Family Law
Family Law / Divorce
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Divorce
Divorce can be a very challenging time for you and your child(ren). The Law Office of Cheryl A. Miller, P.C. is
dedicated to helping you through this time. Whether your case involves simple or complex financial issues, parenting issues,
or support issues, we are trained and here to assist you.
Requirements to File
Responding once Served
Waiting Period
Custody/Parenting Time
Child Support
Property and Debt Division
Maintenance/Alimony
Requirements to File
Prior to filing for divorce, at least one party must have been domiciled in the state of Colorado for 90 days.
Responding once Served
In most cases, you will have only 20 days after you have been served with divorce or legal separation papers to respond.
However, if you were served out of the state of Colorado, you will have 30 days to respond. Responding is important. Among other things, responding
will provide you an opportunity to correct errors in the paperwork that was served upon you, make requests of the court for certain orders such as maintenance
(alimony) and payment of attorney fees, and inform the court that you intend to participate in the proceeding. If you fail to respond, the court may decide important
issues in your case without providing further notice to you and without your participation.
Waiting Period
Colorado will not grant a divorce until 90 days have passed since the court has obtained jurisdiction over the Respondent
or Co-Petitioner. Jurisdiction is most commonly accomplished by proper service upon the other party.
Custody/Parenting Time
There is no one parenting plan or decision making/custody plan that works best for every situation and every family.
Generally speaking, the best parenting plan and decision making plan is that plan that you and your spouse create together
while considering the needs of your children. The Law Office of Cheryl A. Miller, P.C. will help you create a parenting and
decision making plan that works for your family and your children and will draft all of the paperwork to make your agreement binding.
However, if you and your spouse are unable to devise such a plan, in most instances, the court will appoint an expert in your case to
evaluate the situation and make recommendations to the court regarding parenting time and decision making. This expert is generally
paid for by the parties; there are very few State appointed and paid experts. Although the expert's recommendations are not orders of
the court and are not binding on the parties, it is not unusual for a court to adopt the recommendations and make the recommendations an
order of the court.
Child Support
Colorado has created a presumptive formula for calculating child support, which in certain circumstances may be deviated from.
The formula considers several factors which include, but are not limited to, each parent’s income, the number of overnights a child spends with each parent,
the cost of child care and medical insurance. Click here to be directed to the Court’s child support calculator.
Property and Debt Division
Colorado law requires your property and debts to be divided equitably. Equitably does not necessarily mean equally. What is
equitable is different in each case.
Maintenance/Alimony
Maintenance awards are not just for wives, husbands may also be entitled to maintenance. Whether a party receives or pays
maintenance depends on the individual circumstances of the case. There are several factors that the Courts will look at to
determine whether a maintenance award to either party is appropriate.
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The Law Office of
Cheryl A. Miller, P.C.
7600 E. Arapahoe Road,
Suite 201, Centennial,
CO 80112
Directions
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