial process and can definitely trip people up.

STEP FIVE: COMPLETE PARENTING CLASS (IF APPLICABLE)

In every case involving children under the age of eighteen (18) years old in Colorado, each party will need to complete a parenting class offered by a Court-approved instructor or institute. Each county will have their own lists of allowed classes as well as their own deadlines for completion. Be sure to check with an attorney or reference your Case Management Order (an initial boiler plate Order issued by the Court at the onset of a case) for appropriate information for your case.

STEP SIX: ATTEND THE INITIAL STATUS CONFERENCE

An Initial Status Conference is scheduled usually to occur within forty-two (42) days from the filing of a Co-Petition, Affidavit of Service or Waiver of Service. This conference, sometimes referred to as an "ISC", is an informal meeting between the parties, their attorneys if they are represented and a Court official. This may be a Judge, Magistrate or Family Court Facilitator.

The scheduling of an ISC differs from county to county. Some counties will issue a date and time for the ISC directly on their Case Management Order (see above for explanation). Other counties may give attorneys or parties a deadline to contact the Court for available dates and times. Be sure to consult with your attorney or the Case Management Order in your case for this information.

Although this is a Court appearance and is held before a Court official, it is much more casual than a hearing. The length of an ISC is usually less than half an hour. Since the COVID-19 virus, these have almost exclusively been held virtually by telephone or WebEx. The Court makes no determinations as to support payments, division of assets or debts, possession/use of marital residence, parenting time or decision-making authority at the conference. There are no witnesses called, nor evidence presented. Instead, the Court utilizes this time to introduce themselves to the parties and set a timeline for your case. Some typical topics discussed are whether or not experts are needed, whether or not financial disclosures are completed and whether or not a Temporary Orders hearing is requested. Often times the Court will also schedule the Permanent Orders (final) hearing during the ISC.

A Temporary Orders hearing is a hearing to determine the interim orders for the case. This might include things such as temporary parenting time, temporary support payments, or temporary use and possession of the marital home. These hearings are meant to establish the status quo for the case while it is pending and the determinations made at these hearings are not supposed to influence or determine the outcome of a Permanent Orders hearing. In other words, fifty-fifty parenting time may be ordered at a Temporary Orders hearing, but that does not mean that the likely outcome for a Permanent Orders hearing may be fifty-fifty parenting time. Consult with an attorney for further information on this or guidance as to whether this is an appropriate ask for your case.

STEP SEVEN: EXPERTS APPOINTED (IF APPLICABLE)

Experts may be appointed at various times during a case. Some examples of experts that may be appointed (by agreement or Order of Court) are Child and Family Investigators, Parental Responsibilities Evaluators, appraisers, business valuators, vocational evaluators, and/or CPAs. There are multiple reasons why these experts may be stipulated (agreed) to or ordered by the Court. To determine whether one of these experts is necessary or advised in your case, please be sure to contact an attorney.

STEP EIGHT: MEDIATION

I'm biased, but this is my favorite step. Mediation is required by the Court in all domestic relations cases that do not otherwise come to agreements on their own. Typically, mediation must take place no later than twenty-one (21) days before the Permanent Orders hearing in your case. However, there are other times when mediation may be required. For example, some Parenting Plans (the contract or agreement between parties that establishes the parenting time, decision-making and/or child support payments between parties for children of a party) and/or Separation Agreements (the contract or agreement between parties that establishes the payment of maintenance and division of debts and assets) have clauses that require mediation be completed before any modification motions may be filed.

The best timing for mediation may vary case to case and you will want to consult with an attorney on the proper timing for a successful mediation. For example, some attorneys may advise that expert reports be issued and/or financial disclosures be updated before mediation takes place.

STEP NINE: HEARING AND DEADLINES ARE SET

Once mediation is completed, the Court may schedule your case for a Permanent Orders hearing (the final hearing in a dissolution, legal separation or allocation of parental responsibilities case). This may also be scheduled at the ISC.

As soon as this hearing is scheduled, several deadlines are put into place to keep the hearing streamlined. These will include deadlines for a disclosure of witnesses and subpoenaing any that require the same; service of discovery requests (documents, testimony or depositions requested of the opposing party in an effort to gather evidence for the upcoming hearing); exhibit gathering, exchanging and filing with the Court; updating financial disclosures; and the filing a document called a Joint Trial Management Certificate (a memo between the attorneys for the Court outlining the issues and legal authority for the upcoming hearing). The first deadlines that will come up are the witness disclosures and service of discovery requests, which are typically required to be filed and/or served sixty-three (63) days before a hearing takes place.

The important thing to remember here is that it is at this point the costs for litigation start to climb. Attorneys, if hired, have a duty to comply with these deadlines. If your case has not settled in mediation or some other dispute resolution process, this is where you will start to see your invoices grow exponentially.

STEP TEN: HEARING

Hearings for domestic relation cases are not much different than you would see on a tv show. There is a person in a black robe that stands behind a podium, hears testimony, weighs evidence and makes a determination as to the outcome of the case. A Judge or Magistrate may issue their Orders straight from the bench or they may take their Order under advisement (they take their time to think it over and issue a written Order some undetermined amount of time later -- this can take any amount of time between a week and up to six months was the longest I saw one take). Your attorney, if you have one, should take careful time explaining to you the steps, your testimony and any situations to expect or look out for. If not, be sure to communicate with them at length before the hearing.

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